Homily for the Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr; Mass of Convocation of Teachers of the Schools of the Diocese of Fort Worth

August 10, 2026
St. Mark
Argyle, Texas

2 Corinthians 9:6-10
Psalm 112:1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9 “Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.”
John 12:24-26

We come together for this celebration of the Eucharist at the start of our annual convocation of teachers and administrators on the Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr. We ask for his intercession for ourselves, our students and their families, and our semester. We especially pray for the intention that as each of our schools seek that which is true, that which is beautiful, and that which is good, all of our schools together will seek these transcendental goods for the sake of communion with God and with each other, mindful of Christ’s prayer on the Cross that all may be one in Him. The life and martyrdom of Saint Lawrence are instructive and encouraging for us who are entrusted with this beautiful treasure of Catholic education.

Various historical sources, Christian and otherwise, tell us that in the year 256, the Emperor Valerian seeking scapegoats for the Empire’s corruption, issued a decree by which he established a norm according to which all Christians who had been denounced were to be executed and their goods confiscated by the Imperial treasury. Pope Saint Sixtus, the Bishop of Rome, suffered martyrdom on August 6th together with four deacons. Lawrence, the Deacon in charge of the treasury, was spared immediate torture and execution and he was ordered by the civil authorities to collect the treasures of the Church and present them to the Emperor’s court in three days.

Lawrence, mindful of his certain death, immediately went and distributed all of the temporal assets of the Church to the poor and sick, and when he returned on August 10 at the appointed time, he presented all of the poor and sick people in the court and proclaimed them as the true treasures of the Church.

Saint Ambrose of Milan, the teacher of Saint Augustine, describes this scene as follows, “Such gold the holy martyr Lawrence preserved for the Lord. For when the treasures of the Church were demanded from him, he promised that he would show them. On the following day he brought the poor together. When asked where the treasures were which he had promised, he pointed to the poor, saying: “These are the treasures of the Church.” And truly they were treasures, in whom Christ lives, in whom there is faith in Him… These treasures Lawrence pointed out, and prevailed, for the persecutors could not take them away… Lawrence, who preferred to spend the gold of the Church on the poor, rather than to keep it in hand for the persecutor, received the sacred crown of martyrdom for the unique and deep-sighted vigor of his meaning.”

Charity was at the heart of Lawrence’s life and heroic martyrdom. Charity must be at the heart of everything that we do as Christians especially in our profession and service as educators. There are many in the world, some of whom we serve, who cling to the idea that Catholic education has as its final goal the earthly treasures of entrance into an elite college, the guarantee of a lucrative job, and the esteem of this world that accompanies these assets when Christ is ignored. It is charity, the love that is God’s very nature, which can only unite us as one Church and community, diverse but united in authentic communion.

This world attempts to satiate the basic need for unity that humans have through undue focus on such characteristics as race, financial status, language, gender, or national origin instead of resting in God. These misguided attempts are at the core of our current social miseries that can only be healed and corrected by true charity with Communion in Christ and with each other. Without Christ and His Charity in our hearts, Catholic schools will devolve into the same transactional institutions that direct human beings into self-aggrandizement and misery.

You as teachers and administrators are indispensable for preventing this from happening. As the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith identified in Antiqua et Nova, their Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence, “At the center of this work of forming the whole human person is the indispensable relationship between the teacher and student. Teachers do more than convey knowledge, the model essential human qualities and inspire the joy of discovery.” This relationship is in itself part of the eternal treasure.

Our hearts like Saint Lawrence must be rightly aligned through faith in God. Lawrence identified and gave his life for the truth that those in need are the Church’s treasures because those in the most need are the treasures of Christ. Our students and the integrity of their souls are our true treasures because they are Christ’s true treasures. Thus, God also treasures each of us as His own with more value than the lilies of the field or the financial splendor of Solomon. As teachers and administrators of seventeen schools in the Diocese of Fort Worth, we need to accept the Lord’s assessment of us as His treasures and treat each other and each other’s schools and students as authentic treasures through true Communion the fruit of Christ’s charity.

As we approach the Lord’s Altar and Eucharistic banquet table, let us ask Him for the gift of His charity that we might be in true communion with each other and help each other according to His desires for us to be one as His treasures of the Church.