| Minute Meditations
St. Lawrence The esteem in which the Church holds Lawrence is seen in the fact that today's celebration ranks as a feast. We know very little about his life. He is one of those whose martyrdom made a deep and lasting impression on the early Church. Celebration of his feast day spread rapidly. He was a Roman deacon under Pope St. Sixtus II. Four days after this pope was put to death, Lawrence and four clerics suffered martyrdom, probably during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian. Legendary details of his death were known to Damasus (Dec 11), Prudentius, Ambrose (December 7) and Augustine (August 28). The church built over his tomb became one of the seven principal churches in Rome and a favorite place for Roman pilgrimages. A well-known legend has persisted from earliest times. As deacon in Rome, Lawrence was charged with the responsibility for the material goods of the Church, and the distribution of alms to the poor. When Lawrence knew he would be arrested like the pope, he sought out the poor, widows and orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he had on hand, selling even the sacred vessels to increase the sum. When the prefect of Rome heard of this, he imagined that the Christians must have considerable treasure. He sent for Lawrence and said, "You Christians say we are cruel to you, but that is not what I have in mind. I am told that your priests offer in gold, that the sacred blood is received in silver cups, that you have golden candlesticks at your evening services. Now, your doctrine says you must render to Caesar what is his. Bring these treasures—the emperor needs them to maintain his forces. God does not cause money to be counted: He brought none of it into the world with him—only words. Give me the money, therefore, and be rich in words." Lawrence replied that the Church was indeed rich. "I will show you a valuable part. But give me time to set everything in order and make an inventory." After three days he gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons and put them in rows. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, "These are the treasure of the Church." The prefect was so angry he told Lawrence that he would indeed have his wish to die—but it would be by inches. He had a great gridiron prepared, with coals beneath it, and had Lawrence's body placed on it. After the martyr had suffered the pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he made his famous cheerful remark, "It is well done. Turn me over!" Story: A well-known legend has persisted from earliest times. As deacon in Rome, Lawrence was charged with the responsibility for the material goods of the church and the distribution of alms to the poor. When Lawrence knew he would be arrested like the pope, he sought out the poor, widows and orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he had on hand, selling even the sacred vessels to increase the sum. When the prefect of Rome heard of this, he imagined that the Christians must have considerable treasure. He sent for Lawrence and said, "You Christians say we are cruel to you, but that is not what I have in mind. I am told that your priests offer in gold, that the sacred blood is received in silver cups, that you have golden candlesticks at your evening services. Now, your doctrine says you must render to Caesar what is his. Bring these treasures—the emperor needs them to maintain his forces. God does not cause money to be counted: He brought none of it into the world with him—only words. Give me the money, therefore, and be rich in words."
Lawrence replied that the church was indeed rich. "I will show you a valuable part. But give me time to set everything in order and make an inventory." After three days he gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons and put them in rows. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, "These are the treasure of the church."
