The "Wednesday With The Saints: Revisited" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an online newsletter sent to parishioners of St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  One of my favorite entries is called "Wednesday with the Saints."  Small stories told each week about a saint, be they well-known or never heard of before, which highlights the life, and at times the death, of a particular saint that may be related to a specific church season.  The latest edition of "Wednesday with the Saints" gives thanks for lay catechists and martyrs Agnes Tsao You Sing, Agatha Lin Zhao and Lucy Yi Zhenmei.  These three were martyred in China in the mid-nineteenth century for refusing to renounce the christian faith.  The three women were raised within Chinese Christian families and saw no conflict between their identity as Christians and their identity as Chinese women.  Others thought differently!  The following are my brief synopsis of each woman.

The death of Agnes Tsao Kou Ying

Agnes Tsao Kou Ying:  She was born in the small village of Wujiazhai in Guizhou Province in 1821. She was orphaned at a young age and had to work to support herself.  She married at 18, but her in-laws treated her poorly due to her Christian faith.  Her husband died after two years of marriage and she took shelter with an elderly Christian widow who taught her more about Christianity.  In 1852 missionary priest Fr. Auguste Chapdelaine heard of her education in the scriptures and Christian doctrine and invited her to accompany him to the province of Guangxi to catechize women and children.  Within four years they were arrested and tortured to death.  Agnes died a martyr on January 22nd, 1856.

Agatha Lin Zhao:  She was born in 1817 and was the only cild of Christian parents.  Her parents arranged a marriage for her, but at the age of 18 she asked to be released from the betrothal so she could dedicate herself to work in the church as a single laywoman.  Her parent's family line would be broken due to this request, but they agreed to her wish.  She earned a university degree and then returned to her home to run a school for girls.  In 1857 she was arrested for teaching her Christian beliefs, but claimed she had been preparing the girls to be good wives.  When she refused to renounce her Christian faith, she was executed on January 28th, 1858.

Lucy Yi Zhenmei:  She was born to a Catholic family in Suchuan, China on December 9, 1815.  Keenly interested in theological and historical studies, she began university studies, but her health and family circumstances did't permit her to continue.  When her father died she lived at home with her mother and brother and worked to support her family.  She also assisted in the parish by teaching at the local school and by catechizing women and children.  She did all this for free, feeling the need to give something back to her church.  In 1862 she accompanied Father Wen Nair to open a new Christian mission, but this was poorly welcomed by the local authorities.  Father Wen Nair and Lucy, along with three others, were arrested and sentenced to death without a formal trial.  Lucy was executed by beheading on February 19, 1862.  

Horrible deaths of all three just because they were Christians. And, after reading, do you believe this could still happen today?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.