Occasionally, praying the Divine Office of the church takes you by surprise as the psalms or the readings prayed for the office of the day really have a way of speaking exactly to where you are at in your journey.  Today was one of those days for me.

Today, St. Lawrence of Brindisi is remembered in the Roman liturgical calendar.  St. Lawrence was an effective and forceful preacher of the 16th century.

The second reading in the Office of Readings was one of his sermons and it speaks very well to grace and beauty of the spiritual life.  He writes:

There is a spiritual life that we share with the angels of heaven and with the divine spirits, for like them we have been formed in the image and likeness of God.  The bread that is necessary for living this life is the grace of the Holy Spirit and the love of God.  But grace and love are nothing without faith, since without faith it is impossble to please God.  And faith is not conceived unless the word of God is preached… For the word of God is a light to the mind and a fire to the will.  It enables man to know God and to love him.  And for the interior man who lives by the Spirit of God through grace, it is bread and water, but a bread sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, a water better than wine and milk.  For the soul it is a spiritual treasure of merits yielding in abundance of gold and precious stones.  Against the hardness of a heart that persists in wrongdoing, it acts as a hammer. — St. Lawrence of Brindisi

The closing prayer for today’s office summed it up beautifully:

Lord, for the glory of your name and the salvation of souls you gave Lawrence of Brandisi courage and right judgment.  By his prayers, help us to know what we should do and give us the courage to do it.  We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Lawrence of Brandisi, pray for us.

Originally published July 21, 2015