August 10: Saint Lawrence / San Lorenzo

The Church celebrates the feastday of the deacon and martyr St. Lawrence today. Have you ever thought about how "liturgical feastdays" preserve the past for the present and the future? Today, we commemorate the persecutions under Emperor Valerian in Rome in 258. The emperor had ordered all the bishops, priests, and deacons in Rome to be executed. Pope Sixtus II and several deacons were martyred on August 6 that year. There was only one more deacon left in Rome – and it was St. Lawrence.

Legends say that the emperor quoted the teaching of Jesus, “to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar!” and demanded that Lawrence surrender all the valuables and treasures of the Church to him, the successor of Caesar. St. Lawrence requested time to collect all the “treasures.” Three days later, he presented all the blind, lame, and sick people who were under his care before the emperor – saying that they were “the valuables and treasures” of the Church. The emperor turned furious and ordered him to be murdered immediately. 

Today's feastday can serve as a reminder that the corruption and persecutions of our own day, while maybe not as severe as in 258, are still the kinds of things that have been visited upon the Church through the ages. And the Lord's encouragement has always been the same: "Be strong. Fear not."

Let us pray. “O God, you call us, in good times and bad, to be 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 what we have. Help us, too, to do this with a glad heart and in all sincerity – like the deacon St. Lawrence, who imitated the self-giving of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

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Celebramos hoy el día festivo de San Lorenzo. Como diácono, a él le encargaron los pobres de Roma. Cuando se vio obligado a entregar los bienes de la Iglesia a los perseguidores, los distribuyó entre los pobres. Cuando le preguntaron dónde estaban “los tesoros” de la Iglesia, él les mostró a los necesitados y enfermos.  San Lorenzo murió como mártir, asado vivo a la parrilla. La ciudad de Roma (el pueblo local) lo venera como uno de los más grandes Santos. Es co-patrón de Roma juntamente con Santos Pedro y Pablo. Ojalá aprendamos de él su servicio leal hasta la última instancia.

Oremos. “Oh Dios, bueno y generoso, tú quieres que seamos ministros de tu generosidad y alegría. Ayúdanos a expresarte nuestra gratitud a ti y a revelar tu bondad compartiendo lo que somos y tenemos con alegría y con toda sinceridad – como el diácono San Lorenzo, que imitó le entrega de sí mismo de tu Hijo, Jesucristo nuestro Señor. Amén.”