“So death
will come to fetch you? - No, not death, but God
Himself.
Death is not
the horrible specter we see represented in
pictures.
The
catechism teaches that death is the
separation of the soul
from the body; that is all. I am not afraid of a separation
from the body; that is all. I am not afraid of a separation
which will
unite me forever with God.” - St Therese of
Lisieux
"The
Pope and the faithful had gathered in the
catacombs in the evening of August 6,
258. Being Christians in a cemetery, theirs was an illegal assembly punishable
by death. There is every reason to believe that the catacomb Mass that
evening was to be offered specifically to strengthen the faithful to endure the
new persecution... Pope Sixtus was preaching...
soldiers burst into the crypt. The congregation drew together before them,
baring their breasts and extending their necks to signify that they were ready
to die to protect the Pope. But Sixtus would have none of that. He came
forward and they took him, along with four of his
deacons.
Another
deacon, Lawrence, cried out: "Father,
where are you going without your deacon?"
Sixtus replied: "I
do not leave you, my son. You shall follow me in three
days."
The
Vicar of Christ was taken up the nearby stairs and beheaded on the spot, along
with the four deacons. For some 1,500 years his name was mentioned in the Canon
said by every Catholic priest of the Latin rite, anywhere in the world.
Deacon
Lawrence was temporarily spared in order to give the persecution officials
access to the treasure supposedly accumulated by the Roman church. What he
actually brought forth before the prefect of Rome
From The Founding of Christendom, Vol
I - Warren
Carroll
St
Lawrence
Deacon, Martyr - d.
258
Considered third patron of Rome
(after St Peter and St Paul)
Considered third patron of Rome
(after St Peter and St Paul)
FEAST
DAY - August 10
Among
the Christian martyrs of ... The early Roman days ...
Was
good St. Lawrence, who was famed ... For his unselfish ways
...
He
loved the humble and the poor ... And helped them all he could
...
And
in those persecution days ... In their defense he stood ...
The
Romans had the notion that ... The Church was rich in treasures
...
And
they demanded all its wealth ... With threats of dire measures
...
"Here
are the riches of the Church" ... St Lawrence then replied
...
As
he embraced the sick and lame ... And beggars at his side
...
And
so they roasted him alive ... Above a fire slow ...
But
on the martyr's face remained ... A happy, holy glow.
From Poem Portraits of the Saints, James J Metcalfe (1956)
From Poem Portraits of the Saints, James J Metcalfe (1956)
Click
here: St. Lawrence - YouTube
Painting above: Martyrdom of St Lawrence ~ Pellegrino Tibaldi (1592) ~ Basilica, El Escorial
St
Lawrence, pray for us!
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