Daily Devotion

“The Italian Jesuit Lazzaro Cattaneo (1560–1640) joined Matteo Ricci at Shaozhou in 1594 and in 1598 accompanied him on his first journey to Peking, where they failed to gain an imperial audience and left two months later. In 1606, while Cattaneo was in Macao, a rumour spread that the Jesuits were conspiring with the Portuguese, Dutch and Japanese to massacre the Chinese in Macao, conquer China by force and make Cattaneo emperor; Chinese residents fled, and the viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi cut off Macao's trade and food supplies. Only after officials summoned Cattaneo and inspected the churches, college and hospital was the rumour shown to be false. He went on to open missions in Shanghai (1608) and Hangzhou, settled in Hangzhou from 1622, and died there in 1640.”

Wikipedia (after the Macao Encyclopedia and others) · Chinese Wikipedia, "郭居静" (sections on the 1606 Cattaneo affair and his mission); English Wikipedia, "Lazzaro Cattaneo"

Scripture

1 Peter 1:6-7 For this reason you have great joy, though for a little while you will have to be saddened by various trials, so that your faith, being of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be praised, glorified and honored when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Reflection

Praise in good times is certainly beautiful, but submission in adversity is the touchstone of faith. As 1 Peter says, suffering is like a raging fire, its purpose not to destroy but to purify. When life's storms rage and the road ahead is fraught with difficulty, we often waver because of our present worries. However, it is precisely these trials that strip away our reliance on worldly things, forcing us to relinquish human wisdom and surrender our destiny completely. This faith, tested by fire, is more precious than pure gold. Recognizing that the Lord's will is higher than human will in adversity and willingly submitting is the truest virtue of a Christian, and will surely inherit eternal glory when the Lord is revealed.