St. Lawrence Day Cook Out

Happy Feast of Saint Lawrence! St. Lawrence in a martyr of the Church, most remembered for being able to maintain a sense of humor even as he was dying. It is one of my favorite saint stories.

In 258 during a persecution of Christians in Rome, the Prefect of Rome believed that the Church had some great hidden treasure and demanded that St. Lawrence bring it to him. St. Lawrence then gathered all the poor and needy of Rome and brought them before the prefect telling him that they were the treasure of the Church. That didn't sit too well with the prefect. St. Lawrence was tied to iron grill that was put over a fire to be cooked to death. It is said that through God's assistance he felt little pain, and even joked with his torturers, "Turn me over,  I'm done on this side!" St. Lawrence in the patron saint of cooks and chefs. To learn more about St. Lawrence click here.

It only seemed appropriate to have a cook out on the grill to honor this bold and joyful saint! We ended up doing it yesterday evening as we made it a family gathering with my dad and step-mom and that's when everybody could get together. It was a beautiful evening of enjoying each other's company with delicious food and fresh air. The following things are some of the food that we had, but of course it can be something as simple as throwing some hot dogs on the grill.

 Grilled Veggies - a staple for us at any cook out!
 -Veggies - some of our favorites are broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, and parsnips
-Olive oil
-Salt

Put the veggies on the grill and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Cook until tender and slightly charred. Enjoy!

 Burgers on the Grill
This is a venison sausage patty with horseradish sauce and a brandywine tomato from my dad's garden. Yum! My dad is a hunter so I love venison. We probably had it more than beef growing up! We also had regular burgers, but I just couldn't pass this one up!

Grilled Fruit Sundaes
-Grillable fruit - we used pineapple and bananas. Stone fruits like peaches and nectarines work well too.
-Ice cream
-toppings

Grill the fruit until soft and slightly charred. put on top of vanilla ice cream and add your favorite toppings! I used chocolate and caramel sauce. Enjoy!

Prayer to St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr

O Generous patron of the Church’s poor, St. Lawrence, pray to the One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit that all the poor of the Church in need in every corner of the world may feel the effect of the love of their brothers and sisters who seek to help them.

Deliver the Church from the greed and envy of the powerful and protect her rights and property so that she may serve the needy in freedom, giving them good things for soul and body.

May we come some day with all those whom we helped on earth to the bright mansions of heaven where we will enjoy the riches of God’s house and the company of the Savior who lives and reigns forever and ever.

                                                                            Amen

 This post is linked up the Catholic Bloggers Network monthly link up blitz  and the Equipping Catholic Families Saints Cele-linky