The Feast of Saint Lawrence

Deacon and Martyr (d. 258)

His life

+ Lawrence was a deacon of the Church of Rome who served under Pope Saint Sixtus II.

+ Following the arrest of Pope Sixtus and a group of deacons, Lawrence was ordered to collect the Church’s treasure and to hand it over to the civil authorities. On the appointed day, Lawrence presented the poor—the Church’s true treasure—to the imperial prefect.

+ Saint Lawrence was martyred on August 10, 258, by being roasted to death on a gridiron.

+ Originally buried in a field outside of Rome, the emperor Constantine later built a basilica in his honor. Devotion to Saint Lawrence spread quickly throughout the Church and his name is included in the Roman Canon (the First Eucharistic Prayer).

+ Saint Lawrence is honored as one of the patron saints of deacons and of the poor.

For prayer and reflection

“Loved by all because of his generosity to the poor, this deacon reminds Christians today that fraternal charity should prompt them to assist the poor and the needy.”—Enzo Lodi in Saints of the Roman Calendar

Spiritual bonus

On this day, we also remember Saint Blane. An Irish monk, he traveled as a missionary to Scotland and served as the bishop of Kingarth. Honored as a worker of miracles, he died around the year 590 and his monastery eventually became the cathedral of Dublane, Scotland.

Prayer

O God, giver of that ardor of love for you
by which Saint Lawrence was outstandingly faithful in service
and glorious in martyrdom,
grant that we may love what he loved
and put into practice what he taught.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.