Well, we're not sure how our Canadian friends are doing on this fine mid-March day, but we trust your snow is deep and crisp and even. But enough about the weather. Today in Lent Madness action it's Wenceslaus vs. Francis Xavier.
Yesterday, Verena of Zurzach routed Ursula 81% to 19% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen.
But the hot news on this Thursday is the kick off to the daily SHOWDOWN OF THE DAY videos on Lent Madness TV. Click the link to watch and then subscribe to the YouTube channel, which also houses previous editions of Monday Madness. But the earliest ones were on Vimeo. Check out this classic 2012 edition from Tim and Scott -- this may be first one ever!
Vote now!
Wenceslaus
Good King Wenceslaus, who goes out on the snowy evening of December 26th. Wenceslaus was not a king, nor did he likely venture out on the Feast of Stephen in deep snow. He was, however, a deeply faithful Christian whose life embodied a godly ruler.
Wenceslaus was born in Bohemia in about 907. His grandparents had been converted to Christianity by Cyril and Methodius, and his father continued the family tradition. Many eastern European kingdoms still saw tensions between Christianity and the ancient pagan faiths. Wenceslaus’s mother Drahomira was a staunch devotee of pagan faith.
When Wenceslaus was thirteen, his father died. His Christian grandmother Ludmilla became his regent, but his mother murdered Ludmilla and took control of the government. She instituted harsh penalties against Christians in Bohemia and tried to convert her son to the pagan ways. When Wenceslaus came of age, he banished his mother and took control of the kingdom himself.
Wenceslaus was a devout Christian. He brought in German priests, who established more churches and brought the historically isolated Bohemia into relationship with the wider European world.
One legend holds that as his army faced a challenger, Wenceslaus sent an offer of peace. His opponent viewed the peace offering as a sign of weakness and prepared to attack. Wenceslaus offered to fight his opponent one on one to avoid massive casualties. As the two men walked toward each other, his opponent saw two angels guarding Wenceslaus and wisely chose Wenceslaus’s offer of peace.
Threatened by this ever-increasing modernization and Christianization of Bohemia, Wenceslaus’s brother Boleslav murdered Wenceslaus by running him through with a lance as he entered the church to attend Mass. Almost immediately, Wenceslaus was venerated as a martyr. Reports of miracles occurring at his tomb led Boleslav to relocate his bones to St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.
Wenceslaus was promoted to kingship posthumously by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. Within decades of his death, hagiographies of Wenceslaus became popular. A famous statue of Wenceslaus on horseback graces Wenceslas Square in Prague. Legend holds that, if the Czech Republic is in danger, the good king’s statue
will come to life, summon the knights sleeping under Mt. Blanik, and save the land.
Collect for Wenceslaus
O God, who taught the Martyr Saint Wenceslaus to place the heavenly Kingdom before an earthly one, grant through his prayers that, denying ourselves, we may hold fast to you with all our heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Francis Xavier
The Presbyterian pastor Frederick Buechner famously said that “the place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Using this metric, it would seem highly unlikely that a man who was prone to profound seasickness and with great difficulty learning foreign languages would be called by God to be one of the most well-traveled and effective missionaries of Christianity, not only in the sixteenth century, but of all time. Perhaps against all odds, Francis Xavier was all of these.
Francis Xavier was born to an aristocratic Spanish-Basque family in Navarre; it was this status that made possible his studies at the Sorbonne. While there, he became a companion of Ignatius of Loyola, and, together with him and five others, in August 1534 made lifelong vows of poverty and service to wherever the Pope should send them—they were the first members of the Society of Jesus. Seven years later—after the Portuguese ambassador to Pope Paul III requested that the Jesuits be sent to evangelize the east—Xavier left Rome with only two days’ notice, went on to Lisbon, and from there left on his thirty-fifth birthday to begin a strenuous thirteen-month journey to Goa in southwest India, arriving in May 1542. Goa would become his base of operation for his later missionary journeys.
In Goa, he undertook a campaign of reform among the Portuguese there, who had become notorious for their cruelty, open concubinage, and neglect of the poor. He lived willingly among the poor, sleeping on the ground and eating mainly rice. His missionary efforts gained great traction among people of low caste, but none at all among the Brahmins holding power and privilege.
