# Holy Father, I abandon myself to you
*2015-08-10*

> Bill Young reflects on the feast of St. Lawrence and the virtue of almsgiving, accompanied by a prayer of total abandonment to God's will.

## The Treasures of St. Lawrence

Today is Monday, August 10th, the feast day of St. Lawrence. St. Lawrence was a deacon in Rome charged with the responsibility for the material goods of the church and the distribution of alms to the poor. When Lawrence knew he was going to be arrested, he sought out the poor, the widows, and the orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he had on hand, selling everything—even sacred vessels—to increase the sum.

When the prefect of Rome heard of this, he imagined the Christians must have considerable treasures. He demanded that Lawrence bring these treasures to the emperor to maintain his forces, noting that the Christians' own doctrine says to render to Caesar what is his. Lawrence replied that the church was indeed rich and asked for three days to set everything in order and make an inventory.

After three days, Lawrence gathered a great number of the blind, lame, maimed, lepers, orphans, and widows and put them in rows. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, "These are the treasures of the church." The prefect was so angry that he ordered Lawrence to be placed on a gridiron with coals beneath it. After suffering for a long time, the legend concludes that Lawrence made a famous, cheerful remark: "It is well done. Turn me over."

## A Lesson in Divine Providence

Reflecting on St. Lawrence and almsgiving, I thought about this past Sunday. As I always do, I was hurrying to get ready for church and looked for money to put in the collection baskets, but I couldn't find anything in my wallet. I asked my wife if we had any money, and she said we didn't. I realized we would have to stop to get some.

However, as I was getting my keys and taking things out of the pockets of a pair of pants I had recently cleaned, I found cash. It was enough for both the first and second collections. God provides sometimes, and He also gives us a little insight into how He works in our lives.

## A Prayer of Abandonment

I want to share this prayer: Holy Father, I abandon myself to you. Do with me as you please. I am poor and weak, but I give you my humble yes. In my weakness, show your power. Unite my sufferings to that of your Son for the salvation of the world. May my sufferings, permitted by a Christ-like spirit of sacrifice, lead the way to the grace which transforms our hearts and manifests the strength of the redemption of the story of humanity.

I offer you every tear and secret complaint, every fear and feeling of powerlessness, in order that your kingdom may come among the little ones of this world. May my stability be a strength to all missionaries who consume themselves going to the ends of the earth. I offer you my humble love for every person who lives unjustly in spiritual and material poverty, for every mother who watches helplessly as her child dies of hunger, and for every child who is abandoned. I offer you everything, so that all people may come to know love through your profound love of others, and may come to know you as the God of love, liberation, and consolation. Amen.

*By abandoning ourselves to God's will and recognizing the poor as the true treasures of the Church, we open ourselves to His divine providence.*