Homily: August 10 - St. Lawrence of Rome, Deacon & Martyr

On Friday, (August 7), we honored the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus II, killed during the terrible reign of the emperor Valerian during the mid 3rd century.  Valerian had issued the hateful decree that all bishops, priests, and deacons, be arrested and put to death.  Pope Sixtus II was arrested and killed on August 7th 258 AD and today’s saint, Saint Lawrence of Rome was arrested and killed four days later.

Lawrence was a Spaniard, called to Rome from Toledo by the Pope.  As a deacon in Rome, Lawrence was in charge of the Roman Church’s treasury, and had the responsibility of distributing alms to the poor.  When Pope Sixtus was arrested and killed, Lawrence knew that he would be next—he sold all of his personal possessions and gave them away to the poor widows, orphans, and beggars of Rome.

When the prefect of Rome heard this, he imagined that Church must have a considerable treasure hidden somewhere in the city.  He ordered Lawrence to bring the Church’s treasure to him.  So, Deacon Lawrence gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons.. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, “These are the treasures of the Church.”
In great anger, the Prefect condemned Lawrence to a slow, cruel death. The Saint was to be slowly roasted alive upon an iron grill.  Lawrence however was burning with so much love of God that he almost did not feel the flame. He even joked.  I'm done on this side! Turn me over” Before his death he prayed that the city of Rome might be converted to Jesus and that the Catholic Faith might spread all over the world

Two lessons: first, that the poor are truly the treasure of the Church, and by caring for them we care for Jesus himself. And secondly, we too can laugh in the face of death, because we, like St. Lawrence know that we are made for a life beyond this life.

Almost nothing else is known about today’s saint—yet the greatest fact of his life is certain: he lived and died for Christ.  Through the prayers of St. Lawrence, may we be made worthy of the promises of Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.