He ministered the sacred blood of Christ

Today, August 10, as our church celebrates the Feast of Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr we are invited to first read and reflect on a scripture passage from the Acts of the Apostles (6: 1-6; 8: 1b, 4-8) entitled "The seven deacons are chosen by the apostles". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop. Lawrence of Rome (d. A.D. 258) was one of the seven deacons of Rome who served under Sixtus II and was entrusted especially with administering the Church's material goods and caring for the poor. During the persecution of Emperor Valerian, Pope Sixtus II was executed, and Lawrence was martyred four days later after refusing to surrender the Church's wealth to Roman authorities. According to ancient tradition, when ordered to produce the Church's treasures, Lawrence gathered the poor, sick, widows, and other needy people and declared, in effect, "These are the treasures of the Church." His greatest contribution is therefore the enduring witness of his life: the Church's true wealth is not money or possessions but Christ Himself and the people whom Christ especially identifies with—the poor and suffering. Saint Lawrence is best known for his courageous martyrdom, traditionally believed to have occurred by being burned on a gridiron, his joyful fidelity to Christ in the face of death, and his extraordinary service to the poor. As one of the Church's most celebrated early martyrs and deacons, he remains a powerful model of the diaconal vocation: service at the altar must become service to Christ in the poor. Saint Augustine is perhaps the most significant Christian thinker after St. Paul. His legacy of is immense, shaping both Catholic theology and Western thought as a whole. He is best known for his profound writings—especially Confessions and City of God—which explore the human heart's restless search for God, the reality of sin and grace, and the meaning of history. In short, his legacy is that of a master teacher who showed that the journey to God is both deeply personal and firmly grounded in truth. Saint Augustine is a preeminent Catholic Doctor of the Church. He died in 430. The central teaching of our "treasure" today from a sermon by Saint Augustine, honoring Lawrence of Rome, entitled "He Ministered the Sacred Blood of Christ,", is that Saint Lawrence fulfilled his ministry as a deacon by giving his own life in imitation of the Christ whose Precious Blood he ministered at the altar. Augustine presents Lawrence as a model of complete Christian discipleship: having served Christ sacramentally in the Eucharist, he also served Him in the poor and finally followed Him through suffering and martyrdom. His witness teaches that receiving and ministering the Eucharist must lead to becoming like the Christ we receive—self-giving, charitable, courageous, and willing to sacrifice ourselves for others. Lawrence therefore demonstrates the deepest meaning of Christian service: what we celebrate at the altar must be lived in our lives, until our own self-giving becomes united with Christ's perfect sacrifice of love. Our first reading, from the teaching of the Acts of the Apostles, teaches that the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, calls and commissions particular servants so that both the proclamation of God's Word and the charitable care of His people, especially those in need, may flourish together. When Greek-speaking widows were being neglected in the daily distribution, the Apostles chose seven men "filled with the Spirit and wisdom," prayed over them, and laid hands upon them, establishing a pattern of ordained service traditionally associated with the diaconate. The later ministry of Philip the Evangelist shows that this service extends beyond material assistance to evangelization: he preached Christ, performed signs, and brought great joy to Samaria. The passage therefore teaches that Christian service and evangelization belong together—those called to serve the needs of others must themselves be filled with the Holy Spirit, rooted in prayer, and prepared to proclaim Christ in both word and deed.