Today we celebrate a great Feast in the Catholic Church - that of St Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr. Just a few days ago we remembered Pope St Sixtus. Lawrence and six other deacons were in charge of the treasury of the pope and distributed it for the care of the poor and the needy. When the Emperor Valerian decreed that Christianity and its followers should be eradicated in 258, Sixtus and six of his deacons were led off to be slaughtered. However, Lawrence was not taken in this first group because he was to gather the treasure of the church for the prefect of Rome. Legend has it that when the guards came to him for the treasure he showed them the poor and the lame and declared that they were the treasure of the church.
Legend also has it that Lawrence was roasted on a grill. While this, and the stories that have spread around it, is fascinating it is very likely untrue. The practice of the day for "disposing" of clerics was beheading which is probably what happened to Lawrence. I have always been a person who preferred to believe in the truth of the lives of our Saints rather than the lore. Instead of focusing on the apocryphal stories of his death, I believe it is more prudent to study the little we know of his life. As a deacon, Lawrence lived his life in service of his Pope and of the Church. In doing so he followed Jesus' command to "take up his cross daily and follow". Let that be for us today the lesson of Lawrence - simple, sacrificial service of God and neighbor.
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