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25-09-2006, 06:51 AM
November 20
Saint Francis NGUYỄN CẦN
Catechist
(1803-1837)
* A Loyal Servant Does Not Have Two Masters.
“A loyal servant does not have two masters,” Saint Francis Nguyễn Cần’s last words, summarized his life very well. The loyal servant was always faithful to God, served his fellow man, lived true to his ideals, and remained faithful to the messages of the Gơod News; he also bravely overcame all trials worthy to receive the blessing: “Come, share your master's joy.” (Matthew 25: 21)
* My Mind Was Made Up...
Francis Nguyễn Cần was also known as Nguyễn Tiến, or Tiên Truật, was born in 1803 in Sơn Miêng village, huyện Phú Xuyên district, Thường Tín prefeccture in Hà Đông province. At a young age, Cần had wished to offered his life to God; but unwilling to let the son that she loved so much out of her reach, his mother refused. He had to tell his mother: “If you do not allow me to stay with our own pastor, then I will go away to live with another pastor.” As a result, his mother relented to let him live with Fr. Nghi, pastor of Sơn Miêng parish.
Due to his virtuous conduct and diligence, he was accepted into the seminary where he was trained to be a catechist. He was then sent to assist Bishop Havard Du, then Fr. Retord Liêu (who became bishop in 1838). Fr. Liêu had this observation on catechist Cần: “He helped me learn Vietnamese, shared all dangers and scarcities with me. He is very dedicated in his ministry.”
On 4/19/1836 Fr. Liêu sent him out to invite Fr. Tuấn to come to Kẻ Chuồng parish to conduct a retreat before Easter. When he arrived at Kẻ Vạc parish, where Fr. Tuấn lived, he was arrested. Soldiers planted a religious icon in his bag to be used as evidence. He was brought to Thanh Oai district and put in jail.
In front of the court, the judge told him not believe the priests and urged him to trample on the cross in exchange for the pardon so he could return home to take care of his old mother. The catechist answered: “Your Honor, I have never seen any dishonest priest. And I do not worry about my mother for I have been away from home for so long that I have not done anything for her.” Then the judge used unpleasant words to criticize Catholicism; the catechist calmly defended the Church and went on to talk about the 10 commandments and the 6 rules of the Church, he ended with a spontaneous and touching prayer. All those present were impressed. The judge concluded the trial and ordered the catechist back to jail. He then commented to the people around him: “What he said made sense. The commandments and his prayers contained many good messages which were probably more comprehensible than the king’s ban of ten rules.”
* A Determined Heart.
Meanwhile at rectory Fr. Liêu felt very bad. He tried all he could to save catechist Cần’s life. He gave money to a parishioner who would accompany the catechist’s mother to the district government to buy his freedom. At first, the official demanded 300 piasters, then 500 piasters, and finally 600 piasters, exceeding the amount that they could afford. Catechist Cần consoled his mother: “Mother, don’t worry about me, I have wished to be a martyr for a long time. What you should do is praying for me.”
Many people felt sorry for catechist Cần. The authorities advised him to trample on the cross, but he resolutely refused. Soldiers picked him up and placed him on Christ’s icon, he held his legs and cried: “I will not step on Christ’s icon.” A number of people who had abandoned Christianity previously said: “God will forgive all sins. Even Peter rejected Jesus three times and he still became the leader of the Church.” Another lied to him: “Fr. Liêu gave words urging you to walk over the cross, and worry about it later.” They even threatened him: “If you do not listen, the authorities will make the whole village suffer.” However, no one can shake the will of steel of the witness of Christ. He confirmed:
“Even if angels come to tell me to abandon my faith, I still would not obey. As much as I respect Fr. Liêu, I cannot listen to such a wrong suggestion. Furthermore, I am certain that he did not order me to do that. As for others, I really love them, but I cannot offend God because of them.”
Many non-believers talked among themselves: “If our religion is persecuted, we would have walked over the cross a hundred times. We would not fear the paper icon.” Unable to change the mind of Christ’s loyal servant, the authorities ordered catechist Cần escorted to Hà Nội. Eight months of jail in Thanh Oai and ten months of jail in Hà Nội were the months of being tortured: his neck in cangue, his arms in chain, and legs in shackles... the jail cell was smelly because inmates excreted in their primitive cells while, physically, inmates were abused daily to extract money. In a letter to Fr. Liêu, the catechist Cần wrote:
“I was tortured three times, I received 60 canes the first two times and 50 canes the third time. The jail is cramped and smelly with more than a dozen of foul-mouthed thieves who are drunk during the day and loud during the night interfering with my prayers.”
