An excerpt from

EXPLANATION
OF THE
EPISTLES AND
GOSPELS
FOR THE
SUNDAYS, HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS
THROUGHOUT
THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR
BY
REV. LEONARD GOFFINE,
PRIEST OF THE ORDER OF PREMONSTRATENSIANS,
EDITED AND ENLARGED BY REV. GEORGE OTT, DEAN
AND PASTOR,
WITH THE APPROBATION OF THE RIGHT REV.
BISHOP OF RATISBON.
TRANSLATED FROM THE NEWEST GERMAN EDITION
BY
REV. GERARD M. PILZ, O.S.B.
Instruction for the Feast
of St. Lawrence, Martyr.
[August .]
t. Lawrence, a youth endowed with rare
gifts of body and soul, who had the best of
fortunes to expect from the world, for the
love of God and from zeal for the salvation
of his soul put the world with all its honor,
and riches and pleasures, beneath his feet,
and dedicated himself to the priesthood, at
a time when the Christians and especially
the clergy, were continually persecuted. He was at a very early age,
on account of his remarkable merit and knowledge, his delity and
prudence, and notwithstanding his youth, appointed archdeacon by
Pope Sixtus, in which oce, besides his service at the altar, he had
charge of the Church treasury and the money for the poor, which
led to his martyrdom. By command of the Emperor Valerian, who
ordered the bishops and priests to be sought after to be executed, the
holy Pope Sixtus was taken prisoner, sentenced to death, and exe-
cuted. Lawrence burning with desire for a martyrs death, wished
to die with his spiritual father, and for this purpose followed him to
the place of death, saying: Where are you going, my father, with-
out your son? But the pope ordered him to return and guard the
treasures of the Church. When these words were reported to the of-
cers, Lawrence was taken and the treasure demanded of him. He
asked for three days in which to consider the demand, and at the
end of that time called the poor and sick to him, led them before
the tyrant, and said: These are the treasures of the Church which
I promised you. The tyrant became furious and ordered the saint
:
to be bound and burnt upon a glowing grate. The saint bore this
horrible death with joy and with indierence to the re, and after
a time said to the tyrant: I am now roasted enough on this side,
let them turn me over. And the tyrant had him turned to the other
side, upon which the saint remarked: My esh is nowwell roasted,
eat if, if it pleases thee. Having then with his eyes raised to heav-
en, prayed for the conversion of Rome and for the spreading of the
gospel throughout the whole country, the saint slept quietly in the
Lord, on the tenth of August, z=8.
The Introit reads: Praise and beauty are before him: holiness
and majesty in his sanctuary. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle:
sing to. the Lord all the earth. (Ps. xcv.) Glory, &c.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH. Enable us, we beseech Thee, O
Almighty God, to extinguish in ourselves the noxious heat of sin,
by whose grace blessed Lawrence triumphed over ames and the
most exquisite torments. Thro.
EPISTLE. (ii. Cor. ix. 6:o.) Bnr+nnrx: He who soweth spar-
ingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings,
shall also reap of blessings. Every one as he hath determined in his
heart, not with sadness, or of necessity. For God loveth a cheerful
giver. And God is able to make all grace abound in you: that ye al-
ways having all suciency in all things, may abound to every good
work.As it is written: He hath dispersed abroad, he hath given
to the poor: his justice remaineth for ever. And he that ministereth
seed to the sower, will both give you bread to eat and will multiply
your seed, and increase the growth of the fruits of your justice.
EXPLANATION. These words apply perfectly to St. Lawrence,
who, instead of making himself rich with the Church treasures, or
gaining great honors by giving them up to the avaricious tyrant,
gave themto the poor and thus gained spiritual and eternal treasures
in abundance. In this we should imitate him. Almsgiving is, as the
apostle says, like a eld, which the more it is sowed by giving, the
richer harvest it will bring for body and soul. We should not be sad
or vexed in giving, for this shows parsimony: he who gives freely
to the poor, is agreeable to God, and God will repay him in His own
time with corporal and spiritual riches, and will never let him come
to want. That which we give to the poor, is not lost to us, but is
deposited in the Lords treasury, whence we will again receive it
with great interest.
GOSPEL. (John xii. zz6.) A+ +n.+ +ixr: Jesus said to his
disciples: Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat
falling into the ground, die, itself remaineth alone. But if it die,
it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life, shall lose it:
and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal.
If any man minister unto me, let him follow me: and where I am,
there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will
my Father honour.
What is meant by the grain of wheat which died?
Christ, our Lord, who had to die and lay in the grave, that by His
death He might bring forth the fruit of redemption, conversion, and
happiness for mankind; every true Christian who morties his evil
desires, avoids improper inclinations, and the vanity of the world,
and brings forth the fruit of virtue and good works. Such morti-
cations are a kind of martyrdom, and like martyrdom will be most
gloriously rewarded by God. Crucify thy esh, says St. Chrysos-
tom, that thou mayst obtain the martyrs crown. It is, says St.
Bernard, a species of torture, by which the spirit kills the works
of the esh. To patiently endure disgrace, injustice, and persecu-
tion, to love those who hate us, is an inward martyrdom, says St.
Gregory. The whole life of a Christian, writes St. Augustine, if
led by the gospel, is a continual cross and martyrdom.
What does it mean to hate ones life?
It means, to promise to our inclinations nothing which is against
Gods commandments, and dangerous to our salvation, and this
means at the same time, to truly love our soul and to preserve it
for eternal life; on the contrary, to yield everything to our souls
passions and inclinations, everything for which it improperly longs,
means to destroy it. We hate the sick man, if we give himthat which
he desires, when it is injurious to him, and love him, if we refuse
it to him. In the same way he truly loves his soul, who resists its
evil desires, and he hates it, who yields to them. To such a hatred
or rather to such a true love for our souls, we are admonished by
the Holy Ghost: Go not after thy lusts, but turn away from thy own
will. If thou give to thy soul her desires, she will make thee a joy
to thy enemies. (Eccl. xviii. jo, z:.)
PETITION. OJesus, blessed Fruit of the Virgin Mary, we thank
Thee, that Thou wert pleased for our salvation to become, through
Thy incarnation, such a wonderful grain of wheat and die such a
bitter death. Ah! that we rightly knewthis grace, and imitated Thee
in our lives, as have so many thousands of martyrs, among whom
shines especially Thy servant Lawrence. Grant us, that we may also
be lled with the desire to bear all suerings patiently unto the end,
and so zealously serve Thee here, that we may in the other world,
as Thou hast promised, be honored by Thy Heavenly Father, and be
happy for all eternity. Amen.