Tomorrow, August 9, we will celebrate the memorial of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr.

Saint Lawrence was one of the seven deacons serving Saint Pope Sixtus II. After, the death of Saint Pope Sixtus II, Lawrence was martyred probably under the persecution of Emperor Valerian.

A well-known legend has persisted from the earliest times. As a 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 he was asked by the emperor to show and surrender the treasures of the Church, Lawrence replied that the Church was indeed rich and asked for three days to do the 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 said, “These are the treasure of the Church.”

The prefect was so angry with Lawrence’s reply and ordered that he must be killed. 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 he made his famous cheerful remark, “It is well done. Turn me over!”

Saint Lawrence, pray for us!