Saint of the day - August 10
Saint Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II, who were martyred in 258 during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Valerian.
He was born on 31 December, 225, in Valencia, Spain. The martyrs Orentius and Patientia are believed to be his parents.
Lawrence encountered Sixtus, well before the latter became Pope, in Caesaraugusta. Eventually, both left Spain for Rome. When Sixtus became the Pope in 257, he ordained Lawrence as a deacon, and though Lawrence was still young, appointed him first among the seven deacons to serve in the cathedral church. He was therefore called "archdeacon of Rome". It was a position of great trust that included the care of the treasury and riches of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor and needy.
In the beginning of August 258, the Emperor Valerian issued an edict that all bishops, priests, and deacons should immediately be put to death. Pope Sixtus II was captured on 6 Augus,t 258, at the cemetery of St. Callixtus while celebrating the liturgy and executed forthwith.
After the death of Pope Sixtus, the prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence hand over the riches of the Church. Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth. He worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property to the indigent as possible, so as to prevent it being seized by the prefect.
On the third day, he presented himself to the prefect, and when ordered to deliver the treasures of the Church, he presented the indigent, the crippled, the blind, and the suffering, and declared that those were the true treasures of the Church. This act of defiance led directly to his martyrdom.
The prefect was so angry over the grit of Lawrence that he had a great grid-iron prepared with hot coals beneath it and had Lawrence placed on it. After Lawrence had suffered the pain of burning for a long time, the legend concludes, he cheerfully declared: "I'm well done on this side. Turn me over!"
Lawrence, the last of the seven deacons, suffered a martyr's death on August 10, 258.
Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Acrates
2. Saint Agilberta
3. Saint James of Manug
4. Saint Laurentinus
5. Saint Thiento & Companions
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