The courage to follow Christ…the courage to be a disciple

As we celebrated the Feast of St. Lawrence the Martyr a few days ago, I reflected in my homily about the faithfulness and courage demonstrated by the Deacon Lawrence in the face of persecution and the demands of the government to give away his faith.
One of the great blessings in reflecting upon this heroic act is the stained glass window depicting this moment that is above the altar in our parish church. Praying with this image while sitting in the church, you see St. Lawrence and the many people who are following him into this encounter with the authorities.
Most of the time we can focus on the commanding figure of the Deacon Lawrence, but from time to time I look at the faces and figures of those behind him. I wonder who they were? Why they chose to follow Lawrence that day? What happened to them following Lawrence’s torture and death in martyrdom?

I can’t imagine that St. Lawrence as he gathered them and asked them to come with him would not have told them what he was going to do in confronting the authorities. We hear in history the brutality that was often inflicted upon the poor of Rome. As they followed the saint, they surely knew the danger they would face in anger at what Lawrence would offer the Emperor as treasure and the possible actions that would be taken against those whom Lawrence would offer.
I wonder, how many were Christian? How many followed, who did not believe, but knew Jesus through the holy actions, compassion of work of charity of the Christian community in Rome and Lawrence how this reflected the mission of Jesus Christ? This makes me think: What would I do? How would I react in the situation Lawrence faced as well as those who followed him on that glorious day?
We may never face the choice St. Lawrence had that day after watching his Pope and brother deacons being martyred just a few days earlier. But there are small acts of sacrifice and service that help to prepare us for those smaller deaths we must face each day.
At the recent Jubilee of Youth in Rome, Pope Leo XIV shared these insightful works that help us too understand how to make ready our lives for these small sacrifices, “Through all this, you can grasp an important point: the fullness of our existence does not depend on what we store up or, as we heard in the Gospel, on what we possess (cf. Lk 12:13-21). Rather, fullness has to do with what we joyfully welcome and share (cf. Mt 10:8-10; Jn 6:1-13). Buying, hoarding and consuming are not enough. We need to lift our eyes, to look upwards, to the “things that are above” (Col 3:2), to realize that everything in the world has meaning only insofar as it serves to unite us to God and to our brothers and sisters in charity, helping us to grow in “compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience” (Col 3:12), forgiveness (cf. ibid., v. 13) and peace (cf. Jn 14:27), all in imitation of Christ (cf. Phil 2:5). And in this way we will grow in an ever deeper understanding of what it means that hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (cf. Rom 5:5).” (Homily 8-3-25)
We are called to greatness, to be saints. What small deaths to sin and gifts of sacrifice can we offer to God today? Lord Jesus, help me to follow you as St. Lawrence followed you. Amen
St. Lawrence the Martyr…pray for us.