Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, religious
(Romans 12:5-16a; Luke 14:15-24)
God does seem to lift up the lowly as Mary proclaims in her great song The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Last week we celebrated the feast of the most obscure yet most popular of apostles, St. Jude. Certainly St. Therese, the Little Flower, seems to have eclipsed in fame her patroness, St. Theresa of Avila. Perhaps no saint is more broadly known than St. Francis who is thought of as il poverello, the little poor one. Today we celebrate a humble Dominican saint who has come to shine in more people’s heavens than any of his illustrious confreres, Martin de Porres.
Martin was the son of a Spanish nobleman and a former slave Black woman. It is said that he might have become a street urchin had his mother not taught him kindness and generosity. Martin evidently did not take advantage of anyone because he thought of himself as lowlier than everyone. As St. Paul urges the Romans in the first reading today, Martin anticipated everyone in showing honor. Martin also followed Paul’s advice to not lack zeal for doing good.
In our age of increasing awareness of the environment we can again look to Martin de Porres for patronage. He was trained as a physician, which in his day meant as much an herbalist who grew his own medicines as a diagnostician or therapist. He also befriended animals. Indeed, he is often pictured with a rat at his side because he was a person who could readily thank God for all creation.
Showing posts with label St. Martin de Porres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Martin de Porres. Show all posts
Homilette for Monday, November 3, 2008
Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, religious
(Philippians 2:1-4)
“Blessed are the meek,” Jesus’ third beatitude on the mount tells us, “for they shall inherit the earth.” The claim sounds so preposterous that one commentator declares that the land Jesus has in mind is the “new earth,” the kingdom of heaven. No doubt, the commentator is correct. The meek gain God’s kingdom, but at times it seems that they also capture high regard on this earth, corrupted as it is.
Certainly St. Martin de Porres exemplifies a person of humility ascending to renown. He belonged to the Dominican Order which has achieved recognition for scholarship. Yet St. Martin did not leave behind any notable writings but only a legacy of charity. He thought of himself as a poor sinner who needed to perform constant acts of penance. As well as any saint in history, perhaps, Martin lived what St. Paul writes about in today’s first reading: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves...” Interestingly, St. Martin has become the most popular Dominican saint, surpassing in notoriety his holy patron, Dominic Guzman, and his illustrious confrere, Thomas Aquinas.
Most of us cannot hope to duplicate Martin de Porres’ humility, but this doesn’t mean that we should not try to imitate it. We must never fool ourselves with the rationalization that humility, as the proper evaluation of one’s own worth, makes one recognize himself or herself as superior to the common lot. Such fatuous logic will only lead one down a road of perdition. Our aim should not be subservience to others but rather, in line with St. Martin, Christ’s sense of submission to God. As Paul will go on to write, Christ became obedient to God to the extent of suffering death on a cross.
(Philippians 2:1-4)
“Blessed are the meek,” Jesus’ third beatitude on the mount tells us, “for they shall inherit the earth.” The claim sounds so preposterous that one commentator declares that the land Jesus has in mind is the “new earth,” the kingdom of heaven. No doubt, the commentator is correct. The meek gain God’s kingdom, but at times it seems that they also capture high regard on this earth, corrupted as it is.
Certainly St. Martin de Porres exemplifies a person of humility ascending to renown. He belonged to the Dominican Order which has achieved recognition for scholarship. Yet St. Martin did not leave behind any notable writings but only a legacy of charity. He thought of himself as a poor sinner who needed to perform constant acts of penance. As well as any saint in history, perhaps, Martin lived what St. Paul writes about in today’s first reading: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves...” Interestingly, St. Martin has become the most popular Dominican saint, surpassing in notoriety his holy patron, Dominic Guzman, and his illustrious confrere, Thomas Aquinas.
Most of us cannot hope to duplicate Martin de Porres’ humility, but this doesn’t mean that we should not try to imitate it. We must never fool ourselves with the rationalization that humility, as the proper evaluation of one’s own worth, makes one recognize himself or herself as superior to the common lot. Such fatuous logic will only lead one down a road of perdition. Our aim should not be subservience to others but rather, in line with St. Martin, Christ’s sense of submission to God. As Paul will go on to write, Christ became obedient to God to the extent of suffering death on a cross.
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