[COBOL2Java]

I once heard a homily on the Feast of St. Lawrence from an Irish priest. He told of how as a boy in Ireland, his Uncle would always be in charge of starting up the charcoal fire at family picnics. Always before doing so, the Uncle would issue an open prayer (in a lovely Irish brogue) "Holy St. Lawrence pray for us!" and then light up the fire.

Never quite understanding the significance of this prayer, the Irish priest thought it odd, until later as a seminarian he studied the life of St. Lawrence.

[Salvation]

**According to tradition, for his presumed impudence, Lawrence was then slowly roasted on a grill on the site of the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Rome, in the hope that he would publicly renounce his religion and reveal the names of the wealthy Christians. He is often represented holding a gridiron to memorialize this grisly manner of martyrdom.**

This is difficult, no more than difficult, to imagine.