Take Up Your Cross
Homily for Friday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Gospel for Friday in the 18th Week of Ordinary Time is very appropriate for today’s memorial. Jesus asks his followers to take up their cross and follow him, to lose their lives in order to find eternal life.
Today we remember Pope St. Sixtus II and his companions who were martyred in the year of 258 A.D. At that time in the Church’s history, the Pope was served by seven deacons, a custom that grew out of the story in the Acts of the Apostles about the ordination of the first seven deacons. Pope St. Sixtus was served by Januarius, Vincent, Stephan, Magnus, Felicissimus, Agapite, and Lawrence. So why, you may ask, did St. Lawrence get a special feastday?
On this date in 258 A.D., the emperor Valerian commanded his soldiers to go through Rome arresting Christians and taking them to be executed. Pope St. Sixtus and six of deacons were dragged from the church where they were celebrating the Eucharist and promptly beheaded in the public square. Among the spectators was the seventh deacon, Lawrence, whom the Pope had sent to distribute alms to the poor. When he realized what was happening, Lawrence cried out, “Wait for me, Father.” The Pope turned toward him and said, “You will follow in our footsteps in three days.” The soldiers took him prisoner and presented him to Valerian who demanded that Lawrence bring the riches of the Christian Church to him. When Lawrence returned to Valerian, he brought with him the poor of Rome and declared that they were the riches of the Church. Thus Pope St. Sixtus’ prophesy was fulfilled on August 10. Lawrence became a special patron of Rome and now celebrates his feast day on August 10.
Jesus promises that whoever loses his life for his sake will find it. We gather at this table today because we believe this, and we believe that the life we find is fuller than we could ever imagine on our own. It is a life that leads to complete communion with Christ in the kingdom of heaven.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator
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