The Perseids meteor shower, which occurs in August, is called as ‘tears of St. Lawrence’, by Catholics and is a meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, which drops dust and debris in Earth’s orbit on its 133-year trip around the sun but the comet possess no immediate threat to the Earth. Catholics believe this meteor shower as the tears of St. Lawrence, the early Christian martyr who was cooked to death by the Romans on an outdoor grill and thus see the meteor shower named in his honor.
St. Lawrence was martyred on August 10,258 during the persecution of Emperor Valerian and after the death of Pope Sixtus II, St. Lawrence became the Church’s treasurer. The saint was asked to bring all the wealth of the church to the executioners. He showed up with a handful of crippled, sick and poor men and when questioned, the saint replied: “These are the true wealth of the Church.”
The saint was sent to death, being cooked alive on a gridiron and the legend has it that one of his last words was a joke about the method of his execution as he said: “Turn me over; I’m done on this side!”Catholics began calling the meteors “tears of St. Lawrence”, even though the celestial phenomenon pre-dates the saint. To have the best view of the meteor shower, it is suggested to go to a rural area away from light pollution.
Source: www.catholicnewsgency.com
