It is well done

Sisters and brothers in Christ, today is the feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr.

Legend has it that when the prefect of Rome demanded that the deacon bring him the "treasures of the Church", St. Lawrence. . . "gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned, and widowed persons and put them in rows. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, 'These are the treasure of the Church.'. . . The prefect was so angry he told Lawrence that he would indeed have his wish to die—but it would be by inches. 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, the legend concludes, he made his famous cheerful remark, 'It is well done. Turn me over!'” (excerpt from Franciscan Media)

St. Lawrence's life and martyrdom bring to reality the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians: "God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work." Truly, God's grace was poured forth abundantly on St. Lawrence and gave him all he needed to be a heroic witness for Christ in the early Church. He truly lived and served God in the way that Jesus spoke off in today's Gospel, saying: "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me." St. Lawrence is indeed honored by the Father.

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Gospel of the Day

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.”