10The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. This is the blessed Lawrence, who gave himself up for the treasure of the Church: for this he earned the suffering of martyrdom to ascend with joy to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Roman governor was enraged and ordered Lawrence to be bound to a red hot grill and roasted to death. This volume, entitled SEASONAL SERMONS, is the seventh volume of the writings of Saint Lawrence translated into English. Bishop Zubik speaks to deacons on the feast of St. Lawrence. The first reading of today reminds us of the importance of giving. The word deacon comes from the Greek word diakonia, which means service. For on this day he trod the furious pagan world underfoot and flung aside its allurements, and so gained victory over Satan's attack on his faith. St. Lawrence is supposed to have made a joke about the way in which he was being put to death, asking his tormentors to turn him over because he was done on that side. (Readings on USCCB website). Saint Lawrence of Rome celebrates his feast day today. The Prefect was so angry he had a great gridiron prepared, with coals beneath it, and had Lawrences body placed on it. As a deacon in the early Church in Rome, St. Lawrence championed the inherent value of all human beings, even when it ultimately led to his martyrdom. Learn how your comment data is processed. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, These are the treasure of the Church., The prefect was so angry he told Lawrence that he would indeed have his wish to diebut it would be by inches. (6). Lawrence saw this time as an opportunity to disperse the material wealth of the church before the Roman authorities could lay their hands on it. We must be able to love God more than ourselves. Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr. Two New Testament texts in particular are referred to here. Preached at St. Mary Mother of God Roman Catholic Church in Sylva, NC, on . If you need a priest in an emergency, please use our emergency phone (317-987-7818). Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need. Making Sense of the Ministry of the Deacon | Rex H. Pilger Jr., Ph.D. St. Lawrence: Proto-Deacon of the Roman Church | Francesco Moraglia, The Significance of Martyrdom | Pope Benedict XVI, Restoring a Catholic Culture through Liturgical Cooking: Early August Thoughts, The Paradoxical Prestige of the Deacon in the Early Church. We remember him today especially for his heroic act of charity. Of course we are afraid of death. But give me time to set everything in order and make an inventory. After three days he gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned, and widowed persons and put them in rows. St. Pauls original intent in making this statement was to emphasize that followers of Jesus were expected to be generous out of a sense of gratitude for what God had given them. (Homily for Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A) Message: When you or I are tempted to say, "God's way is not fair," it's good to remember Saint Lorenzo. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); DAILY REFLECTION FOR TUESDAY OF THE 19TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II (2), HOMILY FOR THE 2ND SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR A. 3, Bizcocho de San Lorenzo (St. Laurence Cookies), Religion in the Home for Elementary School: August, Religion in the Home for Preschool: August, Prayer to Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr II, Prayer to Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, Oasis of the Spirit | Pope Benedict XVI, Deacons Are the Guardians of Service in the Church | Pope Francis. St. Lawrence: Proto-Deacon of the Roman Church, Shop: Roman Catholic "RC" Brand Original Black Logo Collection Mug, St. Lawrence was a deacon in the early Church, not a priest. 5:20-26) Righteousness should be the aim of every believer. Bring these treasuresthe emperor needs them to maintain his forces. Martyr. Fr. Amen. And he worked hard to fulfil that assignment, caring for the least of the society, all those who have no food to eat and no one to love them. In the end, defiant and adamant towards the end, he refused to give in to the Emperor and his demands, and when forced to reveal where the treasures of the Church to be seized, he showed the poor, the sick and the dying as the true treasures of the Church, saying defiantly that they all are far richer and wealthier than the Emperor and the whole state would ever be. His resurrection further established it in this world. He was a Roman deacon under Pope . Here are links to our readings for the day: Today an appropriate feast day as Rod Knight will be ordained a permanent deacon this Sunday. Justin Nzekwe. During a wave of persecutions, the Pope and all his clergy were executed. R. Alleluia, alleluia.12BCWhoever follows me will not walk in darknessbut will have the light of life, says the Lord.R. St. Lawrence is supposed to have made a joke about the way in which he was being put to death, asking his tormentors to "turn him over" because he was done on that side. YEAR A: HOMILY FOR THE 4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 8-7-22 Dormition of Anna By: Sub-Dn. At the Basilica, St. Lawrence is depicted in the Byzantine Ruthenian Chapel. But for the Christian, it is part of living, it is part of being faithful to God. 4b-5; Psalm 24; Luke 21:1-4. The phenomenon is related