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Lorenzo Ruiz: "Had I a Thousand Lives"

Updated: Oct 12

homily of Fr. Jason Laguerta

on the Feast of St Lorenzo Ruiz and his companion martyrs

photo from a stained-glass window in Cubao Cathedral


Today is the memorial of St Lorenzo Ruiz and his companion martyrs. Lorenzo Ruiz, being the first Filipino saint, so the whole Philippines should be celebrating.

Ruiz on a stained-glass window in Cubao Cathedral

In the gospel of St Luke, chapter 9, Jesus gave His second prediction of His passion to His disciples, warning them to pay attention to what He is to tell them: "The Son of Man will be handed over to men", which means Jesus was aware of what will happen to Him in Jerusalem and as it appears, the disciples were not ready for this; even Peter, himself, refused to believe, which caused Jesus to also rebuke him.


In a way, Jesus was telling His disciples and asking all of us today, too: why are you afraid of your cross and passion? Perhaps, there was also some fear in the heart of Jesus, but He had to continue, as He was committed to His mission of going to Jerusalem. On the other hand, our patron saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz, had no idea at all what he was getting into, unlike Jesus, who knew that He had a mission (His passion) in Jerusalem, as He predicted to His disciples for at least three times.


San Lorenzo Ruiz was born on November 28, 1594 and he could have been 430 years old this year. He was married to Rosario and they had three kids (2 boys and a girl). He was executed on September 29, 1637 in Nagasaki during the Tokugawa Shogunate when Christianity was forbidden in the whole of Japan and he was sentenced to die through 'tsurushi' (death by hanging). His feast was transferred to the 28th, as the 29th is the feast of the Archangels.


His interesting story started when he was an altar boy in Binondo, Manila, where he was also a catechist and a 'scribano', who is like a Parish secretary because of his skillful handwriting (a 'scribano' is someone, who writes in the books of the Church). In 1636, he was falsely accused of murdering a Spaniard and because he was afraid of his life, he asked the Dominican fathers, who trained him, to bring him with them in their mission. But as Lorenzo avoided being punished in Manila, he did not quite think that a more severe punishment awaited him in Japan.


Together with the Dominican fathers, they went to Japan, but as the Japanese were, somehow, very suspicious of missionaries coming in. (Pedro Bautista and Pauk Miki and companion martyrs had been executed before Lorenzo and the missionaries came.) They were arrested and sent to Nishizaka Hill, where they were sentenced to death by 'tsurushi'. Tsurushi is a form of torture where the victim will be hung upside-down over a pit, full of excrements. The victim's forehead will also be pierced so that the blood can freely come out and not make the head explode. One hand will be bound while the other is left free so that he may signal his desire to surrender at any time, but even if San Lorenzo's one hand was free, he never even motioned that he was giving up. In fact, his final words were: "I am a Catholic and wholeheartedly do I accept death for God; had I a thousand lives, all these to Him shall I offer."


Maybe we are not called to be martyred the same way San Lorenzo Ruiz and his companions were martyred, but today in our families, we may also experience the same martyrdom. We hear many stories of OFWs, who cannot come home to their families. If we go back to San Lorenzo's story, he loved his family so much and he had the freedom to choose to renounce his faith, so he can freely choose the easy way, but he chose death instead. The same situation goes with many of our OFWs where they could choose the easier way, but they rather choose sacrifice.


Lorenzo Ruiz is a good model for all fathers or mothers, who love their family and their children, but they have to make the necessary sacrifice, which is undeniably part of life. And if you embrace these sacrifices with firmness and full of faith, you may lose your life, yes, but you will win the real battle, the battle of salvation.


So, let San Lorenzo Ruiz be our model in terms of fidelity and commitment to our faith; to follow, not the easy path, but to follow the Lord in spite of the many trials and hardships that go along with this following of Christ. Maybe Lorenzo was separated from his family, but he also found his real family among the martyrs of the Church.


Today, we ask for San Lorenzo's intercession to help us be strong amidst family trials, to inspire us to love God, above all, even when it is difficult, that even if we are far from our loved ones, we will be strong because we sacrifice and offer ourselves for love, and that we can embrace suffering so that we can give hope and light to our loved ones. We pray for courage to face all martyrdom and we pray that like San Lorenzo, we may remain faithful to the Lord.

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