Saint Lazarus in ivory with a wooden base.
Prayer to Saint Lazarus
God, our Father, Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
For those who have faith, death is just a farewell,
preparation for a new encounter,
for life to the fullest.
When all hope was lost,
Jesus gave Lazarus, his friend, his life back,
freeing him from all the bonds of death.
Lord, make us understand the great mystery of your passion,
death and resurrection.
In you, we have the certainty of the resurrection.
Therefore free us from all fear and vain fears,
that diminish our lives and prevent us from living to the fullest...
That today we can hear, in our hearts,
the words of order of your Son Jesus:
Lazarus, get up and walk!
The cloak of Saint Lazarus is represented in brown or purple. Brown means humility and poverty. Purple is the color of suffering and penance. The two colors fit well with the story of Saint Lazarus. Brown reminds us of its poverty. He lived begging, while the rich man feasted and despised Lazarus. Lazarus wanted to eat at least the rich man's leftovers and crumbs, but he wasn't even allowed to do that. Therefore, Lazarus was constantly humiliated. Purple tells us about the suffering of Saint Lazarus, deprived of his dignity and health and victim of the neglect of the powerful.
Saint Lazarus' crutches represent his physical weakness due to not having anything to eat and because of the illnesses that come from poverty and deprivation.
Saint Lazarus' wounds symbolize his pain and suffering. They also symbolize the suffering of the poor and miserable. They symbolize the wounds of Christ, who said: 'Whatever you do to the least of the little ones, you do it to me.' The wounds of Saint Lazarus are a cry for help that should reach our ears. They represent the cry of the poor and miserable, who have nowhere to turn and need us.
The dogs around Saint Lazarus symbolize divine providence, which did not abandon him. In Jesus' parable, shortly after death Lazarus goes to eternal glory. This means that he was a good man, who did good, practiced love. That's why he deserved heaven. And, to all who do good and seek to love, God does not abandon. If Lazarus did not have people to defend him, he at least had dogs, faithful companions and defenders sent by God.
