Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, priest
(I Corinthians 9:16-19.22b-27; Luke 6:39-42)
As today’s first reading shows, St. Paul was a serious
fellow. Commissioned to preach the
gospel, Paul ran with the charge as the fastest in the race. But he was not completely humorless. When Paul writes that his recompense is to
preach free of charge, he is trying to make a joke. He means that what he receives for his
efforts is nothing!
St. Peter Claver worked tirelessly like St. Paul and hardly
received more for his efforts. His
pulpit, it might be said, were the pens of the slaves brought from West Africa to
Cartagena. There he baptized an
estimated three hundred thousand men and women in more than forty years of
evangelizing.
Following Christ means carrying one’s cross. It is not easy and will require intense
seriousness. Yet it should not be a sad or
joyless experience. After all, we have the
company of many, many good people as well as Christ’s own. If we allow it, they will bring us comfort
and joy.
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