They say that God raises up saints when we need them.

I think it’s more than safe to say that we are living in the world with at least one obvious saint: Jimmy Lai. (And because I’ve hugged Bill McGurn from the Wall Street Journal, I would like to think I am one degree from having hugged Lai, since Bill is the convert to Catholicism’s godfather; Bill was previously stationed at the Hong Kong bureau of the Journal.)

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(Note: I learned a long time ago to be cautious when calling living men and women saints. Their stories here are not over. We never know what is truly in another’s heart. But it seems quite obvious in the witness of Jimmy Lai.)

Lai’s daughter, Claire, has been outspoken in recent months, especially since a ruling came down in the sham trial against him. The man is being persecuted. And, as Bill has pointed out, Donald Trump is in a unique position to pressure China, demanding Jimmy Lai’s release.

Some of what Claire has said and written points to her father’s extraordinary faith. She said he lives freedom, even in solitary confinement. The man is grateful, generous, and at peace, despite the injustice of his ordeal, his poor health, and the cruel conditions forced upon him simply for speaking truth.

He is willing to die for the truth. He is willing to die for Christ.

He is living in the world with us today. What an honor for us. What a challenge for us.

Claire wrote for UnHerd:

On Dad’s first day in prison, he told me he was in God’s good hands. He has repeated this multiple times throughout his imprisonment to his daughter, who is not good at very much other than worrying. Recently, when I left Hong Kong, five years into his imprisonment, I wrote to him expressing doubts about myself and about him. He chided me asking me why I doubted when God is so good. He wrote: “So, my dear daughter, though I understand your frustration, why did you doubt? Trust that God leads you in his ineffable way. The way is darkness for us, but [also] the best possible way for us, because He loves us more than we love ourselves.” And as his teeth and nails rot, his immune system gets worse, and his heart is in an alarming state, “his trust in divine providence grows only stronger.”

On Dad’s first day in prison, he told me he was in God’s good hands. He has repeated this multiple times throughout his imprisonment to his daughter, who is not good at very much other than worrying. Recently, when I left Hong Kong, five years into his imprisonment, I wrote to him expressing doubts about myself and about him. He chided me asking me why I doubted when God is so good.

He wrote: “So,........

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