A Reflection for the St. Vincent de Paul Society meeting, Monday, August 10, 2015
By Dcn Bob Bonomi
By Dcn Bob Bonomi
Today is the feast of St. Lawrence, a deacon who was martyred about 258 AD. I LOVE the story of St. Lawrence, because it shows me that deacons can have a sense of humor and still be saints. There’s hope for me, too.
But Lawrence’s story is particularly suited for your work as Vincentians. According to his bio, Lawrence was a deacon for Pope St. Sixtus II. Legend has it that after Sixtus II was killed, the prefect of Rome sent for Lawrence in order to confiscate the treasures that he believed that the Church held. Lawrence knew he would be arrested like the pope, so he sought out the poor, the widows and the orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he had on hand, selling even the sacred vessels to increase the sum.
When he met with the prefect, the prefect twisted Scriptures in order to claim rights to what he thought was the wealth of the Church, quoting how Church doctrine said to render to Caeser what belonged to Caesar, and how God didn’t need earthly wealth, only His words.
So Lawrence agreed to bring the Church’s treasure to the prefect. After three days he gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons in the church and when the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, “These are the treasure of the Church.”
The prefect was obviously ticked off, so he supposedly had Lawrence roasted over a bed of hot coals. Before he died, Lawrence told his tormentors, “This side’s done. Turn me over!”
But what is important about St. Lawrence to us as Vincentians is Lawrence’s insight into the gift that is those whom we serve. When we look at the assistance board with all the various cases of those who are seeking help, we sometimes only think about how hard these poor people have it and how they are depending on us to help them. And looking on the magnitude of their need, we question how we can ever help them enough. They are so MANY and their needs are so GREAT!
But if we look to the story of St. Lawrence, we should realize that THEY are the true treasures of the Church. THEY are what give value to the Church – to us. They are God’s treasures; they are God’s gift to us. And unlike treasures that are displayed in a museum somewhere, to be stared at from a distance, these treasures are meant to be touched and shared like a family around the dinner table.
Our clients show us the way to holiness. If there were no needy – if they did not exist – then there would be no need to serve them and there would be no need for the Church. Jesus said that whenever we help the least of our brothers, we are helping Him. It is in our service to them that we encounter Christ. We think we are helping them, but they are helping us far more. We help with their earthly needs, but they open the doors of Heaven for us. We must always remember to treat them as the treasures that they are.
But Lawrence’s story is particularly suited for your work as Vincentians. According to his bio, Lawrence was a deacon for Pope St. Sixtus II. Legend has it that after Sixtus II was killed, the prefect of Rome sent for Lawrence in order to confiscate the treasures that he believed that the Church held. Lawrence knew he would be arrested like the pope, so he sought out the poor, the widows and the orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he had on hand, selling even the sacred vessels to increase the sum.
When he met with the prefect, the prefect twisted Scriptures in order to claim rights to what he thought was the wealth of the Church, quoting how Church doctrine said to render to Caeser what belonged to Caesar, and how God didn’t need earthly wealth, only His words.
So Lawrence agreed to bring the Church’s treasure to the prefect. After three days he gathered a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons in the church and when the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, “These are the treasure of the Church.”
The prefect was obviously ticked off, so he supposedly had Lawrence roasted over a bed of hot coals. Before he died, Lawrence told his tormentors, “This side’s done. Turn me over!”
But what is important about St. Lawrence to us as Vincentians is Lawrence’s insight into the gift that is those whom we serve. When we look at the assistance board with all the various cases of those who are seeking help, we sometimes only think about how hard these poor people have it and how they are depending on us to help them. And looking on the magnitude of their need, we question how we can ever help them enough. They are so MANY and their needs are so GREAT!
But if we look to the story of St. Lawrence, we should realize that THEY are the true treasures of the Church. THEY are what give value to the Church – to us. They are God’s treasures; they are God’s gift to us. And unlike treasures that are displayed in a museum somewhere, to be stared at from a distance, these treasures are meant to be touched and shared like a family around the dinner table.
Our clients show us the way to holiness. If there were no needy – if they did not exist – then there would be no need to serve them and there would be no need for the Church. Jesus said that whenever we help the least of our brothers, we are helping Him. It is in our service to them that we encounter Christ. We think we are helping them, but they are helping us far more. We help with their earthly needs, but they open the doors of Heaven for us. We must always remember to treat them as the treasures that they are.
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