Hello dear readers! It’s Mike, back to talk to you about one of my favorite Saints: Saint Lawrence. Saint Lawrence was born in 225 AD and served in the early church as a deacon of Rome. He was friends with the man who would become Pope Sixtus II, and it was Pope Sixtus II himself who gave him his assignment. This vocation included the responsibilities of managing the material goods of the church as well as distributing alms to the poor. For those unfamiliar with the Catholic church’s origins, the Romans had a long history of persecuting early Christians. This was still the norm during Lawrence’s time, and Pope Sixtus II was captured and put to death in August of 258 AD. The Romans next came for Lawrence, knowing that he was in charge of the church’s treasury. The prefect of Rome demanded that he turn over the riches of the church, and Lawrence asked for 3 days to take inventory and prepare.

Now the Romans expected total compliance, but Lawrence used the 3 days to give away as much as he could to the poor. He even sold the sacred vessels of the altar to increase the sum as much as possible; he certainly knew his end was coming, and he wanted to help his community with his last days. When the prefect of Rome returned to collect his bounty, he instead found Lawrence waiting with crowds of poor, elderly, orphaned, and disabled; Saint Lawrence explained that these people were the true treasure of the church. The prefect of Rome was infuriated, and he took Lawrence into custody--deciding that he would be killed slowly and painfully. He had a large grill prepared and placed red-hot coals beneath it. Saint Lawrence was cooked alive, experiencing pain I don’t even wish to imagine. Despite this torture, though, Saint Lawrence didn’t lose his spirit. After some time on the grill, he cheerfully commented ‘Flip me over, I’m done on this side.’ to his persecutors. Saint Lawrence is the patron saint of cooks, the poor, and comedians and his feast day is August 10 ^th.

I am inspired by Saint Lawrence because of how he responded to the overwhelming threat the Romans represented, and how he faced his certain death with complete confidence and the firmest resolve. When the Romans killed Pope Sixtus, most men in Lawrence’s shoes would have fled for safety. They might have hidden and laid low. Lawrence, however, continued his work and waited for his persecutors to seek him out. When the prefect of Rome demanded the church’s wealth, most would have conceded to save themselves. Lawrence, conversely, gave as much as he could away…surely knowing the wrath it would incur. Not only that, but Lawrence used this moment to attempt to teach the prefect the error of his ways: ignoring the marginalized people of Rome. Finally, when faced with a brutal death, Saint Lawrence stayed true to himself, not losing his spirit even as he was burned alive. Saint Lawrence is a great example of how we should live our lives, and how strongly we should hold to our faith. I pray that I can show even a fraction of the resolve that Lawrence did in the last days of his life, especially when it seems that the world is against me.