God is with us, when we pray!
Known for his captivating sermons, his impressive verbatim knowledge of Scripture, and his endearing love of sharing Christ’s love, the Church honors St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Church on July 21st.
“Oh, if we were to consider the reality… that God is truly present to us when we speak to him in prayer; that he truly listens to our prayers, even if we pray only with our hearts and minds. And that not only is he present and hears us, indeed he willingly and with the greatest of pleasure wishes to grant our requests.”
He emphasized the need to not only read and know the word of Christ in the Bible, but to also act upon it.
“Faith comes through hearing, and what is heard is the word of Christ. The preaching of the word of God, then, is necessary for the spiritual life, just as the planting of seed is necessary for bodily life…Preaching therefore, is a duty that is apostolic, angelic, Christian, divine. The word of God… is the source of faith, hope, charity, all virtues, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, all the beatitudes of the Gospel, all good works, all the rewards of life, all the glory of paradise: Welcome the word that has taken root in you, with its power to save you. For the word of God is a light to the mind and a fire to the will.”
Pope Benedict XVI said he “teaches us to love Sacred Scripture, to increase in familiarity with it, to cultivate daily relations of friendship with the Lord in prayer, so that our every action, our every activity, may have its beginning and its fulfilment in him. This is the source from which to draw so that our Christian witness may be luminous and able to lead the people of our time to God.”
Born to Julius Caesare Russo, son of William and Elizabeth Russo of Brindisi, Italy, on July 22, 1559. When Saint Lawrence was six years old, he delivered a heartwarming Christmas Season sermon on the Child Jesus in his cathedral, which “deeply affected” his congregation and theologians reported it inspired those in attendance to be more faithful.
While he was saying holy Mass in Munich in the chapel of the duke of Bavaria, Child Jesus appeared before him, and lovingly caressed the saint.”
