Feast of St. Wenceslaus

Today was a very special day for the Children of Mary* and those who join them for Rosary Around the Lake.

Our Rosary Around the Lake patron has long been St. Wenceslaus. For, as we all know:
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, tho' the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gath'ring winter fuel.

The saintly king asked his young page to help him bring food to the poor man. They set out trudging through the think snow. As it the kept walking the page said:
"Sire, the night is darker now, and the wind blow stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how; I can go no longer."
The saint replied:
"Mark my footsteps, my good page. Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage freeze thy blood less coldly."

And so:
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.

While school is not in session on the feast of St. Stephen, the cold snowy winter months are perfectly described by that carol. Thus we pray to St. Wenceslaus at the end of every Rosary, that he may continue to warm our steps as we continue to pray for those in need.

Today marked his feast, and one of the few times his feast falls on a Sunday.

Tonight we were happily surprised by a large turn-out, around 25 people, including many new freshman who did not know about our special patron.


To help celebrate the special day, the Children of Mary also revived their old tradition of socializing in LaFortune after Rosary - a great way to close the weekend.


For those of you interested in joining Children of Mary or praying Rosary Around the Lake, email mary@nd.edu
Rosary Around the Lake is every Sunday at 8:00pm despite the weather. The group meets at the Dooley Statue at the grotto.



St. Wenceslaus, pray for us!



*A student group at Notre Dame which is not affiliated in anyway with the international group of the same name.