Saints celebrated on the 9th of July
SAINT AUGUSTINE ZHAO RONG, PRIEST AND MARTYR
In 1785, the missionary of China (Saint) Gabriel Taurin Dufresse was arrested by pagan officials. His transfer to Peking (Beijing) with other captured missionaries was assigned to a squad of soldiers, one of whom was a young man named Zhao.
HE ENROLLED AS A CATECHUMEN
Moved by the missionaries’ patience and humble acceptance of God’s will, Zhao felt a deep compassion for them. Soon afterward, he enrolled as a catechumen and received baptism, taking the name Augustine. He subsequently entered the priesthood.
FATHER AUGUSTINE TRAVELLED FROM ONE VILLAGE TO ANOTHER
Father Augustine travelled from one village to another, preaching about the ten commandments, the seven deadly sins, the sacraments, and the Passion of Christ. He concluded by hearing confessions and baptising converts.
Late in 1814, sensing that he would soon face martyrdom, Father Augustine told a fellow priest, “Pray much for me and ask of God the grace that I may be able to suffer courageously for the honour of His Holy Name.”
"YES, I AM A CHRISTIAN PRIEST"
In January of 1815, a pagan military officer spotted Father Augustine on a road and asked him, “Are you a Christian?” He replied, “Yes, I am a Christian priest.” He was arrested, suffered torture, and on March 21, 1815, died in prison.
PRAYER TO ST AUGUSTINE ZHAO RONG AND COMPANIONS
O righteous band of martyrs united by faith in Christ and His Church in a nation of religious oppression: children and grandparents, workers and teachers, lay and ordained, native and foreign-born, all as one as you gave your lives, led by your convictions.
Pray the Word of the Lord comes to a land so cold to conversion, to the love and worship of Jesus, all men’s Saviour. Pray the Holy Spirit fall like purging and redeeming fire upon every soul in the country where you so honourably died; pray His power spreads and bring renewal upon the face of all the earth. Amen.
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