ST JOSE LUIS SANCHEZ DEL RIO, MARTYR - 10 FEBRUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY

 Saints celebrated on the 10th of February

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST JOSE LUIS SANCHEZ DEL RIO, MARTYR

➡️ The Martyrs of the Mexican Revolution

Saint Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio (March 28, 1913 - February 10, 1928) was a Mexican Cristero who was put to death by government officials because he refused to renounce his Catholic faith. 

He was born on March 28, 1913, in Sahuayo, Michoacan. He attended school first in his hometown, then in Guadalajara in Jalisco.

HE WANTED TO GIVE HIS LIFE FOR JESUS CHRIST

When the Cristero War broke out in 1926, his brothers joined the rebel forces, but his mother would not allow him to take part. The rebel general, Prudencio Mendoza, also refused his enlistment. The boy insisted that he wanted the chance to give his life for Jesus Christ and so come to Heaven easily. The general finally relented and allowed José to become the flagbearer of the troop. The Cristeros nicknamed him Tarcisius, after the early Christian saint who was martyred for protecting the Eucharist from desecration.

During heavy fighting on January 25, 1928, Mendoza's horse was killed, and José gave his horse to the general so that the fight could go on. The government troops captured the boy and imprisoned him in the sacristy of the local church.

HE WAS TOLD TO RENOUNCE JESUS CHRIST

Jose's killing was witnessed by two childhood friends. Jose was captured by government forces, who ordered him to renounce his faith in Christ, under threat of death. He refused to accept apostasy.

HE PRAYED THE ROSARY DAILY

To break his resolve, he was made to watch the hanging of another Cristero that they had in custody, but instead Jose encouraged the man, saying that they would soon meet again in Heaven after death. In prison, Jose prayed the rosary daily and wrote an emotional letter to his mother, saying that he was ready to fulfill the will of God to whom he dedicated himself. His father attempted to raise a ransom to save him, but was not able to appease the government in time to do so, thus failing to secure the release of his son.

TORTURE

Others recalled the gruesome events that led up to him being martyred. "Consequently they cut the bottom of his feet and obliged him to walk around the town toward the cemetery. They also at times cut him with a machete until he was bleeding from several wounds. He cried and moaned with pain, but he did not give in. 

VIVA CRISTO REY!

At times they stopped him and said, "If you shout, 'Death to Christ the King' we will spare your life". Jose would only shout, "I will never give in. Viva Cristo Rey!" On February 10, 1928, he was put to death by government officials. 

(Information from Wikipedia -

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_S%C3%A1nchez_del_R%C3%ADo)