By Sarah Levesque (Rated G)
“Good King Wenceslaus” is largely remembered today in the old Christmas carol that actually takes place on the second day of Christmas – December 26th, St. Stephen’s Day. In the song, Wenceslaus is revered as kind, gracious, courageous, and persevering. The real Wenceslaus, a prince of Bohemia, was born around the year 903AD to Duke Wratislaw (son of the devout Princess Ludmilla) and his wife Dragomir. After the death of her Christian husband, Dragomir opposed Christianity during her time as regent, but, once grown, Wenceslaus took power when urged and returned the duchy to its Christian faith. He is known for submitting to the rule of Germany, and bringing in German priests who celebrated the Latin rite of the Mass rather than the Slavic rite, as well as for his virtues. Wenceslaus was murdered on the way to Mass by his younger brother Boleslaw on September 28, 935, for both religious and political reasons. He has been revered as the patron saint of Bohemia and Czechoslovakia, and is still revered as the patron of the Czech Republic.
May we, like Wenceslaus, be fuelled with God’s love and strive to grow in virtue until we, too, can follow God’s will fearlessly and unswervingly.
Sources:
newadvent.org/cathen/15587b.htm
britannica.com/biography/Wenceslas-I-prince-of-Bohemia
LogoSophia Magazine 
Amen. Thank you!
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