instruction on st. lawrence, martyr

8/6/2019 Instruction on St. Lawrence, Martyr

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An excerpt from

EXPLANATIONOF THE

EPISTLES AND

GOSPELSFOR THESUNDAYS, HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS

THROUGHOUT

THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEARBY

REV. LEONARD GOFFINE,

PRIEST OF THE ORDER OF PREMONSTRATENSIANS,

EDITED AND ENLARGED BY REV. GEORGE OTT, DEAN

AND PASTOR,

WITH THE APPROBATION OF THE RIGHT REV.BISHOP OF RATISBON.

TRANSLATED FROM THE NEWEST GERMAN EDITION

BY

REV. GERARD M. PILZ, O.S.B.


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Instruction for the Feast

of St. Lawrence, Martyr.

[August .]

t. Lawrence, a youth endowed with rare

gifts of body and soul, who had the best offortunes to expect from the world, for the

love of God and from zeal for the salvation

of his soul put the world with all its honor,

and riches and pleasures, beneath his feet,

and dedicated himself to the priesthood, at

a time when the Christians and especially

the clergy, were continually persecuted. He was at a very early age,

on account of his remarkable merit and knowledge, his fidelity andprudence, and notwithstanding his youth, appointed archdeacon by

Pope Sixtus, in which office, besides his service at the altar, he had

charge of the Church treasury and the money for the poor, which

led to his martyrdom. By command of the Emperor Valerian, who

ordered the bishops and priests to be sought after to be executed, the

holy Pope Sixtus was taken prisoner, sentenced to death, and exe-

cuted. Lawrence burning with desire for a martyrs death, wishedto die with his spiritual father, and for this purpose followed him to

the place of death, saying: Where are you going, my father, with-

out your son? But the pope ordered him to return and guard the

treasures of the Church. When these words were reported to the of-

ficers, Lawrence was taken and the treasure demanded of him. He

asked for three days in which to consider the demand, and at the

end of that time called the poor and sick to him, led them before

the tyrant, and said: These are the treasures of the Church which

I promised you. The tyrant became furious and ordered the saint


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to be bound and burnt upon a glowing grate. The saint bore this

horrible death with joy and with indifference to the fire, and aftera time said to the tyrant: I am now roasted enough on this side,

let them turn me over. And the tyrant had him turned to the other

side, upon which the saint remarked: My flesh is now well roasted,

eat if, if it pleases thee. Having then with his eyes raised to heav-

en, prayed for the conversion of Rome and for the spreading of the

gospel throughout the whole country, the saint slept quietly in the

Lord, on the tenth of August, .

The Introit reads: Praise and beauty are before him: holiness

and majesty in his sanctuary. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle:

sing to. the Lord all the earth. (Ps. xcv.) Glory, &c.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH. Enable us, we beseech Thee, O

Almighty God, to extinguish in ourselves the noxious heat of sin,

by whose grace blessed Lawrence triumphed over flames and the

most exquisite torments. Thro.

EPISTLE. (ii. Cor. ix. .) B: He who soweth spar-

ingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings,

shall also reap of blessings. Every one as he hath determined in his

heart, not with sadness, or of necessity. For God loveth a cheerful

giver. And God is able to make all grace abound in you: that ye al-

ways having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good

work.As it is written: He hath dispersed abroad, he hath given

to the poor: his justice remaineth for ever. And he that ministerethseed to the sower, will both give you bread to eat and will multiply

your seed, and increase the growth of the fruits of your justice.

EXPLANATION. These words apply perfectly to St. Lawrence,

who, instead of making himself rich with the Church treasures, or

gaining great honors by giving them up to the avaricious tyrant,

gave them to the poor and thus gained spiritual and eternal treasures

in abundance. In this we should imitate him. Almsgiving is, as theapostle says, like a field, which the more it is sowed by giving, the

richer harvest it will bring for body and soul. We should not be sad

or vexed in giving, for this shows parsimony: he who gives freely

to the poor, is agreeable to God, and God will repay him in His own

time with corporal and spiritual riches, and will never let him come

to want. That which we give to the poor, is not lost to us, but is

deposited in the Lords treasury, whence we will again receive it

with great interest.

GOSPEL. (John xii. .) A : Jesus said to his


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disciples: Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat

falling into the ground, die, itself remaineth alone. But if it die,it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life, shall lose it:

and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.

If any man minister unto me, let him follow me: and where I am,

there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will

my Father honour.

What is meant by the grain of wheat which died?

Christ, our Lord, who had to die and lay in the grave, that by His

death He might bring forth the fruit of redemption, conversion, and

happiness for mankind; every true Christian who mortifies his evil

desires, avoids improper inclinations, and the vanity of the world,

and brings forth the fruit of virtue and good works. Such mortifi-

cations are a kind of martyrdom, and like martyrdom will be most

gloriously rewarded by God. Crucify thy flesh, says St. Chrysos-tom, that thou mayst obtain the martyrs crown. It is, says St.

Bernard, a species of torture, by which the spirit kills the works

of the flesh. To patiently endure disgrace, injustice, and persecu-

tion, to love those who hate us, is an inward martyrdom, says St.

Gregory. The whole life of a Christian, writes St. Augustine, if

led by the gospel, is a continual cross and martyrdom.

What does it mean to hate ones life?

It means, to promise to our inclinations nothing which is against

Gods commandments, and dangerous to our salvation, and this

means at the same time, to truly love our soul and to preserve it

for eternal life; on the contrary, to yield everything to our souls

passions and inclinations, everything for which it improperly longs,

means to destroy it. We hate the sick man, if we give him that whichhe desires, when it is injurious to him, and love him, if we refuse

it to him. In the same way he truly loves his soul, who resists its

evil desires, and he hates it, who yields to them. To such a hatred

or rather to such a true love for our souls, we are admonished by

the Holy Ghost: Go not after thy lusts, but turn away from thy own

will. If thou give to thy soul her desires, she will make thee a joy

to thy enemies. (Eccl. xviii. , .)

PETITION. O Jesus, blessed Fruit of the Virgin Mary, we thank

Thee, that Thou wert pleased for our salvation to become, through


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Thy incarnation, such a wonderful grain of wheat and die such a

bitter death. Ah! that we rightly knew this grace, and imitated Theein our lives, as have so many thousands of martyrs, among whom

shines especially Thy servant Lawrence. Grant us, that we may also

be filled with the desire to bear all sufferings patiently unto the end,

and so zealously serve Thee here, that we may in the other world,

as Thou hast promised, be honored by Thy Heavenly Father, and be

happy for all eternity. Amen.

instruction on st. lawrence, martyr

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