Today is the feast day of St Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr. I would say he is one of the three most recognized Deacon Saints along with St. Stephen and St. Francis of Assisi. He was a deacon in Rome in the third century. He became a martyr during the persecution of Valerian four days after the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus II.
He was in charge of the Church finances when an agent for the emperor demanded Lawrence hand over all the church’s treasure. The day he was to hand over the treasure he arrived with all the poor and hungry and the homeless people the church was feeding and serving. When asked what he was doing he said, “These are the treasures of the Church.” Of course this answer was not well received and he was put to death by grilling on a brazier.
St. Lawrence knew his life was meant to be of service for the poor around him, and he lived that out to the very end. St. Augustine said, “Lawrence, a deacon of the Church at Rome, ministered the sacred blood of Christ; there for the sake of Christ’s name he poured out his own blood.”
We don’t have to die as St. Lawrence did, but we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us put other people’s needs ahead of our own. We can all be servants just as Lawrence was— just as Jesus was !
DeColores, Deacon Doug
Join us in prayer!
We encourage you to join us as we recite the Holy Rosary every night at 8PM! On Wednesdays, we pray the rosary via Zoom with the rector and rectora.
Resources for those not able to attend Mass
Daily Readings in English and Spanish from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Prayers, readings for Mass, and additional spiritual readings are available at:
Magnificat publication, a spiritual guide that includes daily Mass: https://us.magnificat.net/free
“Give Us This Day” a digital file of their periodical, which includes daily Mass texts. Visit GUTD.net and select “Digital” in the upper right of the screen.