Feast of St. Lawrence Homily

1st Reading: 2 Cor 9:6-10

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 112:1-2,5-9

Gospel: Jn 12:24-26

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr. On days when we celebrate the lives of martyrs red vestments are to be worn. When I think of the color red I think of three attributes that go along with it. First red is the color that informs us that we need to stop. We see red stop signs and red lights all the time and we know that our response is to stop. The martyrs took time to stop within their own lives when they drew themselves closer to the reality of the cross. Secondly, red makes me think about death. The flag of our nation has red stripes to call to our minds all who have lost their lives to fight for our freedom. The martyrs were put to death because of the faith that they professed. We all know the story of Saint Lawrence who was grilled alive with his famous quote: "I am done on this side, turn me over." Lastly, red makes me think about love. Red is a color that is used a lot during Saint Valentine's Day and love is an important reminder for us because the martyrs loved Christ so much they were willing to die for Him.

In our Gospel we are told that we must die to ourselves if we are to truly have life and we are told if we are unwilling to die to ourselves we will never have life. In this passage we are not being told that life is a bad thing, but are being told of our need to stop during our busy lives and to draw ourselves closer to God. In stopping we need to die to ourselves, so that our disordered passions may be redirected towards the cross of Christ. When we begin to put sin to rest we can finally go in love because we are held in true relation with the Father.

In our Catholic tradition fasting has always been held in high importance. Fasting is our ability to stop in our lives, die to our self, and be redirected out of love to Christ. In the Code of Canon Law we are told: "The penitential days and times in the universal Church are every Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent." Today is Friday and we should reclaim this day as a day of penance. We should allow this day to lead us towards the love of Christ. At one time Catholics were known as the weird people who did not eat meat on Fridays. According to Canon Law: "Abstinence from eating meat or some other food according to the prescripts of the conference of bishops is to be observed on every Friday of the year unless a Friday occurs on a day listed as a solemnity." We need to reclaim our tradition of stopping on Fridays and doing something to join ourselves with the cross of Christ. Giving up meat, a favorite food, spending more time in prayer praying before the Blessed Sacrament, praying the Holy Rosary, or some other act of piety or charity needs to be done, so that we can die to our passions and out of love draw ourselves closer to God.