As we continue our Saintly Summer series, we turn to Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr of the early Church—and yes, the patron saint of barbecue. His title might make you smile, but the story behind it is powerful. When asked to hand over the “riches of the Church,” Lawrence brought the poor, the widows, and the orphans, boldly declaring: “These are the Church’s true treasures.” Roasted alive for his faith, he even joked from the flames: “This side is done, you can turn me over now.” His courage came from knowing the greatest treasure isn’t gold—it’s being infinitely loved by God. May Saint Lawrence remind us of what truly matters, and give us the strength to live boldly for Christ.

Jolt of Faith – Full Text
Saintly Summer: Saint Lawrence: The Patron Saint of BBQ & Holy Boldness | Jolt of Faith, 8/14

As we continue our Saintly Summer series, we’re brought to the day where we celebrate Saint Lawrence. And Saint. Lawrence is the patron saint of barbecue. This might sound like a strange thing, but the church gives it to us gives his feast day to us during the month of August, which in the United States is the time of the year when we all do barbecues. But it’s a good moment just for us to think about this saint and why he is the patron saint of barbecues. Well, he was a martyr in the early church of Rome.  He died in the year 250. And the way that he died really shows us as Christians, just what it’s all about. Really that we have no fear of death because we’re infinitely loved by God. And so how did he die? Well, he was a deacon in Rome. And the deacons in Rome and the early church, really what their main job was was taking the donations that came to the church and distributing them to the poorest of the poor, the widows, the orphans, and those who were homeless. And so this was his task. Well, when the persecutions began in Rome, the Roman prefect came to Saint Lawrence, and he said to him, give me the riches of the church. He thought that the church was very wealthy that it had monetary wealth that it could just give to the Roman empire. Well, Lawrence, understanding what the true riches of the church were, went out into the city, collected all of the poor, the widows, the orphans, and he brought them to the palace of the prefect. And he said, these are the riches of the church. The prefect you could imagine was infuriated because he did not understand this truth that Saint. Lawrence was saying, and so he put him to death by being roasted alive. And Lawrence while he was laying upon the grid iron, which was where he was cooked, had this great strength given to him by God to be able to say to those who were cooking him, “this side is done. You can turn me over now” because he understood that the greatest riches that any man or woman can possess is the riches of being loved by God. That’s what those poor possessed. That’s what he possessed, and that’s what we’re given today by being friends of Jesus Christ. Not a homily, not a sermon, just a little Jolt of Faith we all may need.