“Turn me over – I’m done on this side!”

– St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr

I guess we should offer a disclaimer at the start of this reflection that we absolutely do not intend any irreverence toward the saints, especially those who were brutally martyred in defense of the Faith.

But the story of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr, lends itself to allowing a touch of humor.

Lawrence was an archdeacon (head deacon) in the third century, when Christians faced relentless persecution in the Roman Empire. Lawrence was responsible for managing the Church’s finances, giving alms to the poor, and ensuring the care of widows and orphans.

The emperor Valerian had ordered the death of all clergy, deacons included. Just days before Lawrence’s death, Pope St. Sixtus II and Lawrence’s six fellow deacons were beheaded.

As the sole remaining deacon and fully aware that he was in danger of martyrdom, Lawrence gave away all the money and treasures he could get his hands on, so that the empire would
gain as little as possible.

Hearing about this stunt, a Roman official demanded that Lawrence hand over all the treasures of the Church. According to tradition, Lawrence requested three days to set everything in
order and take inventory.

During those three days, he rounded up the widows, orphans, lepers, the poor, the blind, and the lame and presented them to the official, saying, “Here they are, the treasures of the Church!”

Enraged, the official ordered Lawrence to be subject to a slow death by roasting on a gridiron. His last words were reportedly some variation of “Turn me over; I’m done on this side!”

There are plenty of things in life we can control, but so many more that we can’t. When everything around us is going up in flames, and when there’s nothing we can do about it, perhaps the best way to deal with the situation is with a bit of humor and a lot of surrender.

St. Lawrence knew he was going to die. Instead of cowering in fear, he boldly faced death with the cheerful disposition that has baffled the Church’s persecutors for millennia.

In Philippians 4, St. Paul exhorts us to “rejoice in the Lord always” and to “have no anxiety about anything,” and if we do, he tells us, “the peace, which passes all understanding, will keep [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4, 6).

Let us pray:

St. Lawrence, you knew how to make the best of the worst
situation. Please be with me as everything is going up in
flames in my life. Help me approach this with a light heart,
a sound mind, and a bit of humor. Remind me that the
peace I seek can be found only when I surrender my will
fully to Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

And a shorter prayer you can memorize and pray often:

St. Lawrence, be with me as everything is going up in flames.
Amen.

This article is excerpted from “The Prayer Book for Tired Parents: Practical Ways to Grow in Love of God and Get Your Family to Heaven” (c) 2022 David and Debbie Cowden. Please only reproduce with permission.