August 10: Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr—Feast

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August 10: Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr—Feast

c. 225–c. 258
Patron Saint of archivists, armories, book lovers, brewers, butchers, cooks, comedians, deacons, glaziers, laundry workers, librarians, firefighters, poor people, restaurateurs, schoolchildren, seminarians, tanners, vine growers, winemakers, and Rome
Invoked against fire and lumbago (lower back pain)
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: Red

Quote:
Such gold the holy martyr Lawrence preserved for the Lord. For when the treasures of the Church were demanded from him, he promised that he would show them. On the following day he brought the poor together. When asked where the treasures were which he had promised, he pointed to the poor, saying: “These are the treasures of the Church.” And truly they were treasures, in whom Christ lives, in whom there is faith in Him…These treasures Lawrence pointed out, and prevailed, for the persecutors could not take them away…Lawrence, who preferred to spend the gold of the Church on the poor, rather than to keep it in hand for the persecutor, received the sacred crown of martyrdom for the unique and deep-sighted vigor of his meaning. ~Saint Ambrose of Milan

Prayer:
Saint Lawrence, you gave your life to Christ at a young age and followed Him to your death with courage. You executed your duties to the poor with fidelity and saw them as the true treasures of the Church. Please pray for me, that I will have the courage that you had to say “Yes” to Christ, no matter what He asks of me. Saint Lawrence of Rome, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You. 

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