Saint of the Day: St. Tôma Khuông

Priest and Martyr (1789-1860)

His life

+ Tôma was born in Nam Hòa, Vietnam, to a noble family. At the time, his region was known as the Apostolic Vicariate of Central Tonkin.

+ Following his ordination, he became a Dominican tertiary and was a member of the Dominican Fraternity of Priests. 

+ He was arrested and imprisoned several times during the periodic persecutions that claimed the lives of so many Vietnamese Christians and European missionaries. 

+ Arrested on final time on December 29, 1859, he was ordered to stomp on a cross to show that he had renounced the Christian Faith. When he refused, his captors beheaded him as he knelt before the cross. 

+ Saint Tôma Khuông was canonized in with other Vietnamese martyrs in 1984. They are honored in a common celebration on November 24. 

For reflection 

“Wisdom preserved him from foes, / and secured him against ambush, / 

And she gave him the prize for his stern struggle / that he might know that devotion to God is mightier than all else.”—Wisdom 10:12

Prayer

Almighty and merciful God, who brought your Martyr blessed Tôma to overcome the torments of his passion, grant that we, who celebrate the day of his triumph, may remain invincible under your protection against the snares of the enemy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs—For One Martyr)
Saint profiles prepared by Father Silas Henderson, S.D.S.