The collect for today, the Feast of St. Laurence (d. 258), Archdeacon of Rome, Martyr (source):
Almighty God,
who didst make Laurence
a loving servant of thy people
and a wise steward of the treasures of thy Church:
inflame us, by his example, to love as he loved
and to walk in the way that leads to everlasting life;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 9:6-10
The Gospel: St. John 12:24-26
Artwork: Bartholomeus Breenbergh, The Martyrdom of Saint Laurence, 1647. Oil on canvas, Städelschen Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main.