Occasionally the regular cycle of readings is interrupted because of the importance of the saint of the day. Special scripture readings are used, for example, for St. Peter and St. Mary Magdalene. Today’s saint, St. Lawrence, is not well known today but was a great hero in the early Church so he has special readings assigned. Lawrence was a deacon who in third century Rome ran the administration of the Church. The pope, Sixtus II, and four deacons where martyred but the emperor offered to spare Lawrence’s life, in exchange for his handing over of “the treasures of the Church.” Lawrence presented the emperor with the sick, the needy, and the marginalized. “These,” he said, “are the treasures of the Church.” The emperor was not amused and, on August 10, Saint Lawrence was martyred. The church in Rome dedicated to him, St. Lawrence outside the walls, is a papal basilica which means only the pope or his delegate can celebrate on the high altar. He was martyred on a gridiron and is supposed to have quipped to his executioners. “I’m done on this side. You can turn me over.” For this, he is the patron saint of cooks and comedians. The Perseid meteor shower which occurs annually around August 10th are known as the “tears of St. Lawrence.
