Show notes
It's the Feast of St. Lawrence Justinian / First Sat, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: "Recourse to God", today's news from the Church: "Education: An Agreement Between Parents", and today's thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
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Sources Used Today:
- "Recourse to God" — From the Assumption to Advent
- "Education: An Agreement Between Parents" (FSSPX.news)
- The Spiritual Life — Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (Angelus Press)
Please support our new project, the Archbishop Lefebvre Biography Audiobook:
Saint Lawrence Justinian became the first Patriarch of Venice, but he spent most of his life trying to avoid exactly the kind of attention that came with that title.
He was born in Venice in 1381 into the powerful Giustiniani family. Wealth, connections, and a comfortable future were all waiting for him. As a young man, however, Lawrence became convinced that God was calling him somewhere very different.
So he joined a community of canons living on the little island of San Giorgio in Alga, across the lagoon from Venice.
His family wasn't exactly thrilled.
According to tradition, when relatives tried to persuade him toward a prestigious marriage, Lawrence chose instead a life of poverty, prayer, and penance. Once ordained, he became known for walking through Venice begging alms for his community. That could be humiliating for anyone. For a member of one of Venice's noble families, it was especially noticeable.
When people insulted him or refused him, he simply moved on.
When they gave generously, he sometimes deliberately returned to houses where he had been treated badly, reasoning that begging was supposed to teach humility, not make him popular.
Eventually, his reputation reached Rome, and in 1433 Pope Eugene IV appointed him Bishop of Castello, the diocese that then included much of Venice.
Lawrence reportedly tried very hard to get out of it.
He failed.
As bishop, he lived with the same simplicity he had practiced in the monastery. He reduced unnecessary expenses, improved the formation of clergy, visited parishes, and quietly redirected money toward the poor. His episcopal household looked considerably less impressive than people expected from a Venetian bishop.
Then, in 1451, something historically important happened.
The old Patriarchate of Grado was reorganized and united with the Venetian see. Lawrence became the first Patriarch of Venice, beginning the line of patriarchs that continues today. Centuries later, three Patriarchs of Venice would become popes: Pius X, John XXIII, and John Paul I.
Lawrence was also a serious spiritual writer. His works focused especially on prayer and the interior life, and people sought his advice because he had a gift for making deep spiritual ideas practical.
When he died in 1456, devotion spread quickly. His body became an object of particular veneration and was preserved for centuries in Venice.
There's something wonderfully Venetian about his story. Lawrence lived amid one of Europe's wealthiest cities, surrounded by merchants, palaces, ships, and political power.
Yet right in the middle of all that splendor, he chose simplicity.
He became important almost despite himself.
And when the Church gave him greater authority, he simply found more people to serve.
Saint Lawrence Justinian, first Patriarch of Venice and humble shepherd of the poor, pray for us.
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