Harvesting The Fruits of Contemplation

Today is the feast day of another Dominican Saint, St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639). The monthly listing of Dominican Saints and Blesseds whose feast days are celebrated in November, describe St. Martin as "first a Lay Dominican, then infirmarian, barber, worker among the poor, remarkable wonder-worker, and Church appointed patron of social justice, cooperator brothers and hair dressers".   The Dominican Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours tells us that "[in] his life of prayer Martin was especially devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and to the passion of our Lord".   Excerpts from the homily of Pope John XXIII at the Saint's canonization set forth in today's Office of Readings provide more detail of this humble servant:   "Whenever he would contemplate Christ's terrible torture he would be reduced to tears. He had an exceptional love for the great Sacrament of the Eucharist and often spent long hours in prayer b...

[Today's memorial is a fitting time for me to re-post this article and to renew my request that you pray for my sister Jane] (Statue of St. Martin de Porres at St. Vicnert Ferrer Parish, NYC) Today we Dominicans celebrate the memorial of St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639) – one of three Dominican saints who walked the streets of Lima, Peru in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries - St. Rose of Lima and St. John Macias being the other two.  St. John XXIII canonized St. Martin on May 6, 1962. There are a number of reasons why I have a great fondness for St. Martin de Porres. He was a simple, humble and holy layman who initially refused the Dominican habit, not feeling worthy to wear it. After serving his Dominican brothers for nine years, as an act of obedience, he made his Solemn vows as a lay Dominican brother.

Today our Dominican family celebrates the memorial of St. Rose of Lima (1586-1617). She was the first canonized saint of the Western hemisphere, a contemporary of St. Martin DePorres and Saint John Macias , and “patron saint of Lima, Peru, all the Americas, the Phillippines, India, florists, gardeners, and people ridiculed for their piety” .   The Office of Readings today offers this excerpt from her writings for our fruitful meditation and response:   Our Lord and Savior lifted up his voice and said with incomparable majesty: “Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven.” When I heard these words, a strong force came upon me an...

Did you know that three great Domician saints lived at the same time in Lima, Peru? They are  - St. Rose of Lima, St. John Macias and St. Martin de Porres. Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Martin de Porres. If you want to get a good sense of this outstanding Dominican, read A Brother to His Brothers , an article posted today by Brother John Baptist Hoang, O.P., a student at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington D.C. For your information, the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Rose of Lima on August 23rd and that of St. John Macias on September 18th. I wrote a little piece on St. Rose last August. You may be able to tease your curiosity about St. John by glancing at this brief article . St. Martin, St. Rose, St John Macias aand all the Dominican saints and blesseds, pray for us!