Lawrence was one of seven deacons that who
know about who served in the Church in ancient Rome in the first half of the
third century. It was said that after
the death of Pope Sixtus, whom Lawrence served, he was ordered by Roman
authorities to hand over the treasures of the Church. He distributed as much wealth he could to the
poor, so when the authorities came, he presented them the poor, the blind, the
suffering and the lame. As a result,
Lawrence was imprisoned and was burned to death. Lawrence became a well-recognized martyr in
the early Church, having been killed in these Valerian persecutions in the year
258. He is honored in our Church’s liturgical
calendar today. This week, Edith Stein
and Maximilian Kolbe, two Catholics who died in the Auschwitz concentration
camp in WWII, are also honored as martyrs for the faith.
In our modern era, we hear of those in
the Middle East and Africa who are persecuted for the faith, something we could
not imagine just a few years ago. Perhaps
we in North America will also be face with persecutions we never dreamed as
possible. Perhaps we will be called upon
to sacrifice for our faith and to witness to what we believe in extraordinary
ways.
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