(2Cor.9:6-10; Ps.112:1-2,5-9; Jn.12:24-26) "The just man shall be in everlasting remembrance." The servant of the Lord lays down his life in His name. Today we celebrate St. Lawrence, deacon, servant, and martyr, who gave his life and his death generously to God. His life must be that of every Christian; his witness is one we are called to follow. "The man who hates his life in this world preserves it to life eternal," the Lord tells His disciples in today's gospel. As "the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies," so must we if we are to produce "much fruit." We cannot hold on to our lives and our pride but must give them over in service of God, or they will be nothing worth. We must trust in the words of Paul that "God can multiply His favors" among us, that as much as we give generously of ourselves, the more He will provide; and the greater will thus be our reward as we draw ever closer to Him and His sacrifice. "Where I am, there will my servant be." By these words Jesus both calls and assures all who would follow Him that the laying down of their lives will bring them "honor" in the presence of the Father. To be so "exalted in glory," we must be washed in His blood. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church; it is by their sacrifice, their total giving of themselves, that the Church does grow. They bear witness to God's power working in the world, and we must sow bountifully with them in order to "reap bountifully" the graces of the Lord. He provides the seed we sow and will "multiply the seed" and its yield; as long as we remain "firm, trusting in the Lord," our posterity shall endure unto heaven. So let us plant our prayers and our works and our lives in the fertile earth where the martyrs found their joy, and whether we live or die, we "shall be blessed in His holy presence." May all the Church ring out their praises to the God who calls and blesses us with the holy example of those who serve Him and give their lives completely to Him. "Lavishly He gives to the poor; His generosity shall endure forever," so let us pray that this blessed yield the Lord provides will be increased in our own time, and that we may join in the grace of such sacrifice. In His Spirit and in His blood may we ever grow away from the earth and the death it holds and unto the life of "everlasting remembrance" in heaven with God. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, if we serve you, we will be where Jesus has been – fixed to a cross – and so, blessed will we be as He accepts our sacrifice, for we will come to where He is now in Heaven. YHWH, the seed and its yield are both in your hand, and you give freely to all of your abundance. Help us to be generous as you, trusting that you will always multiply and increase our yield, trusting that all we are and all we do are in your holy hand. O LORD, let us unite ourselves with the Cross of your Son, let us plant our souls in His blessed death, that we might bear much fruit and endure unto eternal life. Let us be so blessed to be His servants, to follow in His way, to be joined to His holy sacrifice. Then we shall be honored with all your saints, with all who lay down their lives in your Name. What is it to hate our lives in this world but to see ourselves as we are, small and insignificant as a grain of wheat? Yet giving what little we have cheerfully to you and to others, our yield becomes abundant, dear God.