Lorenzo Ruiz was born in Manila around 1600 to a Chinese father and Filipino mother. Serving as an altar boy under Dominican friars he also learned Spanish, and he was so trustworthy he worked as a clerk and the unofficial translator and messenger for the Dominicans. Lorenzo got married and had three children, then at 36 his world turned upside down. Falsely accused of the murder of a Spaniard and fearing a show trial, he sought asylum on a ship with Dominican missionaries. A storm blew the ship into an area hostile to Christians, and Lorenzo and the others were arrested and sent to a prison in Nagasaki. Before he won the crown of martyrdom he was brutally tortured for a year in an attempt to get him to deny his faith.
CHALLENGE
During his torture St. Lorenzo Ruiz came to the brink of apostasy, but his faith was renewed by prayer, especially the Rosary, and he encouraged the other prisoners. In the darkest times we can be pushed to the brink of abandoning the faith, but if we stay close to Mary she will always guide us to the light. Today, practice saying the Rosary using only your fingers so Our Lady will always be close at hand.
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