He ministered the sacred blood of Christ

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

Today, August 10, as our church celebrates the Feast of Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr we are invited to reflect on a scripture passage from the Acts of the Apostles (6: 1-6; 8: 1b, 4-8) entitled “The seven deacons are chosen by the apostles”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop.

Saint Lawrence was a deacon of the Church of Rome. He became a martyr during the persecution of Valerian four days after the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus II and his four companions. Lawrence’s tomb is located in the field of Verano near the Via Tiburtina where subsequently Constantine the Great built a basilica. Devotion to Lawrence was widespread by the fourth century.

Saint Augustine was a late fourth century, theologian and philosopher, and Bishop of Hippo, Roman North Africa. He is also a preeminent Catholic Doctor of the Church. His writings influenced the development of western philosophy and western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period.