St. Lawrence of Rome on Hennessy's View

St Lawrence of Rome

bill@billhennessy.com (Bill Hennessy) — Sat, 10 Aug 2019 04:39:51 -0500

St. Lawrence of Rome is the patron saint of comedians. I had no idea there was one. But there is, and it’s St. Lawrence. He earned that designation for his obstinate and comedic refusal to deny Christ, even to his death.

From The Catholic Company:

He was appointed by Pope St. Sixtus II as archdeacon over the seven deacons of Rome, and held the sacred duty of tending to the Church’s wealth and distributing alms to the poor. After Pope St. Sixtus II was beheaded by Roman Emperor Valerian, along with the six other deacons, Lawrence was left as the highest-ranking clergy in Rome. He was ordered by the Roman authorities to appear before the tribunal—a summons to his execution—along with the treasures of the Church that were in his possession.

You’re probably thinking, “that’s hysterical, Bill.”

Here’s where the comedy (sort of) begins. Again, from The Catholic Company:

St. Lawrence then quickly distributed the Church’s wealth to the poor so that the government could not confiscate it. On the appointed day, August 10th, Lawrence responded to the summons by bringing with him a multitude of the poor and crippled of Rome

When the Roman Tribunal rebuked him for failing to bring the treasures of the Church, Lawrence pointed to the poor and crippled and said, “These are the treasures of the Church!”

Again from The Catholic Company:

This angered the authorities so greatly that Lawrence was ordered to be burned alive on a gridiron. He was bound to the metal grate and slowly roasted to death over hot coals. During his torture Lawrence famously mocked his torturers by saying, “I am done on this side, turn me over.”

St. Lawrence is the patron saint of many causes including cooks, chefs, comedians, deacons, librarians, students, and the poor.

Saints of Action #

It’s easy to be drawn to the many great saints who’ve left us remarkable texts that lead us deeper into our relationship with Jesus Christ. These literary saints, too, are treasures of the Church.

But saints of action teach us what to do, not just how to think and pray. And men need models for action.

(Read about St. Lawrence and what we should next..)

St. Lawrence is a saint of action. He lived the Gospel. And, when his life was on the line, he mocked Christ’s persecutors with awesome laugh lines that withstand the test of time.

“I’m done on this side; turn me over.” You will never forget that line, will you?

Teach the Young about St. Lawrence #

When I was preparing for Confirmation in 1975, I had never heard of St. Lawrence. The 1970s were sort of a low point of catechesis. We didn’t learn much about the saints, except the big names: Peter, Paul, Mary.

By 1975, the ugly and awkward Novus Ordo Mass was already deeply entrenched, so never even heard the saints named in the Canon of the Mass. In English:

To us sinners also, Thy servants, trusting in the multitude of Thy mercies, deign to grant some part and fellowship with Thy holy Apostles and Martyrs, with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicitas, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and with all Thy Saints, into whose company, we beseech Thee, not as appraiser of merit but as bestower of pardon, to admit us. Through Christ our Lord.

Counterfactuals are dangerous, but I’m pretty sure I’d have chosen Lawrence as my Confirmation name had I known about him. (Instead, I chose Peter, because of his flaws.)

If you know a young man preparing for Confirmation, please help him expand his knowledge of the saints, especially the ones who left us few words. Especially, those saints whose few lingering words stay with us, like the words of St. Lawrence.

St. Lawrence of Rome, pray for us.

Have a blessed day.

What Should We Do Next?

bill@billhennessy.com (Bill Hennessy) — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 09:19:37 +0000

God laughs at man’s plans.

That’s because God has already given us the only plan we need. A plan to get through this life worthy of the next. And that is enough.

Lawrence of Rome Followed the Plan #

Today is the feast day of Saint Lawrence of Rome. Lawrence is the patron saint of, among others, comedians.

Lawrence was the leader of a group seven deacons whose mission was to distribute alms to the poor. This mission was established by the Apostles (Acts 6:1-6,8:1,4-8) and was still in practice 200 years later when Lawrence lived.

Christianity was still against the law in Rome during Lawrence’s time. Punishable by death. After the pope (Sixtus II) and the other six deacons were beheaded, Lawrence was called before the Roman tribunal. He was ordered to bring with him the treasures of the church.

Lawrence quickly disbursed all of the church’s treasure amongst the poor so the Caesar couldn’t get it. Then, when he appeared before the tribunal, he brought with him dozens of the widows, orphans, poor, and lame he cared for.

“These are the church’s treasures,” he told the tribunal.

For cracking wise, the tribunal ordered Lawrence tortured to death: roasted on a gridiron over hot coals. (See the featured image.) While on the gridiron, instead of begging for mercy, Lawrence mocked his executioners, saying, “I’m done on this side; turn me over.”

Why Should We Follow the Plan? #

I don’t want to get morbid here, but things aren’t going so well if you haven’t noticed. The kinds of people who read this blog are being targeted by Antifa mobs for violence, silenced on Facebook and Twitter, and threatened even by politicians of the Democratic party.

For the time being, President Trump holds our torturers and persecutors at bay. But Trump won’t be president forever. He could be out of office a year from now should the Democrats take over the House and Senate in January. And, if Trump is impeached and convicted, the future President Pence has little chance of winning in 2020.

We could then fight a bloody civil war. It would be a low-level war fought in small skirmishes. A guerilla war that lasts for decades.

As that war wears on, America’s economy would falter. Our ability to maintain a defense would languish. We would be at the mercy of foreign powers like China, Russia, and even Iran. Even if the forces on the right prevailed in the civil war, the victory would be pyrrhic. The America we’d inherit would scarcely resemble the America of our birth or even of America’s birth.

And, in the end, we’d all have blood on our hands. At least all of us who took up arms or supported one side in the war.

But I’m not sure that’s God’s will. What’s the point of gaining the whole world if we lose our souls in the process?

Our early Christian fathers and mothers didn’t fight Rome with arrows and fire. They fought evil with good works, prayer, and hope in Christ. They were tortured and died following the plan. The Plan.

The plan, which I mentioned yesterday, is pretty simple: love God above all things, love your neighbor as yourself, pray incessantly, share the plan with others by preaching the good news, and receive the sacraments. In short, live the life of a saint and do it more out of love of God than out of fear of eternal punishment.

The Plan Isn’t Easy #

I know all too well how difficult it can be to follow the plan. People who know me best know that I follow the plan the way a drunk walks the line. Serpentine.

But just because the plan is hard is no reason to give up. In fact, the plan’s difficulty is probably what makes it worth living. (Maybe I started taking cold showers and fasting regularly to prepare to follow the Plan.) When Christ said to Peter “If you love me, follow me,” He was talking about the cross. Follow me to the cross.

[Find out how to hold your breath for 3 minutes by fasting.]

I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk the line straight this time. Maybe if you pray for me, that God sends His Holy Spirit to flood my heart and soul. But I’m going to chronicle my journey here in hopes that it might help others. If you notice I’m writing more about politics than about the Plan, you’ll know I’ve staggered off the line. Feel free to nudge back on.

If I don’t make it, maybe you will. I seem to have a bit of a gift for getting large numbers of people moving in the same direction. Plus, we are told that following the Plan leads to unimaginable joy and happiness. St. Lawrence is, I believe, happier than the Romans who roasted him. And happiness loves company.