The Voice of Christ:(2)
- From: Weedy <richarra@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:04:29 -0700 (PDT)
The Voice of Christ (2)
I taught the prophets from the beginning, and even to this day I
continue to
speak to all men. But many are hardened. Many are deaf to My voice.
Most men
listen more willingly to the world than to God. They are more ready to
follow
the appetite of their flesh than the good pleasure of God. The world,
which
promises small and passing things, is served with great eagerness: I
promise
great and eternal things and the hearts of men grow dull. Who is there
that
serves and obeys Me in all things with as great care as that with
which the
world and its masters are served?
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Book 3, Chapter 3
Meditation for troubled times:
"Hallowed be Thy Name." What does that mean to us? Here "name" is
used in the
sense of "spirit." The words mean praise to God for His spirit in the
world,
making us better. We should be especially grateful for God's spirit,
which gives
us the strength to overcome all that is base in our lives. His spirit
is
powerful. It can help us to live a conquering, abundant life. So we
praise and
thank Him for His spirit in our lives and in the lives of others.
-- From Twenty-Four Hours a Day
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August 10th - St. Laurence, Martyr
There are few martyrs in the Church whose names are so famous as that
of St.
Laurence, in whose praises the most illustrious among the Latin
fathers have
written, and whose triumph, to use the words of St. Maximus, the whole
Church
joins in a body to honour with universal joy and devotion. He was one
among the
seven deacons who served the Roman church; this was a charge of great
trust, to
which was annexed the care of the goods of the church, and the
distribution of
its alms among the poor.
Emperor Valerian in 257 published his edicts against Christians and
Pope St.
Sixtus, the second of that name, was apprehended the year following
and put to
death; on the fourth day after the faithful Laurence followed him to
martyrdom.
That is all that is known for certain of the life and death of St.
Laurence, but
Christian piety has adopted and consecrated as its own the details
supplied by
St. Ambrose, the poet Prudentius, and others; though it must be
regretfully
admitted that good reasons have been adduced for doubting the
historical
reliability of such moving incidents as St. Laurence's presentation of
the goods
of the Church, and the manner of his death.
According to these traditions, as Pope St. Sixtus was led to
execution, his
deacon Laurence followed him weeping, and said to him, "Father, where
are you
going without your deacon?" The pope answered, "I do not leave you, my
son. You
shall follow me in three days." Laurence was full of joy, hearing
that he
should be so soon called to God; he set out immediately to seek all
the poor,
widows and orphans, and gave among them the money which he had in his
hands; he
even sold the sacred vessels to increase the sum, employing it all in
the like
manner.
When the prefect of Rome was informed of these charities, imagining
Christians hid considerable treasures, he wanted to secure them: for
he was no
less a worshipper of gold and silver than of Jupiter and Mars. With
this view he
sent for St. Laurence, and said to him, "You Christians often complain
that we
treat you with cruelty, but no tortures are here thought of; I only
inquire
mildly after what concerns you. I am informed that your priests offer
in gold,
that the sacred blood is received in silver cups, and that in your
nocturnal
sacrifices you have wax tapers fixed in golden candlesticks. Bring
out these
treasures; the emperor has need of them for the maintenance of his
forces. I am
told that according to your doctrine you must render to Caesar the
things that
belong to him. I do not think that your God causes money to be coined;
He
brought none into the world with Him; He only brought words. Give us
therefore
the money, and be rich in words." St. Laurence replied, without
showing any
concern, "The Church is indeed rich; nor hath the emperor any treasure
equal to
what it possesses. I will show you a valuable part; but allow me a
little time
to set everything in order, and to make an inventory." The prefect did
not
understand of what treasure Laurence spoke, but, imagining the hidden
wealth
already in his hands, was satisfied with this answer and granted him
three days.
During this interval Laurence went all over the city, seeking out
the poor
supported by the Church. On the third day he gathered together a
great number
of them, and placed them in rows, the decrepit, the blind, the lame,
the maimed,
the lepers, orphans, widows and maidens; then he went to the prefect
and invited
him to come and see the treasure of the Church. The prefect,
astonished to see
such an assembly of misery and misfortune, turned to the deacon with
threatening
looks, asked him what all this meant, and where the treasures were
which he had
promised to show him. St. Laurence answered, "What are you displeased
at? These
are the treasure of the Church."
The prefect's anger was not allayed but redoubled, and in a fury of
rage he
shouted, "You mock me! The axes and the fasces, the ensigns of the
Roman power,
are not to be insulted! I know that you desire to die: that is your
madness and
vanity: but you shalt not die immediately, as you imagine. You shall
die by
inches!"
