Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr
St. Lawrence deacon and martyr (†258). Considered the first deacon of Rome, whose responsibilities included distributing alms to the poor. He was imprisoned together with Pope St. Sixtus II and several other deacons, during the persecution waged by the Emperor Valerian. He is noted for his outstanding fortitude while being burned to death on a gridiron.
Mass Readings
First Reading – 2 Cor 9:6-10
Brothers and sisters: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Responsorial Psalm – *** (R.*)
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in His commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed. R.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance. R.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear
till He looks down upon his foes. R.
Lavishly He gives to the poor,
His generosity shall endure forever;
His horn shall be exalted in glory. R.
Gospel – Jn 12:24-26
Jesus said to His disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves Me.”
Featured Saints
Blessed Arcangelo of Calatafimi Piacentini, priest (†1460). Anchorite from the mountainous region of Calatafimi. When Pope Martin V declared the suppression of hermitic life in this region, he became a Franciscan friar in Palermo.
Blessed Franciszek Drzewiecki and Edward Grzymala, priests and martyrs (†1942). Polish evangelizers killed in in the gas chamber of Dachau, Germany.
Blessed Augustine Ota, religious and martyr (†1622). Jesuit lay brother and ardent catechist, beheaded in Japan.
Blesseds Claude-Joseph Jouffret de Bonnefont, Francis François and Lazarus Tiersot, priests and martyrs (†1794). Sulpician, Franciscan and Carthusian priests respectively, who were left to die on a crowded prison-ship at Rochefort during the French Revolution.
Blessed John Martorell Soria, priest and martyr (†1936). Salesian priest who was subjected to torture and finally put to death in Valencia, Spain.
Blessed Joseph Toledo Pellicer, priest and martyr (†1936). Priest from Valencia, Spain, killed during the Spanish religious persecution.
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