St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions (1600?-1637)

Lawrence (Lorenzo) was born in Manila of a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, both Christians. Thus he learned Chinese and Tagalog from them and Spanish from the Dominicans whom he served as altar boy and sacristan. He became a professional calligrapher, transcribing documents in beautiful penmanship. He was a full member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary under Dominican auspices. He married and had two sons and a daughter.
His life took an abrupt turn when he was accused of murder. Nothing further is known except the statement of two Dominicans that "he was sought by the authorities on account of a homicide to which he was present or which was attributed to him."
At that time three Dominican priests, Antonio Gonzalez, Guillermo Courtet and Miguel de Aozaraza, were about to sail to Japan in spite of a violent persecution there. With them was a Japanese priest, Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz, and a layman named Lazaro, a leper. Lorenzo, having taken asylum with them, was allowed to accompany them. But only when they were at sea did he learn that they were going to Japan.
They landed at Okinawa. Lorenzo could have gone on to Formosa, but, he reported, "I decided to stay with the Fathers, because the Spaniards would hang me there." In Japan they were soon found out, arrested and taken to Nagasaki. The site of wholesale bloodshed when the atomic bomb was dropped had known tragedy before. The 50,000 Catholics who once lived there were dispersed or killed by persecution.
They were subjected to an unspeakable kind of torture: After huge quantities of water were forced down their throats, they were made to lie down. Long boards were placed on their stomachs and guards then stepped on the ends of the boards, forcing the water to spurt violently from mouth, nose and ears.
The superior, Antonio, died after some days. Both the Japanese priest and Lazaro broke under torture, which included the insertion of bamboo needles under their fingernails. But both were brought back to courage by their companions.
In Lorenzo's moment of crisis, he asked the interpreter, "I would like to know if, by apostatizing, they will spare my life." The interpreter was noncommittal, but Lorenzo, in the ensuing hours, felt his faith grow strong. He became bold, even audacious, with his interrogators.
The five were put to death by being hanged upside down in pits. Boards fitted with semicircular holes were fitted around their waists and stones put on top to increase the pressure. They were tightly bound, to slow circulation and prevent a speedy death. They were allowed to hang for three days. By that time Lorenzo and Lazaro were dead. The three Dominican priests, still alive, were beheaded.
Pope John Paul II canonized these six and 10 others, Asians and Europeans, men and women, who spread the faith in the Philippines, Formosa and Japan. Lorenzo Ruiz is the first canonized Filipino martyr.

St. Matthew

Matthew was a Jew who worked for the occupying Roman forces, collecting taxes from other Jews. Though the Romans probably did not allow extremes of extortion, their main concern was their own purses. They were not scrupulous about what the "tax-farmers" got for themselves. Hence the latter, known as "publicans," were generally hated as traitors by their fellow Jews. The Pharisees lumped them with "sinners." So it was shocking to them to hear Jesus call such a man to be one of his intimate followers.
Matthew got Jesus in further trouble by having a sort of going-away party at his house. The Gospel tells us that "many" tax collectors and "those known as sinners" came to the dinner. The Pharisees were still more badly shocked. What business did the supposedly great teacher have associating with such immoral people? Jesus' answer was, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners" (Matthew 9:12b-13). Jesus is not setting aside ritual and worship; he is saying that loving others is even more important.
No other particular incidents about Matthew are found in the New Testament.

Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and Companions (1821-1846)

This first native Korean priest was the son of Korean converts. His father, Ignatius Kim, was martyred during the persecution of 1839 and was beatified in 1925. After Baptism at the age of 15, Andrew traveled 1,300 miles to the seminary in Macao, China. After six years he managed to return to his country through Manchuria. That same year he crossed the Yellow Sea to Shanghai and was ordained a priest. Back home again, he was assigned to arrange for more missionaries to enter by a water route that would elude the border patrol. He was arrested, tortured and finally beheaded at the Han River near Seoul, the capital.
Paul Chong Hasang was a seminarian, aged 45.
Christianity came to Korea during the Japanese invasion in 1592 when some Koreans were baptized, probably by Christian Japanese soldiers. Evangelization was difficult because Korea refused all contact with the outside world except for an annual journey to Peking to pay taxes. On one of these occasions, around 1777, Christian literature obtained from Jesuits in China led educated Korean Christians to study. A home Church began. When a Chinese priest managed to enter secretly a dozen years later, he found 4,000 Catholics, none of whom had ever seen a priest. Seven years later there were 10,000 Catholics. Religious freedom came in 1883.
When Pope John Paul II visited Korea in 1984 he canonized, besides Andrew and Paul, 98 Koreans and three French missionaries who had been martyred between 1839 and 1867. Among them were bishops and priests, but for the most part they were lay persons: 47 women, 45 men.
Among the martyrs in 1839 was Columba Kim, an unmarried woman of 26. She was put in prison, pierced with hot tools and seared with burning coals. She and her sister Agnes were disrobed and kept for two days in a cell with condemned criminals, but were not molested. After Columba complained about the indignity, no more women were subjected to it. The two were beheaded. A boy of 13, Peter Ryou, had his flesh so badly torn that he could pull off pieces and throw them at the judges. He was killed by strangulation. Protase Chong, a 41-year-old noble, apostatized under torture and was freed. Later he came back, confessed his faith and was tortured to death.

