Today, as we remember and celebrate the life of St Lawrence, Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (12: 24-26) in which Jesus tells his disciples that if a person serves him, they must follow him… ‘for where I am, my servant will be there, too. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour them’.

Fr Paul says Lawrence was one of seven deacons in Rome who were executed on 10 August in the year 258AD. Very few facts are known about Lawrence, but we believe he was a Spaniard from Toledo. After his death, the Emperor Constantine built a basilica over Lawrence’s tomb.  This was done 50 years after he was executed.  We don’t know why, but by the 6th Century his feast was one of the most important feasts through out much of Western Christendom.  Lawrence’s name appears in our Eucharistic Prayer number one when we read out a number of the saints’ names.

Fr Paul says as we celebrate the life of Lawrence, we ask him to pray for us.

As a final note, Fr Paul expresses his gratitude and thanks to Anne O’Brien, who helped out with the Gospels last week while he made preparations for the next stage of his treatment.