We know St. Lawrence, whose feast we celebrate today, for his famous quip on the gridiron "You can turn me over now, I’m done on that side."
But what we should remember St. Lawrence for is his devotion to the poor. Lawrence was a deacon in Rome, and consistent with the origins of the diaconate (Acts 6:1-6) and its emphasis during this period, he was deeply involved with helping the poor, a duty which makes for one of the more powerful scenes of his life, confronted with the demand to "turn over the treasures of the Church" to Roman officials…
When the authorities finally seized Lawrence, they interrogated him about the location of the Church’s hidden treasure. St. Ambrose picks up the story here: “When the treasures of the Church were demanded from him, he promised that he would show them. On the following day he brought the poor together. When asked where the treasures were which he had promised, he pointed to the poor, saying: ‘These are the treasures of the Church.’ And truly they were treasures, in whom Christ lives, in whom there is faith in Him.”
…and tomorrow…Clare! And then…Jane de Chantal, and then Maximilian Kolbe, and then Stephen of Hungary…
One of the many reasons to keep saints front and center – every day, they give us a glimpse into the richness of discipleship, in every culture, across the centuries, the ways that God calls people of myriad gifts, of every station in life, anchoring us in an awareness of how the Gospel has been spread, the power that Christ brings, which is, in the end, of course not just about the past…but about the present and the future, as well.
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