Over the course of the next decade, Francis Xavier would journey across South Asia and the Far East, including in India, Sri Lanka, Malacca, the Moluccan Islands, and Japan. In 1549, he landed in Japan, where he studied the Japanese language, learning enough to craft a short statement of Christian belief. By the time his journey in Japan concluded, around two thousand people had become Christian—although the church he helped establish would endure great persecutions years later from the ruling authorities, including the martyrdom of twenty-six Christians in 1597. The vigorous Christian presence in Nagasaki today is
attributable in large part to his efforts. His invariable seasickness notwithstanding, Xavier set out for China and modern-day Guangzhou in 1552; along the way he fell ill and died before his missionary journey could continue.
The conversion of some seven hundred thousand people to Christianity is commonly held to have resulted from ten years of Francis Xavier’s missionary effort. Wherever he undertook his ministry, he left organized Christian communities behind him, many of which survive to this day.
Collect for Frances Xavier
God of all nations; Raise up in this and every land, evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that like your servant Francis Xavier we may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
73 comments on “Wenceslaus vs. Francis Xavier”
I had to vote for Wenceslaus to honor my husband's family.
Is there, possibly, a mistake in the last paragraph about Wenceslaus...re posthumous kingship by the Holy Roman Emperor? Should the word be "sainthood"?
Yes, the snow is always deep and crisp and even around here, even in summertime, so not sure why anyone would want to annex us, we're hip deep in bears and the maple syrup occasionally bursts from the ground in geysers, making it difficult to get to church some days
As a good Christian Bohemian, I must vote for Wenceslaus! King or no king.
Q. How does "King" Wenceslaus like his pizza?
A. Deep and crisp and even.
Things are improving; yesterday’s email with Ursula and Verena arrived at 7:10 last evening; they don’t usually show up till the next day with voting closed, so I now vote directly on the website in the morning. Haven’t seen today’s yet.
Curious to see if this comment appears; have submitted comments on 3 days this year, and none has ever been seen again. Altho’ I do get the “I am not a robot” box to check, today’s the first day I’ve ever seen the picture grid. Don’t know if it’s new, or if I just never got it before.
Had to vote for Francis; I’m a big fan of the Jesuits and their work, and my uncle was a Xaverian teaching brother.
I am extremely pleased that he was a Presbyterian! The thought of different faith traditions find common ground calms me. A Venn diagram with the middle there is unity, and community! Francis Xaviar
The Big X pulled ahead & won the Basketball game last night, we’ll go with Francis Xavier today! I do feel for Texas & Wenceslas winding up on second place with a good game!
Go Tar Heels!
The Jebbie's have a lot of pull here in Cincinnati. . .
st.Xavier High School, from which a number of fine men, including my two sons, graduated and continue in the spirit of 'men for others' much like St. Francis. Then there is Xavier University, known for its excellence academically and athletically. . . etc. One guess who I voted for.
Canada will never be the 51st state. There’s my simple statement of faith, “that even cats and dogs can understand.” As for Wenceslaus, he appears to come from a highly dysfunctional family. I voted for Francis Xavier, whose missions to the poor included living among them. I will say that I wish the Jesuits had been less an arm of authority. I suspect the Portuguese wanted these missions as the “soft power” face of imperialism and colonization. We today have the burden of thinking through the legacy of conquest and misuse of religion even as we try to help bring about the beloved community. In other words, our God asks of us to be woke in our labors.
Francis really went all out to connect with, guide, and serve ordinary people. Go, Francis!
Two people who both sound very worthy, I think I’m going to have to delay voting until later tonight. Hope I don’t forget! Dear sweet (maple-syrup-sweet?) Canadian neighbors, please do not be offended, and thank you for your humour today. Remember more than half of us down here are as appalled as you! Maybe you could annex us, so we could escape?
I attend St. Stephen's church, and every St. Stephen's Day (or the closest Sunday thereto) we sing "Good King Wenceslaus," of course. I am fond of singing nice jaunty tunes and "Good King Wenceslaus," in particular. Therefore, even though Frances Xavier seems like a heck of a guy, I can't turn my back on Stephen and Wenceslaus!
Since you asked, sovereign and a bit snowy still. But mostly sovereign.
