St. Lawrence: Detachment for the sake of service

Though not everyone in the Church is an ordained Deacon (diakonos), St. Lawrence provides an excellent example to all Christian disciples, who are called to service (diakonia) in the Church and in the world. Martyred in 258 during the Roman persecution under Emperor Valerian, Lawrence had surely spent a lifetime of preparation for the moment of his execution through a life of detachment from worldly concerns, growing in right relationship with Creator and creation. Proof enough of this is found in the stories of his life, presenting to the Emperor the poor, infirm, and powerless as the "treasures of the Church." The Christian disciple is likewise called to this ever more radical detachment in imitation of Jesus Christ himself: "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life" (Jn 12:25). Lawrence followed this example, sowing his life through martyrdom for the sake of witness to Jesus, the value of human life, and the hope of eternal salvation.

-Given at the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel (UST-St. Paul) on August 10, 2020, the Feast of St. Lawrence