St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, August 10
2 Cor 9:6-10 / John 12:24-26
Paul talks about giving; God loves a cheerful giver.
Robert Rodenmayer wrote a book called Thanks Be to God. In
it he says there are three kinds of giving: grudge giving, duty giving, and
thanksgiving. A grudge giver says, "I hate to give." This person
gives little, for "the gift without the giver is bare." A duty giver
says, "I ought to give." This person gives more, but there is no song
in it. A thanksgiver says, "I want to give." This person gives
everything and shows forth the image of God to the world.
***
What kind of giver do we tend to be most of the time? "The
rabbis had a saying that the best kind of giving was when the giver did not
know to whom he was giving, and when the receiver did not know from whom he was
receiving." William Barclay
***
St. Lawrence was martyred in Rome in 258 during the persecution under the Roman emperor Valerian. He was among the seven deacons serving Pope St. Sixtus II, who was martyred a few days before Lawrence. When he was challenged to hand over the Church’s treasure to the authorities, he asked for a few days’ grace; then “he went all over the city, seeking out in every street the poor who were supported by the Church, and with whom no other was so well acquainted. On the third day, he gathered together a great number of them before the church and placed them in rows: the decrepit, the blind, the lame, the maimed, the lepers, orphans and widows; then he went to the prefect, invited him to come and see the treasure of the Church.”
Although Lawrence was probably beheaded, St. Ambrose of
Milan and the Latin poet Prudentius, among others, recorded that he was roasted
to death on a gridiron. Many conversions to Christianity throughout Rome
reportedly followed Lawrence’s death, including those of several senators
witnessing his execution. The Basilica of San Lorenzo, Rome, was built over his
burial place.
***
As a deacon, Lawrence was placed in charge of the poor of
Rome. When he was ordered to surrender the goods of the Church to the
persecutors, he distributed them to the poor. When asked where the treasures of
the Church were, he showed the poor… He was broiled alive. Rome venerates him
as one of the greatest saints and co-patron of Rome with Peter and Paul. May we
learn loyal service from him.
***
St. Lawrence was a deacon of the Church of Rome when Pope Sixtus was martyred along with four other deacons during the year 258. St. Lawrence, who was temporarily in charge of the administration, was told by the authorities that if he wanted to be spared, he was to surrender all the treasures of the Church in three days' time. So, during the next three days, St. Lawrence went around gathering the poor and the needy who were supported by the Church.
Then he brought them before the authorities and he told them: These are the treasures of the Church. Needless to say, he was taken away to be tortured to death. The account of the execution scene was morbid. St. Lawrence was stripped and tied to a wire-mesh to be roasted over the fire. One account has it that St. Laurence said to his torturers: You can turn me over, I am well done on this side.
But martyrdom is certainly no laughing matter, but yet even
as the blood of the martyrs was poured out, the Church grew especially in those
terrible times.
Because it was a blood that was willingly poured out, willingly given for the glory of God. As the 1st reading puts it, St. Lawrence and the other martyrs sowed with their blood and their lives and they reaped the harvest of eternal life.
And as the gospel puts it, St. Lawrence gave up his life to witness to Jesus and by his death the Church reaped a rich harvest of faith. The martyrdom of St. Lawrence reminds us that our lives are to be poured out for others so that they can grow in faith and love and be the treasures of the Church. Hence, every sacrifice we make is like dying to ourselves, and yet the harvest that will be reaped will make it all worth it.
***
Prayer
Our generous God, You want us to be to everyone ministers of
your joy and generosity. Help us to express our gratitude to you and to reveal
your goodness by sharing what we are and have with joy and in all sincerity like
the deacon St. Lawrence, who imitated the self-giving of your Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen
***
Opening Prayer
Our generous God, You want us to be to everyone ministers
of your joy and generosity. Help us to express our gratitude to you and to
reveal your goodness by sharing what we are and have with joy and in all
sincerity like the deacon St. Lawrence, who imitated the self-giving of your
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Intercessions
– That we may be discreet and unobtrusive in
helping people in need, we pray:
– That we may learn to see the unspoken needs of
timid, simple and humble people, we pray:
– That the Lord make us joyful and generous of
hearts and hands, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, our life and joy, you give us not only
what we need but you give us the best of yourself in your Son Jesus Christ. Accept
from our hands these humble gifts of bread and wine, which we have
received from you, and through them let Christ come among us. May they express
that we too are willing to share with others without demanding favors or
recompense. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God, your gifts to us are humble and veiled, like
the giving himself to us of your Son, in the signs of bread and wine. God, who
look into the depths of our heart, teach us to share without display, that our
left hand may not know what our right hand is giving. Let it be our joy to know
that you know. Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
”The more you sow, the more you reap.” Let us learn from God
to be generous, for he is not stingy with his gifts to us. God loves the joyful
giver. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Reflection:
Two lessons
Few saints are celebrated in the universal Church as feast
days if they are not apostles. One of them is St. Lawrence, a deacon of the
community of Rome. His feast was already very popular in the fourth century. In
the persecution of Valerian, he was martyred by being roasted alive on a grill,
according to the Acts.
The Gospel reading underlines another aspect of St.
Lawrence: his availability to sacrifice, even unto death. Jesus' comparison is
expressive: a grain of wheat dies in the earth's bosom, but it is to bear
fruit. Knowing how to renounce oneself is necessary to gain the most important
values. The best model is Jesus, who sacrificed his life to save humanity.
Lawrence, a lucid and generous martyr, knew how to follow the ways of Jesus.
These are the two lessons that St. Lawrence can give us today: great charity
towards the poor and total availability to bear witness to Christ, even to the
point of martyrdom, if necessary.
