August 10 | Saint Lawrence

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, imagine that you are standing before one of the most powerful, ruthless, and terrifying Roman government officials in the ancient world. This guy has armies at his back, and he's looking right at you, demanding you hand over all your money and hidden gold.

If you don't, you face the ultimate punishment. So, what do you do? Run? Hand over the cash? Not if you're today's saint. Instead of giving him a single ounce of gold, you bring him a crowd of the poorest, sickest, and most forgotten people in the entire city, and tell the official, this is my treasure.

And then, when the official gets so mad that he decides to execute you in the absolute worst way possible, by literally roasting you alive over a fire, you look right up at him, completely chill, and crack a joke. Today, we're talking about St. Lawrence, one of the most famous deacons in Christian history, and one of the early church's most beloved martyrs. St. Lawrence was originally born around the year 225 AD in Huesca, a city in Hispania, which is modern-day Spain. But his real adventure started when he eventually traveled to Rome.

There, he became super close friends and a key collaborator with the Pope at the time, Pope Sixtus II. Lawrence wasn't just a regular guy in the pews. He was ordained as a deacon. In fact, he was one of only seven deacons in the entire city of Rome. Now, being a deacon back then meant you had a massive amount of responsibility.

Lawrence was basically the manager of the church's material goods, and his main job was distributing assistance and money to the poor. He had to make sure the widows, the sick, And the hungry were taken care of. But in the year 258 AD, the Roman Emperor Valerian launched a massive, brutal persecution against Christians. Simply believing in Jesus was suddenly a fast track to prison, or worse. It didn't take long for the Roman authorities to kick down the doors. Pope Sixtus II and several of his companions were arrested and executed.

Lawrence knew his time was running out. But the Roman authorities didn't just want Lawrence dead. They wanted the church's bank account. The prefect of Rome, the official in charge of the city, had Lawrence arrested and demanded that he surrender all the wealth and treasure of the church. Lawrence, totally unfazed, just looked at him and asked for a few days to gather all the treasures together. The prefect, probably rubbing his hands together thinking about all that sweet, sweet gold, agreed. But Lawrence was pulling off the ultimate bait and switch.

Over the next couple of days, he didn't collect a single piece of gold or silver. Instead, he ran all over the city of Rome, gathering the poor, the sick, and the widows that the church had been supporting. When the deadline arrived, Lawrence confidently marched this massive crowd of outcasts right up to the Roman authorities. With the prefect expecting chests full of shiny coins, Lawrence gestured to the sick and the poor and boldly declared that these people were the true treasures of the church.

The prefect was furious. He had been played, and he was humiliated. In a blind rage, he condemned Lawrence to a brutal death. Tradition tells us that Lawrence was executed by being tied to a giant iron grid and slowly roasted over burning coals. It's an agonizing, horrific way to die. But here is where Lawrence cements his status as an absolute legend. Even in the middle of being tortured, he maintained extraordinary composure. The pain didn't break him. In fact, after he had been on the fire for a while, He reportedly looked at his executioners and delivered one of the most savage one-liners in history.

Turn me over. I am done on this side. Talk about courage and an epic sense of humor. Lawrence died on August 10, 258. His bravery blew people's minds, and his martyrdom quickly became one of the most celebrated in Rome. St. Lawrence is the patron saint of deacons, charitable workers, the poor, and cooks. Artists even today show him holding the gridiron he was roasted on, a palm branch showing he's a martyr, or a purse of coins. Representing his care for the poor.

Think about what Lawrence considered to be treasure. The Roman world valued gold, power, and status, but Lawrence looked at the poorest, sickest, and most ignored people in society and said, you are my treasure. He valued human beings over stuff. Here is your challenge for today. Look around your community.

Who is the person that gets ignored? Who is treated like they don't matter? Go out of your way today to treat that person like a treasure. Sit with them, talk to them, and be generous with your time. And hey, if things get awkward or tense, channel your inner St. Lawrence, crack a good joke, and bring a little light into the room. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.