The prefect was so angry he told Lawrence that he would indeed have his wish to die—but it would be by inches. He had a great gridiron prepared, with coals beneath it, and had Lawrence's body placed on it. After the martyr had suffered the pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he made his famous cheerful remark, "It is well done. Turn me over!" Comment: 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. Patron Saint of: Cooks Poor Daily Prayer - 2015-08-10PresenceDear Lord as I come to you today FreedomBy God's grace I was born to live in freedom. ConsciousnessHow am I really feeling? Lighthearted? Heavy-hearted? The Word of GodFeast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr Reading 1 2 Cor 9:6-10Brothers and sisters: Responsorial Psalm PS 112:1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9R. (5) Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need. Alleluia Jn 8:12bcR. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 12:24-26Jesus said to his disciples: Some thoughts on today's scripture
ConversationHow has God's Word moved me? Has it left me cold? ConclusionI thank God for these few moments we have spent alone together and for any insights I may have been given concerning the text.  Meditation: 2 Corinthians 9:6-10Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (Feast) Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (2 Corinthians 9:6)
Imagine the amount of strategy wit shrewdness you need to play a card game like bridge or poker. Every hand dealt contains literally thousands of possible outcomes, so you have to be sharp. Now, have you ever thought that living the Christian life might require a similar kind of shrewdness? That's one way to think about St. Lawrence, whose feast we celebrate today. In ad 258, the Roman emperor Valerian issued an edict that all the clergy were to be killed. The prefect of Rome also demanded that Lawrence hand over the Church's wealth. Knowing that his days were numbered, Lawrence, a deacon and the treasurer of the Roman Church, took a calculated risk. First, he distributed the Church's wealth to the poor instead of giving it to the prefect. Then, he brought the poor before the prefect, saying, "These are the treasures of the Church." Enraged, the prefect had Lawrence put to death. But it was too late—the story of his good humor and bravery spread, encouraging believers in Rome and beyond, right down to the present day! St. Paul once wrote, "Watch carefully then how you live, . . . making the most of the opportunity" (Ephesians 5:15, 16). Lawrence clearly had been training his mind so that he could see opportunities before him, even when he was facing the threat of death. He had already been "watching carefully" how he lived in smaller situations, and so he was prepared to keep doing so when the stakes were high. And so, because of his shrewdness and good wit, Lawrence was able to sow "bountifully" for God (2 Corinthians 9:6). What challenging situations do you find yourself in? Take a look around, and ask the Spirit to show you creative, even shrewd, ways to turn them into opportunities to glorify the Lord. The more we know we are safe in his hands, the more brave we become. And that courage opens up new paths for us to walk—paths of glory that we never before knew existed! "Holy Spirit, set me free from fear so that I can glorify you in every situation."
Psalm 112:1-2, 5-9
my2cents: Today's 1st Holy Scripture says, "The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness." Let's remember this next time we're at work for the Lord. What's this seed? It's open for interpretation. Come on now, what is this seed? What is God providing to us so that we can "sow sparingly" which means giving above and beyond, not being stingy! What God provides are seeds of life that are meant to give life. Man is not supposed to throw away his seed. We are not supposed to give His Body to the trash. Realize this when we are asked to drop seeds of life to the world. Realize this because this day, you are given seeds. Seeds to plant forgiveness, joy, and hope. Seeds to bring about life for a soul. Yours? Yes, but what about "theirs"? The Psalms pray on "Blessed the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commands" and "Lavishly he gives to the poor, his generosity shall endure forever". Most often in stories of people, we will hear of how good or how bad they were. The one who was sparing with seeds is remembered in glory, while the other, stingy with seed, killing life, the seeds goes down for history. This is very important, because we are here for greater glory, to give Glory to God and honor. And this goes without saying, the seeds are sown constantly, minute by minute, hour by hour, face by face, soul by soul we encounter. What are you sowing today? I wrote a song for this year's CD that is a rap tune that says towards the end "what you are sowing will say where you're going" and it goes on "right now Jesus the Lord is sowing and showing". Then we reap what we sow, forgiveness? Are you going to grow that plant of forgiveness? Are you going to plant that plant that gives a bunch of fruit? Because God gave us a vineyard to make fruitful and not make it our own! Jesus says to us today in the Holy Gospel "unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit." Do you realize how many times I've had to die? Well, my body is still here, but dying to myself? I've had to take some pretty hard spiritual blows, most often from loved ones, very scarce from strangers. We just have to sit there and take it! The Psalms pray "His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear till he looks down upon his foes." The only good thing my anti-catholic brother in law said to me once was "I like how you are constant in your faith". And this weekend I saw him step foot in the foyer of our Church. This after many severe blows he's thrown at our family as a whole. Constant wins, you must be constant in your faith, you must REMAIN, and you must constantly die. Jesus dies and must follow, didn't He say today "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be." Notice, whoever serves HIM, MUST FOLLOW HIM. Too often you'll find people trying to serve God without following Him. But who is there with Him on the cross? Who is afraid to take that step of commitment? Who is afraid to...sow sparingly ?  adrian | |||||||
Going4th,
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