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.” (Jn 12:24-26)
As the arch-deacon of the Church of Rome, Lawrence would have been the next pope after Saint Sixtus. But when Sixtus and the other six deacons were martyred, Lawrence was arrested. Knowing that the deacons were in charge of the charity of the church, the magistrate ordered Lawrence to bring in the treasure of the church. Lawrence asked for a few days to accomplish the task . . . and after having given everything to the poor, he brought some of them in to the court and declared, “Here is the treasure of the church.” For his impudence, Lawrence was roasted alive. In church art, Lawrence is usually pictured with a gridiron. His story still lives on in the church.
