One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend. Proverbs 22:11
Who is Good King Wenceslas?
Tracy A. Burns reports: “The first Czech saint and the patron saint of the Czech state, Wenceslas (Václav in Czech) served as duke of Bohemia from 921 until his death in 935. Though he died young, this martyr’s accomplishments were many. He built numerous churches in Bohemia and was deeply respected as a pious, moral, educated and intelligent man who promoted the Christian faith and took care of the poor, the sick, the widowed and the orphaned by doing charitable deeds. He even founded the rotunda of Saint Vitus at Prague Castle.”
Elizabeth Davis adds that one 12th-century preacher said: “His deeds I think you know better than I could tell you; for, as is read in his Passion, no one doubts that, rising every night from his noble bed, with bare feet and only one chamberlain, he went around to God’s churches and gave alms generously to widows, orphans, those in prison and afflicted by every difficulty.”
We recognize this patron saint for the song “Good King Wenceslas” written by John Mason Neale in 1853. Be sure to read all the way through to the last stanza.
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even;
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight,
Gath’ring winter fuel.
‘Hither, page, and stand by me,
If thou know’st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?’
‘Sire, he lives a good league hence,
Underneath the mountain,
Right against the forest fence,
By Saint Agnes’ fountain.’
‘Bring me flesh and bring me wine,
Bring me pine logs hither,
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear them thither.’
Page and monarch forth they went,
Forth they went together,
Through the rude wind’s wild lament
And the bitter weather.
‘Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer.’
‘Mark my footsteps, good my page,
Tread thou in them boldly:
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.’
In his master’s steps he trod,
Where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.
Thanks for your prayers. I have safely arrived in Prague. I delayed the delivery of this post to confirm my safe arrival. And I wanted to visit Wenceslas Square to shoot this photo of his famous statue. I’d like to offer two comments about Wenceslas for your consideration.
Firstly, notice his reputation for nocturnal benevolence. That means this was likely a repeated pattern learned from his Grandmother. Wenceslas would go out 2×2 with a companion and serve “the poor, the sick, the widowed and the orphaned by doing charitable deeds.” Despite his short life, he aimed to serve others day and night.
It also inspires me that in a time of turmoil and crisis, he focused on building up churches. Do we, through our giving and sacrifice of time and resources, work to strengthen God’s work where He has placed us? That’s my inspiration today from the heart of Prague.
Pray for good meetings tomorrow with 4D Ministries. They approached us at GTP to partner on projects including translating GTP Diagnostic Tool and Templates into Czech to strengthen churches and ministries. We get to announce this new resource at the EGCC event here in Prague on 28-30 April 2022.
Click here to make a gift to GTP today to contribute to this effort for Eastern Europe. This is a critical time to help the churches and ministries in this region because of the flood of refuges from Ukraine. Thanks for your support, and in return (with Wenceslas), I pray you find rich blessing.