THE POOR ARE THE TREASURES OF THE CHURCH. - ST. LAWRENCE

 *Thursday 10th August* 

Weekday (18)

 *SAINT LAWRENCE, Deacon and Martyr (Feast)* 

First Reading. 2 Corinthians 9: 6-10

Psalm. 112: 1-2, 5-9 (R. 5a)

Gospel. John 12: 24-26

TOPIC FOR REFLECTION

 *ST. LAWRENCE: THE POOR ARE THE TREASURES OF THE CHURCH.* 

Saint Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of the Church of Rome and was executed on 10th August 258, four days after Sixtus II and his companions were executed.

Lawrence is probably the most famous of the Roman martyrs. As a deacon, he was full of love for the poor, filled with courage before his torturers, and had a good sense of humour even while dying for his faith in 258. Tradition holds that as he was roasting to death on a gridiron (an iron used for broiling meat or fish over hot coal), he asked his torturers to turn him over since he was “done” enough on one side.

St. Lawrence as the youngest was appointed among the seven deacons to serve in the Cathedral Church. He is therefore called "archdeacon of Rome", a position of great trust that included the care of the treasury and riches of the Church and the distribution of alms to the indigent (poor and destitute in need)

Meanwhile, Roman authorities had established a norm according to which all Christians who had been denounced must be executed and their goods confiscated by the Imperial treasury. At the beginning of August 258, Emperor Valerian issued an edict that all Bishops, Priests, and deacons should immediately be put to death. So, Pope Sixtus II was captured on 6th August 258, at the cemetery of St. Calistus while celebrating the liturgy and was executed 

After the death of Sixtus, the prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence should turn over the riches of the Church; however, St. Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth. He worked swiftly to distribute as many Church properties to the indigent as possible, to prevent it's being seized by the prefect. On the third day, at the head of a small delegation, he presented himself to the prefect, and when ordered to deliver the treasures of the Church he presented the indigents, the crippled, the blind, and the suffering, and declared that these were the true treasures of the Church. One account records him declaring to the prefect, "The Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor." This act of defiance led directly to his martyrdom.

My dear, the life of St. Lawrence can be perfectly seen in today's liturgy.

The first reading says God loves a cheerful giver. Do you and I give cheerfully, or do we give grudgingly? 

If we give cheerfully, we receive a cheerful reward; but if we give grudgingly, we shall receive grudgingly.

Invariably, we reap what we sow.

St. Lawrence sowed the seed of love in the poor, and he was rewarded with eternal life.

Similarly in the Gospel, Jesus uses two contradictory words: "hate" and "love".

In the context of this Gospel, He did not mean hatred for one's life by destroying one's personality, so it must be noted that the words “love” and “hate” here are not used in the worldly sense. In this passage, Jesus uses the word “love” to refer to selfishness or self-centeredness, love of the self than others. "I before others" syndrome type of love, in fact, such is not love, but lust.  In the same way, He uses the word “love” to refer to selflessness or sacrificial self-giving., reaching out to others, and loving others as one loves him or herself.

In other words, whoever is selfish in life will lose everything in the end, but a truly selfless and self-giving person in life will ultimately gain everything. Eternal kingdom.

Let us try to imitate St. Lawrence.

 *Peace ✌️ be with you* 

 *Rev. Fr. Segun Oladeji, CRS.*