St. Lawrence was summoned to the Emperor, who demanded he turn over to him the treasure of the Church. St. Lawrence ‘s response was to beg for time, which he received.
He then went and redistributed the material wealth of the Church to those who needed it (legend says that it was Lawrence who sent the Holy Grail to Spain for safekeeping), and afterward he gathered up a great number of the homeless, the blind, the lame, the maimed, the lepers, orphans and widows. He brought all these before the Emperor, and declared, “Here before you. These you see are the treasure of the Church.”
Angered at his audacity, the enraged prefect ordered that St. Lawrence be grilled alive on a gridiron. At one point during his torture, St. Lawrence joked with his executioners, “You may turn me over now, I’m done on this side.” And a little later, he added, “I believe I am quite done. You may now eat.” In Rome there is a shrine commemorating Lawrence that includes the gridiron used in his death. Perhaps in keeping with his humor, St. Lawrence is the patron of cooks.
One writer says, “As Lawrence reminds us, the treasures of the church are the sick, the poor, the least of these and those who have been thrown outside the camp by those who pretend to be the ones in power.” and “On the street-corner, holding a cup and asking for change, is the wealth and treasure of the church.”