Saint Francis NGUYỄN CẦN
Catechist
(1803-1837)
* A Loyal Servant Does Not Have Two Masters.
“A loyal servant does not have two masters,” Saint Francis Nguyễn Cần’s last words, summarized his life very well. The loyal servant was always faithful to God, served his fellow man, lived true to his ideals, and remained faithful to the messages of the Gơod News; he also bravely overcame all trials worthy to receive the blessing: “Come, share your master's joy.” (Matthew 25: 21)
* My Mind Was Made Up...
Francis Nguyễn Cần was also known as Nguyễn Tiến, or Tiên Truật, was born in 1803 in Sơn Miêng village, huyện Phú Xuyên district, Thường Tín prefeccture in Hà Đông province. At a young age, Cần had wished to offered his life to God; but unwilling to let the son that she loved so much out of her reach, his mother refused. He had to tell his mother: “If you do not allow me to stay with our own pastor, then I will go away to live with another pastor.” As a result, his mother relented to let him live with Fr. Nghi, pastor of Sơn Miêng parish.
Due to his virtuous conduct and diligence, he was accepted into the seminary where he was trained to be a catechist. He was then sent to assist Bishop Havard Du, then Fr. Retord Liêu (who became bishop in 1838). Fr. Liêu had this observation on catechist Cần: “He helped me learn Vietnamese, shared all dangers and scarcities with me. He is very dedicated in his ministry.”
On 4/19/1836 Fr. Liêu sent him out to invite Fr. Tuấn to come to Kẻ Chuồng parish to conduct a retreat before Easter. When he arrived at Kẻ Vạc parish, where Fr. Tuấn lived, he was arrested. Soldiers planted a religious icon in his bag to be used as evidence. He was brought to Thanh Oai district and put in jail.
In front of the court, the judge told him not believe the priests and urged him to trample on the cross in exchange for the pardon so he could return home to take care of his old mother. The catechist answered: “Your Honor, I have never seen any dishonest priest. And I do not worry about my mother for I have been away from home for so long that I have not done anything for her.” Then the judge used unpleasant words to criticize Catholicism; the catechist calmly defended the Church and went on to talk about the 10 commandments and the 6 rules of the Church, he ended with a spontaneous and touching prayer. All those present were impressed. The judge concluded the trial and ordered the catechist back to jail. He then commented to the people around him: “What he said made sense. The commandments and his prayers contained many good messages which were probably more comprehensible than the king’s ban of ten rules.”
* A Determined Heart.
Meanwhile at rectory Fr. Liêu felt very bad. He tried all he could to save catechist Cần’s life. He gave money to a parishioner who would accompany the catechist’s mother to the district government to buy his freedom. At first, the official demanded 300 piasters, then 500 piasters, and finally 600 piasters, exceeding the amount that they could afford. Catechist Cần consoled his mother: “Mother, don’t worry about me, I have wished to be a martyr for a long time. What you should do is praying for me.”
Many people felt sorry for catechist Cần. The authorities advised him to trample on the cross, but he resolutely refused. Soldiers picked him up and placed him on Christ’s icon, he held his legs and cried: “I will not step on Christ’s icon.” A number of people who had abandoned Christianity previously said: “God will forgive all sins. Even Peter rejected Jesus three times and he still became the leader of the Church.” Another lied to him: “Fr. Liêu gave words urging you to walk over the cross, and worry about it later.” They even threatened him: “If you do not listen, the authorities will make the whole village suffer.” However, no one can shake the will of steel of the witness of Christ. He confirmed:
“Even if angels come to tell me to abandon my faith, I still would not obey. As much as I respect Fr. Liêu, I cannot listen to such a wrong suggestion. Furthermore, I am certain that he did not order me to do that. As for others, I really love them, but I cannot offend God because of them.”
Many non-believers talked among themselves: “If our religion is persecuted, we would have walked over the cross a hundred times. We would not fear the paper icon.” Unable to change the mind of Christ’s loyal servant, the authorities ordered catechist Cần escorted to Hà Nội. Eight months of jail in Thanh Oai and ten months of jail in Hà Nội were the months of being tortured: his neck in cangue, his arms in chain, and legs in shackles... the jail cell was smelly because inmates excreted in their primitive cells while, physically, inmates were abused daily to extract money. In a letter to Fr. Liêu, the catechist Cần wrote:
“I was tortured three times, I received 60 canes the first two times and 50 canes the third time. The jail is cramped and smelly with more than a dozen of foul-mouthed thieves who are drunk during the day and loud during the night interfering with my prayers.”