Why is it, dear Brethren, that there are so many ancient, pre-reformation churches in England which are dedicated to St Laurence? If one does a Google search one finds dozens of pages containing the names of towns and villages where the church is dedicated to our patron, St Laurence of Rome – but I have not been able to find any clear reason why this should be so. It could be that it is just another sign of the British devotion to Rome as the centre of Western Christendom which we know was well established by the time of Bede and which finds its roots in the mission of Augustine to the pagans in Kent. A little more investigation, however, reveals that this devotion to St Laurence is not limited to the British. In Rome, St Laurence was regarded as the third patron of the city. St Augustine preached several sermons on the occasion of St Laurence’s feast day and he tells us of the presence of a shrine to our patron in Hippo. St Ambrose in Milan also preached on our patron, as did, perhaps not unexpectedly, St Leo. Further afield we know that Laurence was the patron of the church in Dieulouard, which was where we ‘acquired’ him, and he was and continues to be venerated in the Christian East. So what is it that is so attractive and inspiring about this martyred Spanish-born deacon in Rome?
If we examine the texts associated with this feast we discover that in the midst of the heroism and the humour of the story of his martyrdom, Laurence stands out as a man who followed the example set by his Lord. Perhaps this is the reason why in the Vigil Mass for this feast in the 1962 missal we find the Gospel is taken from the 16th chapter of St Matthew when Jesus says, “if anyone would be a follower of mine, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”. Laurence did precisely this. As a deacon he worked for the relief of the sufferings of the poor and the sick in Rome. The long poem by Prudentius, which appears to be one of the sources for some of the antiphons at the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Mass, recalls how Laurence worked among the outcasts of Roman society, restoring sight to the blind by his prayers and the sign of the Cross and relieving the sufferings of those who were hungry and homeless by distributing the riches of the Church of Rome among them.
We are all familiar with the account of the last days of our patron saint but let me just draw two details back to our memories. First, the moment when he is said to have met his Bishop Sixtus being taken to his execution: Laurence asks Sixtus where he is going without his deacon – and Sixtus reassures him that where he, Sixtus, leads, there Laurence, his deacon, will follow. Does Laurence run? Not at all. He remains in Rome among the community he serves. And then, when the Prefect demands the riches of Rome, Laurence asks for time to assemble those riches. Again, he had his opportunity to fade away: it was not difficult to disappear in Rome then, just as it is not difficult today – but he does not do so. In his steadfastness Laurence shows himself to be worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as the Apostle Peter: he, too, is a rock – a rock configured upon Christ, for like the Rock in the desert he is a source of life to those in need.
What then can we who claim St Laurence as our patron learn from this man? Firstly, we can learn the importance of caring for those in need. As a community we have been gifted with a variety of riches: a beautiful place to live, food to eat, knowledge of various kinds, most especially knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we are true Laurentians we should always seek to share the riches we have been given, putting ourselves in second-place so that others may experience the blessings of God.
Then, secondly, if we are true Laurentians we must learn how to be steadfast in times of trial: holding fast to what we know to be true despite the difficulties around us. It is perfectly true that in our country today we are not usually persecuted to the point of martyrdom, losing our life for Christ’s sake: but we are often treated with disdain because we seem to be irrelevant, or with hostility because we are regarded as obscurantist and opposed to the continuing development of the human spirit. In fact the message of Christ which is found in the Gospel is not irrelevant and nor is it opposed to true development of the human spirit. We are very definitely opposed to some of the so-called ‘human rights’: we are opposed to the right to unbridled hedonism; we are opposed to the right to abortion; and the right to so-called voluntary euthanasia because these ‘rights’ and others like them do not lead to the enrichment of mankind but rather to its diminishment. We believe that the Gospel of Christ and the Sacraments of his Church are medicines for wounded and broken human beings and that as such the message of the Church must be proclaimed anew to our country and to our world.
How is it possible to make our voices heard amidst the clamour of our days? Our Holy Father urges us to take our monastic vocation seriously. He has called us to ponder anew what it means to place searching for God as the first of our priorities. He has called us to consider once again what Benedict means when he tells us that we should prefer nothing whatever to Christ. He has suggested that we will find our answers in lectio divina, especially prayerful reading of and pondering upon the words of the Gospel, and in the chaste love of brothers living together in community. In these days of quiet retreat before we come to our Chapter and the Renewal of our Monastic Vows next week, it would be good if each one of us examined our lives in order that we might resolve to follow our patron more closely; that we should be steadfast in all circumstances in our service of those whom God places in our path in this life as we journey to eternal life with Him in heaven.
Abbot Cuthbert Madden OSB