Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr
Today the church celebrates the Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr. Before the Second Vatican Council this feast was unique in the life of the church in that, outside of saints found in the New Testament, Lawrence was the only saint whose annual celebration was kept as a feast and not as a memorial.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches about going on the path of a grain of wheat, to die to oneself, something Benedict XVI described as “the essence of Christianity.” Lawrence was one who lived this essence. He did so by first sowing himself, to quote Saint Paul from the second reading, in service as a deacon. He also did so secondly by sowing himself, falling to the ground and dying as a grain of wheat in martyrdom.
He was martyred in the persecution of Valerian in 258. Arrested in the catacombs of Rome during the celebration of mass, Lawrence was given only a few days to round up all of the “treasures” of the church. So he assembled all the Church treasures, which were not golden vessels but the poor, both Christian and pagan. In the words of today’s Psalm, Lawrence, like the God he was serving, “lavishly gave to the poor” and now “his generosity shall endure forever.”
This charity led to his second sowing as a grain of wheat. The authorities were so incensed with Lawrence that they wanted him to die in a most grueling way, roasted on a gridiron. But, according to legend, he remained a cheerful giver to the end. As the deadly deed was done, he turned to his executioners and said, “turn me over. I’m done on this side.”
Not many of us will be sowed like a grain of wheat in the manner of Saint Lawrence. How then are we sowed like a grain of wheat in 2026? In what ways do we express the essence of Christianity in our day-to-day life? Probably in more subtle ways will we be sown like a grain of wheat but still ways that are genuine. And let us keep our sense of humor about it.
—Timothy J. Cronin