The responsorial psalm that is used for the Feast of St. Lawrence is one of a pair of psalms – Psalm 111 and 112. Psalm 111 focuses on God. It extols God for mighty deeds as well as for the majesty, glory, righteousness, graciousness, and mercy that we have all come to identify as characteristics of our God. The psalm ends with a verse that says: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are all who practice it. Psalm 112 begins with a similar sentiment. “Blessed the one who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in God’s commands.”
There is probably no more misunderstood concept in the Scriptures than the idea of the fear of the Lord. Quite simply, fear of the Lord is the recognition that God is in control of the world and that our delight is to live by God’s divine will. When we recognize that God is in control, we must also admit that we are not in control.
Today we celebrate the memory of a deacon martyr of the Church of Rome with the rank of a liturgical feast day. There are only two deacon martyrs who are so honored, Stephen and Lawrence. Their names have also been included in the Roman Eucharistic Prayer along with the names of the apostles, the first popes, the virgin martyrs and other Roman martyrs. Stephen is regarded as the protomartyr, the first to shed his blood for his faith. Why did Lawrence, the patron saint of deacons, chefs, and firefighters, make such a lasting mark on the Church?
One answer to that question comes to us from the responsorial psalm. St. Lawrence is remembered for his care of the poor of Rome, declaring before the Emperor Valerian that they were the very riches of the Church
A sermon of St. Augustine also provides us with an answer to the question. He writes: “As you have often heard, Lawrence was a deacon of the Church at Rome. There he ministered the sacred blood of Christ; there for the sake of Christ’s name he poured out his own blood. St. John the evangelist was evidently teaching us about the mystery of the Lord’s Supper when he wrote: ‘Just as Christ laid down his life for us, so we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren’. My brethren, Lawrence understood this and, understanding, he acted on it. Just as he had partaken of a gift of self at the table of the Lord, so he prepared to offer such a gift. In his life, he loved Christ; in his death he followed in his footsteps.
This is not to say that only martyrs follow in the footsteps of Jesus. St. Augustine goes on in the same sermon to extol the people who populate God’s garden. Yes, there are not only the roses of the martyrs; there are also the lilies of the virgins, the ivy of wedded couples, and the violets of widows. He writes further: “On no account may any class of people despair, thinking that God has not called them. Christ suffered for all. What the Scriptures say is true: ‘God desires all to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.’”
Our celebration of this feast, then, is a celebration of one who has trod the path that Jesus has walked. It is a path which is often referred to as the universal call to holiness. Today, let us walk with Lawrence and all the saints who have followed in the footsteps of Jesus.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator