# Verified against Divinum Officium (Monastic Tridentinum 1617), live
# prayMatutinum query (2025-08-13). Matins reading for day 4 of St. Lawrence's
# own octave -- collapsed into one continuous reading per project convention.
# Same recurring responsory as day 2 (see st-lawrence-octave-day-2.yml). The
# source's own English translation is used as-is, including gaps in its own
# punctuation (some older "oct"/"bmv"-suffixed variant files drop question
# marks entirely in places) -- not corrected here, since guessing where they
# belong isn't the same class of fix as an isolated single-character typo.
id: st-lawrence-octave-day-4
source: "Ex libro Officiorum S. Ambrósii Epíscopi."
text:
  la: |
    Ex libro Officiorum S. Ambrósii Epíscopi. Lib. 1., cap. 41., in medio. Non prætereamus sanctum Laurentium, qui cum videret episcopum suum ad martyrium duci, flere cœpit non passionem illius, sed suam remansionem. Itaque his verbis appellare cœpit: Quo progrederis sine filio pater? quo sacerdos sancte sine diacono properas? Numquam sacrificium sine ministro offerre consueveras. Quid in me ergo displicuit pater? Num degenerem me probasti? Experire certe utrum idoneum ministrum elegeris. Cui commisisti Dominici sanguinis dispensationem, cui consumandorum consortium sacramentorum huic consortium tui sanguinis negas?

    Lib. 2., cap. 28., post medium. Aquo cum quærerantur thesauri Ecclesiæ, promisit se demonstraturum. Sequenti die pauperes duxit. Interrogatus ubi essent thesauri quos promiserat, ostendit pauperes, dicens: Hi sunt thesauri Ecclesiæ. Et vere thesauri, in quibus Christus est, in quibus Christi fides est. Denique Apostolus ait: Habemus thesaurum in vasis fictilibus. Quos meliores thesauros habet Christus, quam eos in quibus se esse dixit? Sic enim scriptum est: Esurivi, et dedistis mihi manducare: sitivi, et dedistis mihi bibere: hospes eram, et collegistis me. Et infra: Quod enim uni horum fecistis, mihi fecistis. Hos thesauros demonstravit Laurentius, et vicit, quod eos nec persecutor potuit auferre.

    Numquid dictum est sancto Laurentio: Non debuisti erogare thesauros Ecclesiæ, vasa sacramentorum vendere? Opus est, ut quis fide sincera et perspicaci providentia munus hoc impleat. Sane si in sua quis derivat emolumenta, crimen est: sin vero pauperibus erogat, captivum redimit, misericordia est. Nemo enim potest dicere: Cur pauper vivit? Nemo potest queri, quia captivi redempti sunt. Nemo potest accusare, quia templum Dei ædificatum est. Nemo potest indignari, quia humanis fidelium reliquiis spatia laxata sunt: nemo potest dolere, quia in sepulturis Christianorum requies defunctorum est. In his tribus generibus vasa Ecclesiæ étiam initiata confringere, conflare, vendere licet.
  en: |
    Let us not pass by the holy Lawrence, who began to weep when he saw Sixtus his Bishop being led to martyrdom, not because Sixtus was going to suffer, but because he himself was going to remain behind. And so he began to say to him such words as these Father, whither goest thou without thy son Holy Priest, dost thou fare hence without a Deacon It hath never been thy use to offer sacrifice without a minister. What therefore in me hath displeased thee, my Father Hast thou tried me and found me unworthy to be called thy son Make trial if I am indeed an useless servant, even I, whom thou didst choose to commit unto me the administration of the cup of the Blood of the Lord unto me, to whom thou gavest part in the celebration of the Sacraments, dost thou refuse part with thee in thy blood-shedding

    Lib. 2., cap. 28., post medium. When he was asked for the treasures of the Church, he answered that he would show them. The next day he brought the poor. When he was asked where were the treasures which he had promised, he pointed to the poor and said These are the treasures of the Church. And in good sooth, he was right. They are treasures indeed, in whom Christ is, and in whom the belief in Christ is. The Apostle saith We have this treasure in earthen vessels. 2 Cor. iv. 7. What better treasures hath Christ than they in whom He hath said that He Himself is For thus is it written I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink I was a stranger, and ye took Me in, and then Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. Matth. xxv. 35, 40. These were the treasures which Lawrence showed, and he had the better of his persecutors, for these were treasures which they could not take away.

    Was it not said to blessed Lawrence Thou hadst no right to disperse the riches of the Church, or to sell the vessels which were used for the Sacraments If any man is to do thus, it is a thing which must be done with the most upright honesty and the most wise discretion. If any man do it for his own profit, it is surely a sin, but if it be done to help the poor or redeem slaves, it is a work of mercy. For no man can say, Why doth the needy live or, Why ought we to ransom slaves No man can challenge it, if it be done to build the temple of God. No man can rebuke it, if a rule be stretched to bury the remains of the faithful. No man can grieve that the departed find rest in Christian burial-places. For these three objects it is lawful to break, melt down, or sell the vessels of the Church, even after they have been in use.
responsory:
  la: |
    ℟. Levíta Lauréntius bonum opus operátus est, qui per signum crucis cæcos illuminávit, * Et thesáuros Ecclésiæ dedit paupéribus. ℣. Dispérsit, dedit paupéribus: justítia ejus manet in sǽculum sǽculi. ℟. Et thesáuros Ecclésiæ dedit paupéribus.
  en: |
    ℟. The Levite Lawrence wrought a good work, in that with the sign of the Cross he gave sight to the blind, * And dispersed among the needy the riches of the Church. ℣. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor his righteousness endureth forever. ℟. And dispersed among the needy the riches of the Church.
status:
  la: verified
  en: verified
