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02-03-2006, 12:33 PM
April 27
Saint Laurence NGUYỄN VĂN HƯỞNG
Priest
(1802-1856)
* Noble Love
“Trample on the cross! I will pity and reduce the sentence.”
Trampling on the cross! How could Fr. Laurence Hưởng trample on the cross? To Fr. Laurence Hưởng, trampling on the cross was something very terrifying; it means renouncing the most valuable faith of a Christian, rejecting even the meaning of his priesthood.
The mandarin of justice as well as soldiers did not understand the priest; Christians pitied and respected him, but not many persons really walked in his shoes. Ever since his early age, he had been put in the most unfortunate situation: orphaned of his parents. Toiled hard to eke out a living, the hard luck man always longed for the love of a father and the embrace of a mother, a thirst that no earthly love could satisfy. In the end, the orphan had found God who is the Father of endless love, and had offered his life and his priesthood for that highest Love.
How could he respond? Fr. Laurence Hưởng could simply answer: “His Honor, is it possible for children to step on their parents’ heads?”
Therefore, he had to pay a high price for being a priest, his life.
* Miserable Youth
Laurence Nguyễn Văn Hưởng was born in 1802 Tuỵ Hiền, Kẻ Sài, Trinh Tiết canton, Hà Nội. Growing in up in a poor family and orphaned at a young age, Laurence Hưởng had to watch buffaloes for a non-Christian uncle named Thang. Admiring his gentle manner, the uncle loved him like his own son. Even though the uncle’s affection was much treasured, but it could not erase the misfortune created by the absence of the great parental love, because only parental love is really immense as reflected in the Vietnamese’s maxim:
Father’s love is mountain high,
Mother’s love is like water flowing from its source.
Laurence Hưởng wanted to give his life to God in the search for a more complete love, so he went to Fr. Duyệt, pastor of Sơn Miêng parish, for assistance. After three years in the pastor’s care, he was sent to Vĩnh Trị seminary under the tutelage of the vicar of the west vicariate of Tonkin or the west vicariate of the North.
When King Minh Mạng ordered severe persecution of Christians, the Vĩnh Trị seminary had to be closed. Laurence Hưởng returned home and made a living preparing and selling medicial pills, which also provided opportunities to visit and help people. His uncle advised him to stay home and started a family; the uncle even promised to will his possessions to him. Another relative who was a canton chief also promised help. But Laurence Hưởng maintained his goal of religious life. Furious, the uncle drove him out of the house, so Laurence Hưởng went back to Vĩnh Trị seminary.
* All in God’s Name
At the end of his seminarian studies, he joined the rank of catechist and interned in Kim Sơn, then Bạch Bát parishes. For eight years, the catechist Laurence Hưởng always served with dedication lived austerely, simply, and charitably. Soon afterward, the bishop called him back for theology studies, then ordained him into the priesthood. Fr. Laurence Hưởng became a devoted priest; he worked as associate pastor at Giang Sơn for two years, then continued on to parishes Lạc Thổ, Yên Lộc, and Bạch Bát. No matter where he worked, he always served with dedication, teaching parishioners and often visiting the sick.
In 1855 he was arrested while on the road to visit a bed-ridden sick person. He was sitting on a boat when he saw servants of the deputy canton chief Tuỳ coming with canes and sticks, he told the boat captain to dock the boat and to leave to avoid capture while he gave himself up.
Fr. Laurence Hưởng did not consider his arrest a calamity but the will of God who wanted him to participate in the Passion of Christ, so he sent word asking old Fr. Chất and parishioners not to go looking for money to ransom his freedom.
After a three-day stay in Yên Mô district jail, he was taken to Ninh Bình. Finding the priest to be a true religious person, the governor promised: “If you trample on the cross, I let you presiding at Non Nước Temple.” The priest replied: “I don’t know anything about Buddha, how could I live in a temple?” The governor requested him to recite Catholic prayers, the priest said the 10 Commandments. The governor then questioned about the rumor: why do you Catholics pluck the eyes of the dead and not worship ancestors? Fr. Laurence Hưởng calmly explained to the governor: “Please do not believe in false rumors, we only anointed the sick. To our ancestors, we always pray though good deeds; the thing that we don’t do is offering food for knowing that our ancestors could not come back to eat anything.”
To parishioners who visited him, he consoled them: “You have to be happy for me because I am blessed with the suffering for the Lord Jesus.”
* Honest to the End
After many fruitless enticements, Ninh Bình mandarins petitioned the king to behead Fr. Laurence Hưởng. Because the mandarins, having accepted 10 piasters from Christians previously, tried to reduce the sentence, they advised the priest to admit to being only a lay Catholic, but Fr. Laurence Hưởng adamantly refused to conceal his priestly identity. He wrote to Bishop Retord Liêu: “Please do not scrounge up money to ransom my freedom, I am willing to sacrifice to give witness to the true religion of Jesus. Please pray for me to be strong till the end.”
Finally, the priest was satisfied. Previously he had decidedly refused the uncle’s suggestion, now he was happy to receive the death sentence. He joyfully awaited the sentence like waiting for the embrace of the God Father who was ready to welcome the beloved son with open arms. On the day of execution, Fr. Khoan visited him in jail, heard confession, and gave him communion. Fr. Laurence Hưởng happily went to the execution site lying on a hammock rented by parishioners. He was holding the book of Prayers of the Hour for the time...
As he head fell, Fr. Laurence Hưởng left the earthly life to be united with God in Heaven on 4/27/1856. Parishioners buried the remains of Christ’s witness in Vĩnh Trị.
Pope Pius X beatified Fr. Laurence Nguyễn Văn Hưởng on 5/2/1909.
