[Rank]
S. Wenceslai Ducis and Martyris;;Semiduplex;;2;;vide C2

[Rule]
vide C2;
9 lectiones

[Oratio]
O God, Who didst make thy blessed servant Wenceslaus to pass by the palm of martyrdom from dominion on earth to glory in heaven, keep us, at his prayers, from all hurt here, and grant unto us the joy of fellowship with him hereafter.
$Per Dominum

[Lectio4]
Wenceslaus, Duke of Bohemia, was the son of a Christian father, Duke Wratislaus I., and an heathen mother named Drahomira. He had for his grandmother a most holy woman, named Ludmilla, who trained him up in godliness. He was a man eminent in all graces, and one who carefully held his virginity unsullied throughout the whole course of his life. His mother seized the supreme power by the foul murder of Ludmilla, and lived foully with her younger son Boleslaus, and the nobles roused thereby to indignation, and wearied with her tyranny and wicked government, cast off the yoke of both of them, and hailed Wenceslaus in the city of Prague as their King.

[Lectio5]
He ruled his kingdom by his virtues rather than by force. To the orphaned, the widowed, and the destitute he was very charitable, so that some whiles in the winter he carried firewood to the needy on his own shoulders. He helped oftentimes to bury the poor, he set captives free, and went many times to the prisons at the dead of night to comfort with money and advice them that were detained therein. To a Prince of so tender an heart it was a great grief to be behoven to condemn any to death, however guilty. For Priests he had a most earnest respect, and with his own hands sowed the corn and pressed the grapes for the bread and wine which they were to use for the Sacrifice. He would walk round the Church by night with bare feet upon the snow and ice, leaving behind him bloody footprints that warmed the ground.

[Lectio6]
As his Body-guard he had angels. For when Radislaus, Prince of Gurinna, invaded Bohemia, and Wenceslaus, to save the effusion of his people's blood, went out to meet him in single combat, (two) angels were seen serving him with arms, and heard to say to the adversary Strike not. Therefore, his enemy was stricken with terror, fell down in reverence before him, and begged his forgiveness. When he went to Germany, the Emperor saw two angels carrying a golden Cross before him as he drew nigh him, and arose from his throne, embraced him in his arms, created him a King, and gifted him with the arm of the holy (Martyr) Vitus. Nevertheless, his godless brother, at the exhortation of their mother, bade him to a feast, (given on account of the birth of his son,) and when Wenceslaus, with a foreboding of the death prepared for him, went afterwards into the Church, and was praying there, (Boleslaus followed him thither,) together with some accomplices of his crime, and (when they had wounded him,) despatched him (with his own hand, running him through the body with a lance. He suffered a little after midnight, upon the 28th day of September, in the year of our Lord 938.) The stains of his blood may still be seen upon the walls. By the judgment of God, his unnatural mother was swallowed up by the earth, and his murderers, in diverse ways, perished miserably.

[Lectio94]
Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia, was the son of Wratislas, who was a Christian, and Drahomira, a pagan, and was brought up in a devout way by his grandmother, Ludmilla, a most holy woman. He was famed for all kinds of virtue and took great care to keep his virginity intact throughout his life. The brutal murder of his grandmother, Ludmilla, left his mother secure in the administration of the kingdom. The irreligious life of Drahomira and her younger son, Boleslas, aroused the indignation of the nobles. Weary of this godless rule, they threw off the yoke of Drahomira and Boleslas and hailed Wenceslas as ruler in the city of Prague. He ruled the kingdom more by love than by power, and was careful and constant in relieving the needy and the afflicted. He honoured Priests with the highest veneration, and with his own hands sowed the wheat and pressed the wine to be used for the Sacrifice of the Mass. When he had been decorated by the Emperor with royal insígnia, his wicked brother, at the instigation of his mother, killed him while he was praying in a church. His blood may still be seen sprinkled upon the walls.
&teDeum

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
!Matt 10:34-42
At that time: Jesus said unto his disciples: Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. And so on, and that which followeth.
_
A Homily by St. Hilary the Bishop
!Comment. in Matth., can. 10
What meaneth such division in the earth, by reason of the Lord's coming? Amongst the foremost commandments of the Law we have received this: Honour thy father and thy mother. And the Lord himself said: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. What meaneth this sword sent upon the earth? Why is father set at variance against son, and daughter against mother, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law? Why shall a man's foes be they of his own household? From all this it might seem that open sanction is given to the neglect of natural duties―hatred everywhere, warfare everywhere, the sword of the Lord furiously raging between father and son, mother and daughter.

[Responsory7]
R. The Lord set a crown of gold upon his head, 
* Wherein was engraved Holiness, an ornament of honour, a costly work, goodly and beautiful.
V. For thou hast prevented him with the blessings of goodness, and hast set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
R. Wherein was engraved Holiness, an ornament of honour, a costly work, goodly and beautiful.

[Lectio8]
The sharpest weapon of all weapons is the sword, whereby is enforced the law of might, the severity of judgment, the punishment of sinners. Furthermore, the word Sword is in common use amongst the Prophets as a figure of the preaching of the new Gospel. Ye are to understand, then, that the word of God is often called a sword; and that this sword is sent upon the earth when the preaching of God's word entereth into the hearts of men. For then at once cometh grave dissénsion in the new man's old home, and thus a man's foes are they of his own household. For he is set at variance against them by the word of God, whereby he joyously abideth in newness of spirit both within and without, that is, in soul and body.

[Responsory8]
R. This is indeed a Martyr who for the Name of Christ poured forth his life-blood;
* Who feared not the judgment of the world, nor clung to any earthly honours; but set his heart on a heavenly reward.
V. The Lord guided the righteous in right paths, and shewed him the kingdom of God.
R. Who feared not the judgment of the world, nor clung to any earthly honours; but set his heart on a heavenly reward.
&Gloria
R. Who feared not the judgment of the world, nor clung to any earthly honours; but set his heart on a heavenly reward.

[Lectio9]
The Lord continueth in the same strain of exhortation and discernment. For after bidding us leave whatever we hold dearest in the world, he addeth: He that taketh not up his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. And hence he is unworthy of Christ who taketh not up his cross, because thereon we suffer, and so thereon we die with the Lord; yea, thereby are we buried with him, and do rise again with him; thereby we follow the Lord to victory, in newness of spirit and in the mystery of faith.
&teDeum