to the passing of a meteorite swarm left by a comet. Lawrence was a deacon born in AD 225 in modern-day Spain. (5), HOMILY FOR THE 2ND SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR A. (1), HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT. Peter and Paul, that of St. Lawrence ranked highest in the Roman sanctoral cycle. Design by Perceptions Studio. So he ordered Lawrence to bring the Church's treasure to him. HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF ST. LAWRENCE. St. Lawrence had been away taking care of the needs of the poor while Sixtus and the other six deacons were celebrating the Eucharist. Feast of St. Lawrence: 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. From the sorrow of the Cross to the glory of Resurrection. Lawrence Lew OP, who is also house cantor at Blackfriars, Oxford. Nicole Abisinio, Author Insights: an Insider Look at Catholic Publishing. A vigil is a separate liturgical observance from its feast, and traditionally, all feasts began with First Vespers, and so a vigil by definition ended once None and the Mass were celebrated. 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. *Be Happy. After Saints Peter and Paul, Lawrence is the most honored saint in Rome. I am told that your priests offer in gold, that the sacred blood is received in silver cups, that you have golden candlesticks at your evening services. Lawrence died like a piece of meat being roasted slowly over a hot charcoal fire. All of us rightly associate St. Lawrence with the Church's love for the poor & suffering an ecclesial love already reflected in the Acts of the Apostles. Liturgical Colour: green/white, FR. This faith allowed him to courageously surrender his life in this world rather than risk losing eternal life in heaven. Celebration of his feast day spread rapidly. Today marks the great saint's feast, . There will be times in our Christian life when we will be asked to tender our lives. (1), HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF ST. LAWRENCE - 10 AUGUST, FR. Advertise on Catholic Exchange 4. Augustine: Sermon on St. Lawrence. Now you can turn me over. With his dying words, Lawrence personified Pauls words from our first reading: God loves a cheerful giver.. From that time idolatry began to decline in Rome. St. John the Evangelist - Birchwood Valerian had issued an edict to the Roman Senate that all the Christian . Father D. Meynen presents different homilies for the three readings of each Sunday and Solemnity, according to liturgical Cycle "A" of the Roman Lectionary produced as part of the liturgical Reform desired by the Fathers of the Council of Vatican II. According to the legend written by St. Ambrose, when he too was arrested, St. Lawrence asked for three days to gather up the wealth of the church. (1), FR. Responsorial Psalm: Ps 112:1-2,5-9. The best time to give to the poor is precisely when giving pains you the most. (3), HOMILY FOR THE 4TH SUNDAY OF THE ADVENT YEAR A. DAILY HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II (1), FR BENS HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF LENT (1). For, according to his Gospel promise, Christ is truly acknowledging, in the presence of his Father in heaven, those faithful martyrs who acknowledged him . I've been in a couple of situations latelyonce with a couple getting married and once with the family of a man who had died and were planning his memorialand in both these conversations people were . May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teachings and Homilies delivered at Saint Lawrence Orthodox Christian Church. Turn me over!. Third-century archdeacon of Rome, distributor of alms, and keeper of the treasures of the church in a time when Christianity was outlawed. The fact that St. Lawrence was taking care of the needs of the poor while the others were celebrating the Eucharist may seem strange, especially to those who put more emphasis on worship than upon the more active part of our faith. (1). When the prefect of Rome heard of this, he imagined that the Christians must have considerable treasure. The spirit, the advocacy, much more the Faith, do not die with the death of their advocates. Let us learn from Lawrence the need to be charitable and the willingness to let go of our life itself so that we can have a better life in heaven. (1), Reading for Thursday of the Second Week. 25Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. It means also that all of us today have that same mission which our Lord had given to His Apostles, and we need to embrace that mission with zeal and courage, knowing that it is only through us and through our works that we may save our brethren, especially those who are still lost to the Lord and those who still live in the darkness of sin and evil. Today Catholics around the world celebrate the Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, who fell victim to the Christian persecution of A.D. 258 under the Roman emperor Valerian. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:24 . August 23, 2012 - Thursday of the Twentieth Week i August 22, 2012 - Memorial of the Queenship of the August 21, 2012 - Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope. BY: Fr. 00:00. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast day of a major figure in the Church, namely the feast of the holy saint and martyr, St. Lawrence the Deacon, the deacon of Rome and one of its greatest and most exemplary saints.