Bernardo Strozzi: "St Lawrence giving charity" |
Saint
Lawrence was one of seven deacons in Rome who were in charge of giving help to
the poor and the needy. When a persecution broke out, Pope St. Sixtus was
condemned to death. As he was led to execution, Lawrence followed him weeping,
"Father, where are you going without your deacon?" he said. "I
am not leaving you, my son," answered the Pope. "in three days you
will follow me." Full of joy, Lawrence gave to the poor the rest of the
money he had on hand and even sold expensive vessels, chalices and candlesticks
to have more to give away.
The
Prefect of Rome, a greedy pagan, thought the Church had a great fortune hidden
away. So he ordered Lawrence to bring the Church's treasure to him. The Saint
said he would, in three days. Then he went through the city and gathered
together all the poor and sick people supported by the Church and lined them
all up. When he showed them to the Prefect, he said: "This is the Church's
treasure!"
In great
anger, the Prefect condemned Lawrence to a slow, cruel death. The Saint was
tied on top of an iron grill over a slow fire that roasted his flesh little by
little, but Lawrence was burning with so much love of God that he almost did
not feel the flames. In fact, he even joked, "Turn me over," he said
to the judge. "I'm done on this side!" And just before he died, he
said, "It's cooked enough now." Then he prayed that the city of Rome
might be converted to Jesus and that the Catholic faith might spread all over
the world. After that, he went to receive the martyr's reward.
St
Lawrence is one of thousands of martyrs who were mercilessly killed by the
ruthless Emperors in the first 300 years of Christianity. Others were
crucified, sent to the lions, beheaded, burned, tied to a tree and arrows shot
at them, others were skinned or had parts of their body taken out or cut off.
With St Stephen he is the patron saint of deacons.
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