St
Martin de Porres was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman
and a young freed black slave, born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. He grew up in
poverty and spent part of his youth with a barber-surgeon from whom he learned
medicine and care for the sick. At age 11 he became a servant in the Holy
Rosary Dominican priory in Lima. He was soon promoted to almoner and begged
more than $2000 a week from the rich to support the poor and sick of Lima. He
was at the same time placed in charge of the Dominican’s infirmary. Martin was
known for his tender care of the sick and for his spectacular cures. His
superiors dropped the stipulation that “no black person may be received to the
holy habit or profession of our Order” and Martin took vows as a Dominican
brother in 1603.
He established an orphanage
and children’s hospital for the poor children of the slums. He even set up a
shelter for the stray cats and dogs and nursed them back to health. Martin
lived in self-imposed austerity, never ate meat, fasted continuously, and spent
much time in prayer and meditation with a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist.
He died in 1639 in Lima, from a fever he no doubt contracted from the sick to
whom he ministered. He was known by the august title of “the father of charity”
and canonized by Pope John XXIII in 1962.
St Martin understood the
gospel passage today entirely: there is
only one commandment but it has two interlocking parts: the greatest commandment is loving God, but
this cannot be separated in any way at all from loving our neighbors and
ourselves for his sake. These two, form the one supreme commandment that we
are all bound to learn about and follow – or nothing in life will ever really
make sense for us!
Then, as St. Paul tells the
Philippians in the first reading today, all of the excellent and charitable
things that we do for others – especially for the poor – will produce in us a peace that is beyond anything that the
world can give us: for it will be the
peace which is Christ himself!
I give you a new commandment: love one
another as I have loved you.
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