Saint Laurence, Deacon at Rome and Martyr

Posted by petrus, on August 10th, 2016

The Martyrdom of St Lawrence by Tintoretto (1518–1594). Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

O God, who gavest grace to thy servant Laurence to be a wise guardian of the treasures of the Church, a faithful attendant upon his chief, and a bold witness in his martyrdom to the Christian faith: Stir us by his example to whole-hearted devotion, and by thy returning fire prepare us for the judgement that is to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

¶ Or this:

Almighty God, grant us grace to quench the flames of our sins, as thou didst endue the Blessed Laurence with power to withstand the fire of his torments; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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1 comment to Saint Laurence, Deacon at Rome and Martyr

• The Reverend Peter Hawkins

  August 15, 2016 at 5:27 AM

  I and Michael and family went off to Saint Laurent on the way to BAUD, a chapel of ease to LANDEVANT parish, where the “Pardon” is held on the Sunday following the day 10th August. It is on a hill with trees surrounded by fields in cultivation, and dates certainly from the XV Century, with fine rustic statuary, all well restored and in fine order. Electricity was provided by a generator hidden away in a far corner. The place was packed but Francis had a place for me, and I put Michael and Rueben there and Nichola and I found a place a little further forward. Guy was presiding and greeted us warmly before hand. The lesson was of Jeremian being cast into a cistern, and the drawn up on orders of the king, followed by the Gospel of Jesus warning that his arrival will bring divisions. Guy used both for a careful sermon , and then did three Baptisms. One was of Abigail who is the granddaughter of Lloyd, and Francis had queried the name as not being French but English, and so it is! Lloyd’s daughter had married a local man from Ploemel.
  We set off soon afterwards and Cherry had prepared a Kisch, and Michael brought out chairs, and filled glasses as the Old Men’s group assembled in the tent in the garden, but with their wives. Cherry was greeted warmly by all, and the Kisch was much appreciated, along with the Mustard and Coriander sauce used with salad dips. The Rosé wine which I had carefully selected seemed quite pleasant and was nicely cooled on a very hot day.
  I was asked about the names and unwittingly I had used the French version of Michael’s name and was asked about that, so we had to explain that in English it was Michael. I then went on to explain that his original name had been Javed Iqbal Miah. I later realised I did not know the derivation so looked it up:-
  Javed Iqbal Miah.
  Derivation of Javed, Persian and means « Eternal » ;
  Derivation of Iqbal, Arabic and meaning “Fortunate”.
  Derivation of Miah, Hebrew and means “Moon”.
  Michael’s mother had him Baptised and his name is thus now, Michael Amidullah.
  Amidullah probably Hamid Ullah.
  Derivation of Hamid is of Arabic origin, and the meaning of Hamid is “praiseworthy”. In Islam, one the ninety-nine attribute names of Allah.
  Derivation of Ullah is Muslim: literally ‘of Allah’, usually a suffix attached to another word forming a compound Arabic personal name such as ?Abd-Ullah ‘servant of Allah’ (see Abdullah). So Amidullah probably means Praiseworthy of God.
  Michael pronounced MYE-kal. It is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Michael is “who is like God?” The “el’ has the same meaning as in Ullah above. Biblical: Michael is the archangel who defeats the dragon. He and Gabriel are angels given personal names in the canonical Bible. In the Middle Ages, Michael was regarded as captain of the heavenly host and patron of soldiers. He was often depicted carrying a flaming sword, and sometimes guarding the gates of Paradise. Many saints, emperors, and kings have borne the name, and there are many variants, male and female.
  The group were surprised and impressed by Michael’s original name. They wanted to know from Cherry how many children we had looked after, and Cherry replied five. I explained we had a Presbytere larger than this house, and so there was room for lots of children, and the food was good, as they were experiencing!
  It was a very lively occasion and all enjoyed seeing our garden and meeting the family.