Saints celebrated on the 14th of May
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.
BL. CHARLES CHONG CHEOL-SANG, MARTYR
[Blessed Charles Chong Cheol-sang, Layman and Martyr.] Bl. Charles was born in Majae, near Gwangju, in the district of Gyeonggi (now Neungnae-ri, Joan-myeon, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do), in South Korea, to an academic family converted to Catholicism. He learned the catechism from his father, Augustine Jeong Yak-jong.
Although the other family members were against his denial of the religion of his ancestors, Charles continued to love the Lord with all his heart, his soul, his mind, and with all his strength.
FATHER ZHOU'S ARRIVAL
At the end of 1794 the first missionary priest arrived, the Chinese Father Giacomo Zhou Wen-mo. Charles often went to Seoul with his father, to receive the Sacraments from him.
Charles later married the daughter of a good Catholic, Francis Xavier Hong Gyo-man, and was often visited by Father Zhou at his home in Bunwon, near Yanggeun (now Bunweon-ri, Namjong-myeon, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do).
EVEN WHEN THREATENED, CHARLES DID NOT REVEAL FATHER ZHOU'S WHEREABOUTS
When he was twenty years old, in 1801, the Shinyu persecution broke out. Augustine Jeong and his brothers were arrested: Charles followed them to supply them with food and clothing, staying near the prison where they were. The jailers noticed this and tried to persuade him to reveal Father Zhou's hiding place, but Charles refused to give this information to them.
HIS FATHER WAS MARTYRED
On April 8 Augustine suffered martyrdom by beheading and his family had all their possessions seized by the secular rulers. That same day, Charles was arrested and was interrogated at length at the Ministry of Justice. The officials of the Ministry, once they understood that Charles would not change his mind and therefore was not likely to divulge any information about Father Zhou's hiding place, ordered him to be put in prison: he remained there for over a month.
HIS DEATH SENTENCE
He got to leave prison only to be executed along with Peter Choe Pil-je and Lucia Yun Un-hye, on May 14, 1801 (April 2 in the lunar calendar).
His death sentence read: “You were so imbued with the Catholic religion that you did not participate in ancestral family rites. You did not tell the hiding place of your evil master (Father Zhou) to protect him, even if you were punished […]. You provided shelter for Zhou Wen-mo and attended gatherings with evil people. You behaved like a dog and a pig and corrupted human morals. Therefore you deserve death a thousand times."
THE 103 CANONISED MARTYRS
[During the 19th century, between 8.000 and 10.000 Christians were martyred for their Catholic faith. 103 of the martyrs were canonised in May 1984, including the first Korean priest, Andrew Kim Taegon, who was executed by the sword in 1846. Their feast day is September 20.]
THE 124 BEATIFIED MARTYRS
Charles Jeong Cheol-sang is included in a second group of 124 martyrs headed by Paul Yun Ji-chung (which also includes his companions, his father Augustine Jeong Yak-jong and the missionary Father Giacomo Zhou Wen-mo).
[This group of Catholics martyred on May 14, 1801 together with Charles Jeong Cheol-sang in Seoul, Korea included: Candida Jeong Bok-hye, Lucia Yun Un-hye, Peter Choe Pil-je, and Thaddeus Jeong In-hyeok.]
As part of the group of 124 martyrs, Charles was beatified by Pope Francis on August 16, 2014, during the Supreme Pontiff's apostolic journey to South Korea.
(Information from
http://santiebeati.it/dettaglio/96721)
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