August 10: Laurence of Rome, Deacon and Martyr, 258

The Collect of the Day

Laurence of Rome

Almighty God, by whose grace and power your servant Laurence triumphed over suffering and despised death: Grant that we may be steadfast in service to the poor and outcast, and may share with him in the joys of your everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Laurence of Rome

Almighty God, by whose grace and power thy servant Laurence didst triumph over sufferingand didst despise death: Grant that we may be steadfast in service to the poor and outcast, and may share with him in the joys of thine everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Daniel 3:19–27
Psalm 126
John 12:24–26

Laurence the Deacon was martyred at Rome during a persecution initiated in 257 by the Emperor Valerian, aimed primarily at clergy and laity of the upper classes. Both of his parents, Orencio and Patientia, had been martyred earlier, but he had been spared in the first wave of persecution, and was subsequently ordained to the diaconate.

On August 4th, 258, Pope Sixtus II and his seven deacons were apprehended in the Roman catacombs and summarily executed, except for the archdeacon, Laurence, who was martyred on the 10th.

Ambrose relates a tradition that the prefect demanded information from Laurence about the church’s treasures, since as archdeacon he had the primary responsibility for distributing alms to the poor and needy. Laurence asked for several days to gather all of the wealth together, during which time he worked quickly to give everything away to those in need. When the prefect again demanded the church’s treasures, Laurence pointed to the sick and the poor and said, “These are the treasures of the church.”

Laurence is believed to have been roasted alive on a gridiron. According to legend, while being roasted he cheerfully exclaimed, “I am done on this side; turn me over!”

Lessons and Psalm

First Lesson

Psalm

¹When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, *then were we like those who dream.

²Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *and our tongue with shouts of joy.

³Then they said among the nations, *“The Lord has done great things for them.”

⁴The Lord has done great things for us, *and we are glad indeed.

⁵Restore our fortunes, O Lord, *like the watercourses of the Negev.

⁶Those who sowed with tears *will reap with songs of joy.

⁷Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, *will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.

Gospel

¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, ²⁰and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. ²²Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ²³But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire. ²⁴Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” ²⁵He replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god.” ²⁶Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. ²⁷And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them.