© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.
This is the first saint I have come across who is portrayed as having a sense of humor!
The tale of St. Lawrence of Rome is one of defiance and humor. Lawrence, a deacon of the Church of Rome in 258, was keeper of the Church's treasury. He was responsible for giving alms to the poor. Lawrence's excessive generosity led the Emperor Valerian to suspect that the Church had vast stores of riches. Valerian called upon Lawrence to bring the Church's treasure before him ("render unto Caesar" and all that). Lawrence asked for time to gather it. What he did then was to gather the poor, the sick, and the infirm. These people he presented as the Church's "treasures." Needless to say, the officials were not pleased. Lawrence was martyred. He was placed upon a gridiron (Lawrence is holding it in his right hand, although most of it has been cut out of the picture) and roasted over hot coals until he is reported to have said, "I am well done. Turn me over!"
I've recounted the legend rather briefly, and as expected, there's more to the story. The whole "roasting" incident may be the result of a "typo." The typical description of a martyr was inscribed Passus est meaning "he suffered," the "P" may have been accidentally left off on a description of Lawrence. The resulting Assus est can be translated as "he is roasted." It makes for a much better story than a simple beheading!
Here's the sound effect from the end of the poem.
So, how did this come about? I was playing with fire for the latest Spark challenge and I discovered the St. Lawrence story (after I found St. Florian, the patron saint of firefighters). He didn't fit with the response piece I was working on, but he sure does fit with the heaven and hell theme I've had going over the past few weeks! The response piece will be posted late tonight or early tomorrow. It's got lots of fire in it, too, but no saints!
Linda at Teacher Dance will be hosting the Poetry Friday Round-Up. Enjoy the Labor Day weekend!
I love that you found such a story, Diane, both gruesome and rather puts him in the line of some contemporary people who thumb their noses-and more!-at the outrages of those in power, doesn't i? I love your question, as it should be. And-the ending sound is perfection, comedy central!
ReplyDeleteIt's really a striking story, isn't it? It'll stick with me for a while.
DeleteGreat story and poem. Shame he didn't escape in some sort of pauper disguise or something.
ReplyDeleteIf he had escaped, the story would lose some of its power. Who knows how the true story unfolded. That's what's so interesting about legends and how they grow and change.
DeleteThe eyedear of treasuring the underserved, undernourished, underappreciated - collecting them as a community treasure - is one that saint-hearted folks in the trenches of homeless shelters, food kitchens & mental health offices would want to hear, I feel. A thought-provoking post, Diane, spun out from an entertaining legend & thanks for introducing me to a "new" saint.
ReplyDeleteThe "treasure" story, could very well have been how it all happened. Lawrence showed the authorities something in a new way, they didn't choose to believe their eyes.
Deletea saint with a sense of humor... love it! Thank you for your poem, Diane. xo
ReplyDeleteI find a sense of humor attractive! Especially in a saint.
DeleteWhat an interesting story! Didn't realize there was a patron saint of cooks :).
ReplyDeleteThere's a patron saint for everything! Just like there's a FB page for everything!
DeleteSounds like Pope Francis' kind of guy. I wondered who the patron saints of poets are, and I found this list:
ReplyDeleteBrigid of Ireland
Cecilia
Columba of Iona
David the King
Gregory of Nazianzen
Nicholas of Myra
Quite a few!
Okay, so I take that as a challenge for further research!
Deletenice poem Diane, hats off to your research
ReplyDeletemuch love...
I love research!
DeleteWhat a difference that "P" makes! Thanks for the gruesome yet humorous poem--and the interesting backstory.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it does! It's a good lesson for kids who need to understand the importance of proofreading their work!
Deletechild would be having a sleepless night thinking of a roasting but then again "Game of Thrones" has some gruesome scenes. Heaven and Hell- just wondering what made you think of a theme like that, Diane? (This is the first saint that I have read about with a sense of humor.)
ReplyDeleteAngels and heaven and hell go together, so as part of my Sketchbook Project for 2016 (topic: angels), I ended up writing a number of poems having to do with the subject. Also, this week I was working on a response to a poem I was given in the Spark challenge. It contained a lot of references to burning. A little random research and I was on my way to patron saints, too.
DeleteYou always teach whilst you entertain!
ReplyDeleteActually, I find interesting stuff and I always want to share it. Perhaps it is teaching...
DeleteI confess, I don't often type LOL and mean it. This time I mean it! Love the story, your poem, and that last line is the kicker. I didn't even need the sound clip. You have great onomatopoetic talents, m'dear.
ReplyDeleteWow, horrific and humorous at the same time! Your poem had the right amount of spice...sorry, I couldn't resist. =)
ReplyDelete