His Word Today: Saint Lawrence

Saint Lawrence distributing the treasures of the Church
by Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644)

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Lawrence, the Martyr, one of the seven deacons of the Church of Rome who is believed to have been born in Valencia (Spain) on 31 December 225 AD.  As a young man (most probably as a student) Lawrence met Sixtos (the future Pope Sixtus II) who was a Professor of Philosophy in Ceasaraugusta (the present-day Zaragoza, Spain).  Lawrence eventually travelled with Sixtus to Rome and, after Sixtus was elected Bishop of Rome in 257, he ordained Lawrence as a deacon and entrusted him (along with six others) with the responsibility of overseeing the treasury and the riches of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor.

Sixtus must have recognized in Lawrence a great capacity for generosity, for as Saint Paul wrote to the early Christian community at Corinth, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully ... for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:6-7).  In the same year as Sixtus was elected Pope, the Roman Emperor Valerian published edicts against Christians.  One year later, Pope Sixtus himself was apprehended and put to death, and four days later, Lawrence was also martyred.

The Roman Emperors subjected many of the early Christians to such torture and death because they could not understand the message that Jesus had come to preach - and the natural human tendency is to ignore or banish that which we do not understand, however the secret to being a disciple of Jesus is to give generously all that we have received out of love for our brothers and sisters.  That is what Christians have always been called to do in imitation of Christ himself.   Will you welcome this invitation today?

Have a great day.