My brother deacon and classmate, Deacon Tony, has a great post up about one of the patrons of deacons, St. Lawrence. Check it out and then ponder the portrait below, one of my favorite images of this remarkable saint:

The print is by graphic artist Lawrence Klimecki, who is himself a candidate for diaconate ordination in California (Sacramento, I believe?). The image of St. Lawrence shows him with the “treasures of the Church” — the poor, the orphaned, the widowed. The grill on which he was martyred is shown behind him, with the flames and, to the right, the deacon cross. Lawrence wears the vestment of the deacon, the dalmatic (in red, the color of martyrs), and holds a chalice in one hand (the deacon is minister of the chalice at mass) and the book of the gospels in the other.

In this portrayal, he is a saint of dynamism and action.

I had the good fortune of visiting St. Lawrence’s tomb during a visit to Rome in 2004, and seeing the slab of rock on which they placed his body after he was martyred. It was a humbling and moving experience — and a reminder to all deacons of the often-bloody price that was paid by those who came before us.

For information about ordering this print, visit this website, or stop by the on line art gallery offering this and other powerful works by Lawrence Klimecki, who also has his own art blog.