The name Lu Zhengxiang might not be familiar to most people, but his story is a remarkable one.

In Ways of Confucius and of Christ: From Prime Minister of China to Benedictine Monk, Lu recounts the details of his extraordinary life. It’s one of those stories that, if it were written in a novel or depicted in a movie, would seem so unbelievable. 

But happen, it did. And we can learn a great deal from his example.

The book is not a traditional memoir nor an exhaustive autobiography of his entire life. Rather, it is more like a series of vignettes, reflections on important moments and themes in his life. And these vignettes paint a picture of a singular figure.

Lu was born into poverty in Shanghai, China, in a Protestant family in 1871. Here at the start, his life is a study in unlikelihoods. He was not well-educated, in a formal sense, but even still, he was offered (and accepted) a post in the Chinese diplomatic corps in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1893. He married a Belgian woman in 1899. In 1911, at the age of 40, he was received into the Catholic Church.

Lu held many roles in the Chinese government, including foreign minister, premier of the Republic of China, and prime minister of the Empire of China. He was China’s envoy to the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, for several years in the 1920s, and after the death of his wife in 1926, he entered the Benedictine monastery of Sint-Andries (St. Andrew) in Bruges, Belgium, being ordained a priest in 1935. He was eventually made abbot, and planned to return to China as a missionary, but died in 1949 before he was able to do so.

Lu’s story may be particularly important now, as the situation of the Catholic Church in China grows ever more fraught. There are essentially two competing church communities — one officially associated with the Chinese government, with government-approved bishops and priests, and the other loyal to the pope and forced underground. Catholics are forced to choose which to associate themselves with, and the consequences for joining the underground Church can be catastrophic.

Lu dreamed of returning to China and founding a Benedictine monastery there, but died before he was able to do so. However, his example of faith and dogged determination, and of following the will of God wherever it may lead, can help us to see how to proceed in difficult circumstances. It is very easy for many of us to read stories like this, in the comfort of our own homes, with no real existential threat to the practice of our faith. However, in many places around the world, Catholics and other Christians face tremendous persecution, social ostracism, and more.

We might not all be facing such seemingly insurmountable obstacles as Lu did, and as so many others do today, but sometimes it really can feel that way. We must discern the will of God, and proceed accordingly. We might make enemies, alienate friends and family, or face ridicule — even prison. But regardless, whether in big things or little things, God’s will must be paramount. And we must always live our lives seeking to do his will and spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.