I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. -John 12:24
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. -Tertullian in his work Apologeticus, Chapter 50.
Yesterday was the Feast of Saint Lawrence, a day to celebrate and remember a man who gave his life away for the Gospel of Christ. Ironically, I found this out while listening to Catholic radio about an hour before I passed through a little town dedicated to this saint, Lawrenceburg, Indiana. It was my first time there, and I was happy to find that SR 50 passed by the local parish dedicated to him (I prayed there before returning home).
In about 258 AD when the Church was still underground, illegal, and persecuted, the Emperor of Rome (Valerian) had the Bishop of Rome (Pope Sixtus II) executed. Lawrence was one of seven deacons in Rome, and he kept the treasury. Lawrence was asked by the Roman authorities to gather all the wealth of the Church and place it before the Emperor. After 3 days, he distributed the church treasury and property to the poor throughout the city and gathered them together in one place. When the Emperor arrived, Lawrence pointed to the poor and stated, “Here is the treasure of the Church.” Three days after the Pope had been executed, Deacon Lawrence followed his footsteps to martyrdom and was burned alive.
Another tidbit from my trip yesterday is that Lawrenceburg has a large casino that attracts many to its city. I find it a bit ironic that while St. Lawrence is considered ‘the patron saint of giving’ (since he gave away the church treasury to the poor and his own life to God), people are literally flocking to his town in order to give their lives away to this casino in exchange for nothing.
Let’s ask St Lawrence to pray for us to our God whenever we become to focused on the pleasures of the world and forget what eternal Love and Blessing await us in the world to come. Amen.
Barrel Aged Faith 