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St. Sixtus Entrusts the Church Treasures to
Lawrence by Fra Angelico
Fourth
day within the
Octave of St. Lawrence
Taken from the
Book on Offices
Written by St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan
(Bk. i. ch. 41.)
Let us not pass by the glorious and holy Lawrence,
who began to weep when he saw Sixtus his Bishop being led to martyrdom, not
because Sixtus was going to suffer, but because he himself was going to remain
behind. And so he began to say to him such words as these: Father, whither
goest thou without thy son? Holy Priest, dost thou fare hence without a Deacon?
It hath never been thy use to offer sacrifice without a minister. What
therefore in me hath displeased thee, my Father? Hast thou tried me and found
me unworthy to be called thy son? Make trial if I am indeed a useless servant,
even I, whom thou didst choose to commit unto me the administration of the cup
of the Blood of the Lord; unto me, to whom thou gavest part in the celebration
of the Sacraments, dost thou refuse part with thee in thy blood-shedding?
When he was asked for the treasures of the Church,
he answered that he would show them. The next day he brought the poor. When he
was asked where were the treasures which he had promised, he pointed to the
poor, and said: " These are the treasures of the Church." And in good
sooth, he was right. They are treasures indeed, in whom Christ is, and in whom
the belief in Christ is. The Apostle saith: " We have this treasure in
earthen vessels." (2
Cor. iv. 7.) What
better treasures hath Christ than they in whom He hath said that He Himself is?
For thus is it written: "I was hungry, and ye gave Me meat; I was thirsty,
and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in," and then:
" Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren,
ye have done it unto Me." (Matth.
xxv. 35, 40.) These
were the treasures which Lawrence showed, and he had the better of his
persecutors, for these were treasures which they could not take away.
Was it not said to blessed Lawrence: "Thou
hadst no right to disperse the riches of the Church, or to sell the vessels
which were used for the Sacraments?" If any man is to do thus, it is a
thing which must be done with the most upright honesty and the most wise
discretion. If any man does it for his own profit, it is surely a sin, but if
it be done to help the poor or redeem slaves, it is a work of mercy. For no man
can say, why doth the needy live? or, why ought we to ransom slaves? No man can
challenge it, if it be done to build the temple of God. No man can rebuke it,
if a rule be stretched to bury the remains of the faithful. No man can grieve
that the departed find rest in Christian burial-places. For these three objects
it is lawful to break, melt down, or sell the vessels of the Church, even after
they have been in use.
Same day
St. Hippolytus
St. Hippolytus, an officer of
the body-guard of the emperor Decius, had been born in the darkness of
idolatry, but he had become a Christian, with all his household, in consequence
of witnessing the many miracles which St. Lawrence performed while in the
prison under his charge. He had also been present when the saint, lying on the
red-hot gridiron, endured the most terrible tortures. At the sight of the
heroism of St. Lawrence, he was filled with the desire to denounce himself a
Christian, but he was prevented by St. Lawrence. But when this martyr had
gloriously ended his combat, Hippolytus, with the assistance of a priest, named
Justinus, buried the sacred remains with great devotion and veneration. The
emperor on being informed of it, had Hippolytus seized and brought before him.
He asked him if it was true that he had become a Christian? Hippolytus answered
firmly: "Yes, I am a Christian, and moreover resolved to die such."
The emperor, who had always highly esteemed him, endeavored, first by promises
and then by menaces, to induce him to forsake Christ. As, however, all was
unavailing, he caused him to be tortured. He was accordingly stretched on the
ground, whipped with scourges, and beaten with clubs so fearfully, that it was
believed he could not survive. But God, by a visible miracle, prolonged his
life. Keeping his eyes fixed upon Heaven, he frequently repeated: "I am a
Christian, I suffer for Christ's sake." After having been tormented for a
long time, he was cast into prison, and the prefect received the order to
behead him. Before executing this order, however, he went to the house of
Hippolytus to secure his property. Finding the entire household had become
Christians, he took them beyond the gates of the city and had them beheaded.
Concordia, an old and holy matron, who had been Hippolytus' nurse, was scourged
until she expired, because she encouraged the others to remain firm in their
faith. At last, Hippolytus was taken out of prison and fastened to the tails of
two horses, and dragged by them until he was torn to pieces, and his heroic
soul was in the presence of Him whom he had so fearlessly confessed.
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| Stylus brutal torture instruments |
St. Cassian
At
Imola, the Martyr Cassian was put to a most cruel death.
This saint, was bishop of
Brescia, but had been banished from his See on account of his faith. He
intended to go to Rome and offer the Pope his services for the salvation of
souls in some other place. On his way, he changed his mind, and taking up his
residence at Imola, a town in Italy, he resolved to teach children to read and
write, hoping that occasion would not be wanting to do good. In this apparently
humble position, he was no less zealous than he had been in the administration
of his diocese. He taught the children with love and gentleness, and endeavored
to inspire them with respect for the Christian faith, fear and horror of sin,
and love of virtue and piety. He continued in this occupation with great zeal
for some years, to the great benefit of young and old, when suddenly a terrible
persecution of the Christians arose. He was one of the first who were taken
prisoners. The tyrant commanded him to sacrifice to the gods. The holy bishop
and teacher refused, as might have been expected, and tried to convince the
judge of his fearful blindness in worshiping dumb idols or making gods of
godless men. The tyrant, furious at his arguments, ordered the executioners to
strip him of his clothes and tie his hands behind his back, and leave him
exposed to the mercy of the children whom he had taken such pains to teach. The
children, who had been taught that Cassian was a magician and consequently must
die a most painful death, took their sharp iron pencils with which, in those
days, they wrote upon their wax tablets, and pierced him with them till the
blood ran profusely from his veins. This torture lasted long and was extremely
painful. The saint, however, never complained of the ingratitude of his pupils,
nor gave a sign of impatience, but praised and thanked the Lord until his soul
went to Heaven to receive the crown of martyrdom.
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