A sincere Canadian apology for the testy responses of my Canadian colleagues who didn't realize you were addressing the regions of our (already) great country that are still shovelling. More time to do it too, now, with the job losses and slowdowns and all. But we'll be fine. Thanks for asking.
How're you all doing? Sorry about your...situation. I sure wish we could help, as we like to do, but our waterbombers are for forest fires not dumpster fires. I'm afraid you'll have to extinguish that one yourselves.
Yep. March is our snowiest month, but I sure am looking forward to those spring rains washing all the dust and grime away. I love it when things green up again.
Much as I appreciate Saint Wenceslas, it is essential for me to vote for Francis Xavier. All of my brothers attended a Jesuit high school (and my sister attend an Ursuline Academy). The Jesuit philosophy greatly appeals to those of us who seek a better understanding of Christianity. His conversion of those in the far East is also part of his legacy.
My people hail from Bohemia. Gotta go with the local boy.
I do want to say that the part about the knights sleeping under Mt. Blanik and coming to life under Wenceslaus to defend the Czech Republic reminded me alot of a similar scene in The Lord of the Rings. I wonder if Tolkien knew about him.
The story of Good King Wenceslas, king or not, has brought countless Christians closer to their faith. And there's that song from Pogo that begins, "Good King Sauerkraut looked out/On his feets uneven."
I have given up on getting emails. I get them less than 1/2 the time, and when I do get them they are either late in the day or on the following day.
I am going to have Good King Wenceslaus in my head all day, but I hadto vote for a founding Jesuit.
This is a very hard decision! I admire both men for their deep faith and their commitment to others. As a graduate of a Jesuit university, I lean toward Francis Xavier, but I am also moved by the devotion of Wenceslaus. I will need to ponder this carefully.
It is interesting that God picks the ones we think less gifted or less worthy, but they shine under God's love.
I admired the Jesuits at Georgetown University when I studied there so Francis Xavier it is. Yesterday I could vote in my iPad, today, no. Gremlins.
How could you not vote for Xavier since his basketball team advanced in March Madness by defeating the University of Texas.
From the west coast of Canada, salutations! On this first day of spring our weather is clear and sunny with the only snow being up in the mountains for our skiers. I am looking forward to heading along the Thompson River looking forward to asparagus.
Our family church a while ago was dedicated to St Stephen. I have very fond memories of the 'alka seltzer' mass on 26th December - later than usual to allow for a degree of fragility in the congregation after the Christmas day celebrations. We sang Good King Wenceslaus in parts, an unsuspecting deacon was asked well in advance to preach, the incense was plentiful, and we had a thoroughly lovely time. This may have influenced my vote more than a little, but I have so much admiration for Wenceslaus who navigated such challenging times with grace and generosity of spirit.
Thanks for a good hearted jab at Canadians and not a cruel and misinformed soliloquy. I lived a year in Boulder, so I expect that the March snowstorm will deliver lots of feet there. Having taught at Gonzaga University guess who I voted for. Enjoying the journey and learning lots. Many thanks for all the work and all the comments.
Hope my vote didn't register twice - while I was reading comments, I looked back to see the stats, and it said verification expired. So I checked that "I'm not a robot" box again and voted. So, SEC, if it looks like two votes came from my computer, that was not intentional, and please delete one for Wenceslaus.
Yes, I have been playing his tune on the keys since I was 6 years old, so he got my vote.
Since Xavier (Cincinnati) won their First Four over Texas last night, I had to vote for their namesake.
@ Elaine Chilcote
I do not think anyone here has been "blithe" in speaking about the misuse of religion to support colonial oppression. It is incontrovertible that religion has been misused to facilitate oppression. That is not the same thing as saying that all missionaries are "bad." Genuine mission work is a high calling, whether domestic or abroad. Thank you for your years of selfless service. One of the reasons why I remain a Christian is that Methodist missionaries came to my church to talk--to the children!--about their work. We sat on the floor in a small circle around them as they told us about their work in Africa. To admire and honor the work of dedicated missionaries, however, is not the same thing as to blindly acquiesce in the political and economic systems that strip peoples of their dignity and value (and resources) even as they make mission work necessary. We Christians have reason and analytical tools even as we have faith. (Insert something here about a three-legged stool . . . )