Then he had a great gridiron made ready, and glowing coals put under
it, that
the martyr might be slowly burnt. Laurence was stripped and bound upon
this iron
bed over the slow fire, which roasted his flesh by little and little.
His face
appeared to the Christians to be surrounded with a beautiful light,
and his
suffering body to give off a sweet smell; but the unbelievers neither
saw this
light nor perceived this smell.
The martyr felt not the torments of the persecutor, says St.
Augustine, so
passionate was his desire of possessing Christ: and St. Ambrose
observes that
whilst his body burned in the material flames, the fire of divine love
was far
more active within his breast and made him regardless of the pain.
Having
suffered a long time, he turned to the judge and said with a cheerful
smile,
"Let my body be turned; one side is broiled enough". When the
executioner had
turned him, he said, "It is cooked enough, you may eat". Then, having
prayed
for the conversion of the city of Rome that the faith of Christ might
spread
thence throughout the world, St. Laurence gave up the ghost.
Prudentius ascribes to his prayer the entire conversion of Rome, and
says God
began to grant his request at the very time he made it; for several
senators who
were present at his death were so moved by his heroic fortitude and
piety that
they became Christians upon the spot. These noblemen took up the
martyr's body
on their shoulders and gave it honourable burial on the Via
Tiburtina. His
death, says Prudentius, was the death of idolatry in Rome, which from
that time
began to decline and now (c. 403) the senate itself venerates the
tombs of the
apostles and martyrs. He describes with what devotion and fervour the
Romans
frequented the church of St. Laurence and commended themselves to his
patronage;
and the happy issue of their prayers proves how great his power is
with God.
St. Augustine assures us that God wrought in Rome many miracles
through the
intercession of St. Laurence, and St. Gregory of Tours, Fortunatus,
and others,
relate several in other places.
St. Laurence has been one of the most venerated martyrs of the Roman
church
since the fourth century, and he is named in the canon of the Mass. He
was
certainly buried in the cemetery of Cyriaca in agro Verano on the Via
Tiburtina,
where Constantine built the first chapel on the site of St.
Laurence-outside-the-Walls, the fifth patriarchal basilica of the
city.
Much confusion and inconsistency prevail in what -- purport to be the
"acts" of
St. Laurence, though in fact this document is only an item in a series
of
similar narratives. See BHL., n.6884, as compared with nn. 7801 and
4753. The
poem of Prudentius. however, which Ruinart prints among his Acta
sincera,
affords a relatively clear statement, followed in the main above. Is
this merely
a poetical fiction, or does it represent some genuine tradition handed
down
either orally or in documents which have perished? St. Ambrose (see
e.g. his De
Officiis, i, 41) undoubtedly shared the belief that the martyr was
roasted to
death, and so did other early fathers. P. Franchi de' Cavalieri
(Romische
Quartalschrift, vol. xiv (1900), pp. 159-176; and Note agiografiche,
vol. v
(1915), pp. 65-82) and Delehaye (Analecta Bollandiana, vol. XIX, 5900,
pp.
452-453; see also vol. li, 1933 pp. 49-58, and CMH., pp. 431-432)
reject
altogether the gridiron tradition; but it still finds defenders. See,
for
example, H. Leclercq in DAC., article "Gril" (vol. vi, cc. 1827-1831)
and
article "Laurent" (vol. viii, cc. 1917-1947). The great devotion
inspired by the
memory of St. Laurence in Rome is strikingly illustrated in the Life
of St.
Melania the Younger (see Rampolla's edition, pp. 5-6), as also by the
fact of
the numerous dedications of churches and oratories. See J. P. Kirsch,
Die
romischen Titelkirchen in Altertum, pp. 80-84, and Huelsen, Le Chise
di Roma nel
media evo, pp. 280-297. Cf. also Duchesne "Le Sanctuaire de S.
Laurent", in
Mélanges d'archEologie, vol. xxxix (1921), pp. 3-24. Lawrence seems to
be the
better English spelling of this name.
Saint Quote:
Who has lost and who has won in the struggle-the one who keeps the
premises
[buildings] or the one who keeps the Faith? The Faith obviously. That
therefore
the ordinances which have been preserved in the churches from old time
until now
may not be lost in our days,... rouse yourselves, brethren,... seeing
them now
seized upon by aliens.
--St. Basil the Great (ca. 330-ca. 379)
Bible Quote
Jesus said to them: Because of your unbelief. For, amen I say to you,
if you
have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain,
Remove
from hence hither, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible to you.
(Matthew 17:19)
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TO A MIRACULOUS MOTHER
Blessed Mother, be my guide!
Be here always at my side!
Take me through this world of sorrow,
Show me there's a bright tomorrow!
.
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