November 3 - St. Martin de Porres

+ 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.