Today we celebrate the feast of yet another martyr, St. Lawrence, a deacon of the church of Rome during the mid-third century. Little is known about him, other than he was extremely popular with the Christians of Rome and that he was martyred for his faith. Catholic Culture presents an interesting article here, and the Vatican reflects upon St. Lawrence and the ministry of deacons here. The second reading from the Office of Readings for today's feast, wherein St. Augustine shows the connection between the Eucharist and martyrdom, is a worthy read and can be found here. St. Anthony Messenger notes in its brief biography of St. Lawrence here that "Once again we have a saint about whom almost nothing is known, yet one who has received extraordinary honor in the Church since the fourth century. Almost nothing—yet the greatest fact of his life is certain: He died for Christ. We who are hungry for details about the lives of the saints are again reminded that their holiness was, after all, a total response to Christ, expressed perfectly by a death like this."
St. Lawrence, help us to follow our Lord wherever He leads us. Whether ours be the martyrdom of the Cross or the martyrdom of everyday life, may we rejoice to share in the sufferings of Christ (1 Pet 4:13). Just as He laid down his life for us, so may we lay down our lives for each other (1 Jn 3:16). With you, may we always praise Jesus Christ, the King of martyrs! Amen.
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