Saint Lawrence

​Today is the Feast of Saint Lawrence who was a deacon appointed by Pope Sixtus II and was entrusted with the church treasury so he could care for the poor in Rome. Both Pope Sixtus and Saint Lawrence were arrested by the Roman guards for their Christian faith. Pope Sixtus was executed but the guards delayed Lawrence's execution because they wanted him to hand over all the wealth from the church treasury. Saint Lawrence had distributed all the wealth to the poor in Rome so he brought the poor people to the Roman guards and told them they were the treasures of the church. This infuriated the guards and they tied him to a gridiron and burned him slowly. Saint Lawrence did not denounce his Christian faith even though he was tortured instead his last words were, "This side is done, turn me over". There is a gridiron in Rome that's venerated even today in the church of San Lorenzo which tradition says was the gridiron on which Saint Lawrence was martyred. Saint Lawrence is the patron saint of deacons, chefs and fire fighters. Also around his feast day the earth passes through a comet's tail which results in meteorite showers or falling stars which people call as the tears of Saint Lawrence. As I'm writing this on August 8th two days before I plan to post this article I observed a falling star this morning around 5:30 AM and I can't remember in recent time seeing a falling star so clearly. Saint Lawrence pray for us!