Aug 10 – Feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr
St. Lawrence was a third-century archdeacon of Rome, a distributor of alms, and “keeper of the treasures of the Church” in a time when Christianity was outlawed. On 6 August 258, by decree of Emperor Valerian, Pope St. Sixtus II and six deacons were beheaded, leaving Lawrence as the ranking Church official in Rome.
While in prison awaiting execution, Sixtus reassured Lawrence that he was not being left behind; they would be reunited in four days. Lawrence saw this time as an opportunity to disperse the material wealth of the church before the Roman authorities could lay their hands on it.
On Aug 10, Lawrence was commanded to appear for his execution, and to bring along the treasure with which he had been entrusted by the pope. When he arrived, the archdeacon was accompanied by a multitude of Rome’s crippled, blind, sick, and indigent. He announced that these were the true treasures of the Church. He died a martyr for the faith.
Lawrence’s care for the poor, the ill, and the neglected have led to his patronage of them. His work to save the material wealth of the Church, including the documents, brought librarians and those in related fields to see him as a patron, and to ask for his intercession. And his incredible strength and courage when being grilled to death led to his patronage of cooks and those who work in, or supply things to, the kitchen. The meteor shower that follows the passage of the Swift-Tuttle comet was known in the Middle Ages as the ‘burning tears of St. Lawrence’ because they appear at the same time as Lawrence’s feast.
- Patron Saint Index
2 Cor 9:6-10
Jn 12:24-26
“Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life”
“You reap what you sow”. I have heard this saying from my earliest days, which has motivated almost everything I have strived to do. For a long time too, this maxim has been behind the motivations in my faith journey; I constantly felt the need to continue to ‘earn’ my way to redemption through my actions and my thoughts, and that any failure on my part would mark me down in my journey to everlasting life. I remember how, as a young person, I used to silently judge (and without being aware that I was doing so) others’ behaviour, marking their outward behaviour against some unknown target.
Since then, I have understood that God has given us entry to heaven through Grace gifted by Christ’s merits. No matter what or how much we do, we can never earn enough merit to gain entry.
Today’s Gospel reinforces this point, especially in the line: “Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life”. What He asks of us is that we do not focus on our own lives, at least not earthly ones.
So what was the apostle Paul referring to in the First Reading?
In 2 Corinthians 9, from verse 1, we see that Paul was writing to the Corinthians to help raise support for the community at Achaia. Hence, the passage from verse 6 about cheerful giving resulting in more rewards likely refers to the support that the Christian community (as a whole) provides for each other. When I start reading from verse 6, I run the danger of thinking that if I wanted God’s favour, I could easily buy it.
Brothers and sisters, let us pray for the gift of wisdom — to always discern what He wants us to learn.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Paul Wee)
Prayer: Lord, we pray that we will continue to grow as Christians. Help us to live as how Christians would, as a sign of our conversion. Help us to be selfless.
Thanksgiving: Thank You, Jesus, for loving and blessing us with Your grace. We are grateful for the eternal life You have offered us.
OXYGEN 
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