2 Corinthians 9:6-10 / John 12:24-26 (2020 / 2024)
St. Laurence was a deacon of the Church of Rome when Pope Sixtus was martyred along with four other deacons.
St. Laurence was told by the authorities that if he wanted to be spared, he was to surrender all the treasures of the Church in three days time.
So during the next three day, St. Laurence went around gathering the poor and the needy who were supported by the Church.
Then he brought them before the authorities and he told them : These are the treasures of the Church.
Needless to say, he was taken away to be tortured to death.
The account of the execution scene was morbid.
St. Laurence was stripped and tied to a wire-mesh to be roasted over the fire.
One account has it that St. Laurence said to his torturers : You can turn me over, I am well done on this side.
But martyrdom is certainly no laughing matter, but yet even as the blood of the martyrs was poured out, the Church grew especially in those terrible times.
Because it was a blood that was willingly poured out, willingly given for the glory of God.
In these present times, the seeds of faith are also waiting to sprout in and around the Church.
We as Christians are called to fertilize the soil by the example of our lives and by our love for God and for others.
We do this by faithfully following Christ and serving Him in the poor, like St. Laurence did, so that our lives will also bear a rich harvest.