Saint Laurence NGUYỄN VĂN HƯỞNG
Priest
(1802-1856)
* Noble Love
“Trample on the cross! I will pity and reduce the sentence.”
Trampling on the cross! How could Fr. Laurence Hưởng trample on the cross? To Fr. Laurence Hưởng, trampling on the cross was something very terrifying; it means renouncing the most valuable faith of a Christian, rejecting even the meaning of his priesthood.
The mandarin of justice as well as soldiers did not understand the priest; Christians pitied and respected him, but not many persons really walked in his shoes. Ever since his early age, he had been put in the most unfortunate situation: orphaned of his parents. Toiled hard to eke out a living, the hard luck man always longed for the love of a father and the embrace of a mother, a thirst that no earthly love could satisfy. In the end, the orphan had found God who is the Father of endless love, and had offered his life and his priesthood for that highest Love.
How could he respond? Fr. Laurence Hưởng could simply answer: “His Honor, is it possible for children to step on their parents’ heads?”
Therefore, he had to pay a high price for being a priest, his life.
* Miserable Youth
Laurence Nguyễn Văn Hưởng was born in 1802 Tuỵ Hiền, Kẻ Sài, Trinh Tiết canton, Hà Nội. Growing in up in a poor family and orphaned at a young age, Laurence Hưởng had to watch buffaloes for a non-Christian uncle named Thang. Admiring his gentle manner, the uncle loved him like his own son. Even though the uncle’s affection was much treasured, but it could not erase the misfortune created by the absence of the great parental love, because only parental love is really immense as reflected in the Vietnamese’s maxim:
Father’s love is mountain high,
Mother’s love is like water flowing from its source.
Laurence Hưởng wanted to give his life to God in the search for a more complete love, so he went to Fr. Duyệt, pastor of Sơn Miêng parish, for assistance. After three years in the pastor’s care, he was sent to Vĩnh Trị seminary under the tutelage of the vicar of the west vicariate of Tonkin or the west vicariate of the North.
When King Minh Mạng ordered severe persecution of Christians, the Vĩnh Trị seminary had to be closed. Laurence Hưởng returned home and made a living preparing and selling medicial pills, which also provided opportunities to visit and help people. His uncle advised him to stay home and started a family; the uncle even promised to will his possessions to him. Another relative who was a canton chief also promised help. But Laurence Hưởng maintained his goal of religious life. Furious, the uncle drove him out of the house, so Laurence Hưởng went back to Vĩnh Trị seminary.
* All in God’s Name
At the end of his seminarian studies, he joined the rank of catechist and interned in Kim Sơn, then Bạch Bát parishes. For eight years, the catechist Laurence Hưởng always served with dedication lived austerely, simply, and charitably. Soon afterward, the bishop called him back for theology studies, then ordained him into the priesthood. Fr. Laurence Hưởng became a devoted priest; he worked as associate pastor at Giang Sơn for two years, then continued on to parishes Lạc Thổ, Yên Lộc, and Bạch Bát. No matter where he worked, he always served with dedication, teaching parishioners and often visiting the sick.
In 1855 he was arrested while on the road to visit a bed-ridden sick person. He was sitting on a boat when he saw servants of the deputy canton chief Tuỳ coming with canes and sticks, he told the boat captain to dock the boat and to leave to avoid capture while he gave himself up.
Fr. Laurence Hưởng did not consider his arrest a calamity but the will of God who wanted him to participate in the Passion of Christ, so he sent word asking old Fr. Chất and parishioners not to go looking for money to ransom his freedom.
After a three-day stay in Yên Mô district jail, he was taken to Ninh Bình. Finding the priest to be a true religious person, the governor promised: “If you trample on the cross, I let you presiding at Non Nước Temple.” The priest replied: “I don’t know anything about Buddha, how could I live in a temple?” The governor requested him to recite Catholic prayers, the priest said the 10 Commandments. The governor then questioned about the rumor: why do you Catholics pluck the eyes of the dead and not worship ancestors? Fr. Laurence Hưởng calmly explained to the governor: “Please do not believe in false rumors, we only anointed the sick. To our ancestors, we always pray though good deeds; the thing that we don’t do is offering food for knowing that our ancestors could not come back to eat anything.”
To parishioners who visited him, he consoled them: “You have to be happy for me because I am blessed with the suffering for the Lord Jesus.”
* Honest to the End
After many fruitless enticements, Ninh Bình mandarins petitioned the king to behead Fr. Laurence Hưởng. Because the mandarins, having accepted 10 piasters from Christians previously, tried to reduce the sentence, they advised the priest to admit to being only a lay Catholic, but Fr. Laurence Hưởng adamantly refused to conceal his priestly identity. He wrote to Bishop Retord Liêu: “Please do not scrounge up money to ransom my freedom, I am willing to sacrifice to give witness to the true religion of Jesus. Please pray for me to be strong till the end.”
Finally, the priest was satisfied. Previously he had decidedly refused the uncle’s suggestion, now he was happy to receive the death sentence. He joyfully awaited the sentence like waiting for the embrace of the God Father who was ready to welcome the beloved son with open arms. On the day of execution, Fr. Khoan visited him in jail, heard confession, and gave him communion. Fr. Laurence Hưởng happily went to the execution site lying on a hammock rented by parishioners. He was holding the book of Prayers of the Hour for the time...
As he head fell, Fr. Laurence Hưởng left the earthly life to be united with God in Heaven on 4/27/1856. Parishioners buried the remains of Christ’s witness in Vĩnh Trị.
Pope Pius X beatified Fr. Laurence Nguyễn Văn Hưởng on 5/2/1909.