Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr
He was one of the seven deacons of the Roman Church under Pope Sixtus II. Despite the fact that many people praised his heroic death, historical information about him is very modest.
According to the description of his martyrdom, Lawrence was the administrator of the Church's property in Rome. During the persecution of Christians, Emperor Valerian hoped that Lawrence would give him all the goods belonging to the Church. The deacon gathered all the poor of Rome and presented them to the emperor with the words: "These are the treasures of the Church". Angry, Valerian sentenced the deacon to a martyr's death.
The enraged judge ordered to put him on the bars and slowly burn him with fire until he tells him where are the treasures. Saint Lawrence is well known for having called out to his executioners, as he was being roasted alive, “I’m done on this side, you can turn me over.” St. Leo I the Great comments to these words: "How strong must the fire of love for Christ be in this Saint, since he was extinguishing the heat of the natural fire" (Sermon 85).
It was this heroic attitude that endeared St. Lawrence to the highest admiration and glory of the Roman Church.
Lawrence die on August 10, 258. The body of the martyr was buried by St. Justin, priest.Every year, the faithful gather around his tomb. His name was included in the canon of the Holy Mass and to the Litany of the Saints. Emperor Constantine the Great built a basilica over his tomb in AD 330. From Rome, the cult of the martyr spread to the whole Church.
St. Augustine writes that as Jerusalem prides itself of St. Stephen, so Rome is proud of St. Lawrence. The greatest poet of ancient Christianity, Prudentius, writes in inspired poem that the death of St. Lawrence was a blow to idolatry, which from then on began to decline until the final victory of the Church of Jesus Christ.
Saint Lawrence is the patron saint of Deacons. He is also the patron saint of Spain and Nuremberg.
Deacon Keith Fournier writes:
Deacons have a vital role to serve in the Church as an icon of Christ the Servant. They are called to give holy and heroic witness, in both word and deed. They live their lives in what is sometimes called the real world, but it is to be a life that is not of this world. (See, e.g. Romans 12:2, 1 John 2: 15 – 17)
Deacon Lawrences’ heroic life and death commend him to all who see the Third Christian Millennium as a new missionary age. We are called to sacrifice all for the love of Jesus Christ and His Church. However, the witness of Lawrence is of particular importance for contemporary deacons.
On this Feast of Deacon Lawrence, I ask to pray for all Deacons of the Church, that we all may cultivate, by cooperating with grace, the courage, character and holiness of Deacon Lawrence.
Let us pray for our Deacons:
Heavenly Father, since the time of the Apostles
you have inspired the Church to commission certain members to assist in a special way in the pastoral mission of Christ. Bless the deacons that they may be humbleand faith-inspired in their service.We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george