Monday, June 27, 2005
SERVE THE POOR!
SERVE THE POOR!
Author Unknown
Jun 27, 2005
SERVE THE POOR! IT WILL SET YOU AND THEM FREE!
The building is so vast that it includes a royal palace, a monastery, a library, a Church the size of a cathedral and a crypt containing the tombs of the Kings of Spain. It is called the Escorial and was built for the last of the great Spanish monarchy, Phillip II. Because of his devotion to St. Lawrence, whose martyrdom is supposed to have taken place on a gridiron, Phillip had the huge project designed in the shape of a grid.
Whether Deacon Lawrence was "grilled" to death is now disputed, but what is certain is that he would have been astonished by King Phillip's architectural homage to him. His martyrology has him as deacon for Pope Sixtus II, also revered as a martyr for the faith. A few days after Sixtus' death, Lawrence, too, was arrested by imperial edict, and given a chance to escape death if only he would turn over to the police the treasures of the Church. According to the ancient story, he does so by presenting to the avaricious officers some of the poor who, in his role as deacon, he has been caring for.
Lawrence, as a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus, knew, as Paul reminds us, that one must give cheerfully; food to the hungry, clothing and shelter to the poor, and, if God so wills, one's life for the faith. And so the grain of wheat that was the life and service of the Deacon Lawrence in the Roman Church fell to the earth and died. That single seed has produced much fruit, not just the extraordinary architectural wonder, the Escorial, which is his most visible remembrance, but centuries of church service to the poor and the needy which, by his selfless example, is his greatest memorial, and will be ours as well.
"For when I was hungry, you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, when I was naked, you clothed me..." "Whatever you did for the least of my brethren, that you did unto me." Whether it be our husband or wife, our brother or sister, our mother or father, our neighbor or a stranger, the physically poor, the emotionally poor, the spiritually poor, this will be how the value of our life will be measured. That makes them the treasure of the church and we are the church.
PRAYER
"Lord Jesus Christ, increase my faith and hope in the power of your resurrection. And give me joy and courage to be your witness to others and to boldly speak of what you have done to save us from sin and death."
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Feel free to forward this to your friends, family and associates!
Have a nice day!
© 2005 FoodForThought
Author Unknown
Jun 27, 2005
SERVE THE POOR! IT WILL SET YOU AND THEM FREE!
The building is so vast that it includes a royal palace, a monastery, a library, a Church the size of a cathedral and a crypt containing the tombs of the Kings of Spain. It is called the Escorial and was built for the last of the great Spanish monarchy, Phillip II. Because of his devotion to St. Lawrence, whose martyrdom is supposed to have taken place on a gridiron, Phillip had the huge project designed in the shape of a grid.
Whether Deacon Lawrence was "grilled" to death is now disputed, but what is certain is that he would have been astonished by King Phillip's architectural homage to him. His martyrology has him as deacon for Pope Sixtus II, also revered as a martyr for the faith. A few days after Sixtus' death, Lawrence, too, was arrested by imperial edict, and given a chance to escape death if only he would turn over to the police the treasures of the Church. According to the ancient story, he does so by presenting to the avaricious officers some of the poor who, in his role as deacon, he has been caring for.
Lawrence, as a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus, knew, as Paul reminds us, that one must give cheerfully; food to the hungry, clothing and shelter to the poor, and, if God so wills, one's life for the faith. And so the grain of wheat that was the life and service of the Deacon Lawrence in the Roman Church fell to the earth and died. That single seed has produced much fruit, not just the extraordinary architectural wonder, the Escorial, which is his most visible remembrance, but centuries of church service to the poor and the needy which, by his selfless example, is his greatest memorial, and will be ours as well.
"For when I was hungry, you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, when I was naked, you clothed me..." "Whatever you did for the least of my brethren, that you did unto me." Whether it be our husband or wife, our brother or sister, our mother or father, our neighbor or a stranger, the physically poor, the emotionally poor, the spiritually poor, this will be how the value of our life will be measured. That makes them the treasure of the church and we are the church.
PRAYER
"Lord Jesus Christ, increase my faith and hope in the power of your resurrection. And give me joy and courage to be your witness to others and to boldly speak of what you have done to save us from sin and death."
****************************************************************
DISCLAIMER: FoodForThought shared this message as submitted and do not claim to own any copyright privileges on it. All the messages are believed to be free for circulation or public domain. All messages come in either by email in original form or copied from the internet sites. The work was submitted to us as an item for distribution, and it was posted solely on the basis of its quality. It's a FREE service.
****************************************************************
To subscribe/unsubscribe, tell friends about FoodForThought, share a reflection, read past issues and feedbacks, give donation or submit a prayer request please go to: http://www.dailyfoodforthought.org or if you have no access to the internet use these emails: subscribe@dailyfoodforthought.org; unsubscribe@dailyfoodforthought.org
Feel free to forward this to your friends, family and associates!
Have a nice day!
© 2005 FoodForThought