Cat Jokes

A couple is dressed and ready to go out for the evening. They phone for a cab, turn on a night light, cover their pet parakeet and put the cat out in the back yard.The taxi arrives, and they open the front door to leave. Suddenly the cat they put out scoots back into the house. They don't want the cat shut in there because she always tries to eat the bird. The wife goes out to the taxi while the husband goes back in. The cat runs upstairs, with the man in hot pursuit.The wife doesn't want the driver to know the house will be empty. She explains to the taxi driver that her husband will be out soon. "He's just going upstairs to say goodbye to my mother."A few minutes later the husband gets into the cab."Sorry I took so long," he says, as they drive away. "Stupid hag was hiding under the bed. Had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to come out! Then I had to wrap her in a blanket to keep her from scratching me. But it worked. I hauled her fat butt downstairs and threw her out into the back yard!The cab driver hit a parked car.

Catechism Quiz—Abortion and the Gift of Life

by Friar Jim Van Vurst, O.F.M.
All Life Comes From God
We Christians believe and are convinced that all life comes from God. If there is no God, there is no life. In fact, our life is so different from other life—plant and animal—that we respect. We, as living human beings, are created in God’s image and likeness. In spite of our limitations because of humanity’s fall from grace, we can do things that God can do: We can love, we can forgive sin, we can lay down our life for our brothers and sisters. What is even more of a mystery is that this God who gave us a share in his life through his Son, the Word of God, became man and took on a human nature like ours, though perfect in every way. And this Son of God was conceived in the womb of Mary of Nazareth.
Because of these astounding truths, there is a basic law that is universal and allows for no exceptions: We are not owners of our lives; no human being has power over his own life. We are stewards over the gift of life we have received, responsible for our lives and the lives of others. If we believe life is God’s gift, then we must respect all human life from the moment it begins to exist to the moment of death. And that respect must be extended to all people—from the greatest saint to the worst sinners (at least in our eyes). The reason? It is exactly what God does. Remember: Jesus died for every person who ever existed or will exist. He made no exceptions.
Current Disregard for Human Life
We know there is a great disregard for human life throughout the world today, There are all kinds of reasons given for this attitude, though many consider it unnecessary to offer any reason. An unborn person, an embryo, a fetus is often considered simple tissue or an attachment, an inconvenience or a problem. So many people with human power act as though they actually have God’s power over life and death when, in fact, their actions are so un-godlike. One of the greatest insults to God’s gift of life and his goodness and his will is how many millions of innocent unborn human lives are ended without a second thought.
Our Catholic faith is consistent and the Church is very exact in its teaching about the sanctity of unborn life. Sanctity? Yes, because the unborn share in the life of God almighty. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states: “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person—among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life” (CCC #2270). God’s own revelation in Scriptures speaks this truth beautifully: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Ps 139:15).
It is interesting that other outstanding individuals from varied religious backgrounds have held the same truth: Martin Luther King, Jr.; Mahatma Gandhi; the Dalai Lama; feminists such as Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul, the author of the original Equal Rights Amendment, and many others.
Human Life Always Produces a Human
We say that when the ovum and the sperm unite, there is human life. A human ovum and sperm will produce only human life, nothing else. It may not be perfect, it may be malformed, but whether this human life develops into a genius or a person who is mentally challenged, no right-minded person would say that one is human but the other is not. My sister is a Sister of Charity here in Cincinnati, and she is director of St. Joseph Home for Children with severe/profound mental and physical disabilities (www.saintjosephhome.com/). Check out this video and ask yourself whether any of these little and lovable humans beings should have had their lives ended at conception.
At conception, a zygote is created by that ovum-sperm union. We don’t say that we “came from a zygote.” No, we were a zygote. We did not come from a fetus; we were a fetus. We did not come from a baby, we were a baby. In other words, when we were conceived, we were!
It is amazing that abortion, the ending of innocent human life, is, in so many people’s minds, “no big deal.” It is indeed a big deal and more, because such an act steps in front of God and does exactly what God does not want done. Not all human life is convenient, not all human life is perfect. But all human life is from God and therefore really belongs to God. No one has the right to deliberately end a life ultimately given by God. God is the creator; we are the caretakers.
Finally, having said all this, can anyone doubt that all these aborted little ones are not with God for all eternity? He made them for eternal life, and, though their earthly lives were cut short, they now enjoy eternal life with their creator.
(Next month: An important word to women who may have had an abortion.)

St. Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663)

Joseph is most famous for levitating at prayer.
Already as a child, Joseph showed a fondness for prayer. After a short career with the Capuchins, he joined the Conventuals. Following a brief assignment caring for the friary mule, Joseph began his studies for the priesthood. Though studies were very difficult for him, Joseph gained a great deal of knowledge from prayer. He was ordained in 1628.
Joseph’s tendency to levitate during prayer was sometimes a cross; some people came to see this much as they might have gone to a circus sideshow. Joseph’s gift led him to be humble, patient and obedient, even though at times he was greatly tempted and felt forsaken by God. He fasted and wore iron chains for much of his life.
The friars transferred Joseph several times for his own good and for the good of the rest of the community. He was reported to and investigated by the Inquisition; the examiners exonerated him.
Joseph was canonized in 1767. In the investigation preceding the canonization, 70 incidents of levitation are recorded.

Football Jokes

The football team was getting clobbered. The first-string quarterback was injured. The second-string quarterback was injured. Even the punter was injured. All the coach had left was their third-stringer who had yet to play a down all year. He pulled the quarterback aside. "Look son, we can't afford to let them score again. We've got to run some time off the clock. Here's what I want you to do.""On first down, run it to the left. On second down, run it to the right. On third down run it up the middle. The, on fourth down, punt it as far as you can punt it. "OK coach!" said the quarterback. On first down he ran it to the left for 30 yards. On second down he ran it to the right for 40 more. On third down he ran it up the middle down to the one yard line. Then, on 4th down, the quarterback dropped back and punted the ball right out of the end zone.When he got to the sideline, the coach was screaming! "What were you thinking?!!!?!!!"The quarterback replied, "I was thinking I must be playing for the dumbest coach in the world."