Word to the Wise
Friday, November 3, 2006 - Feast of St. Martin de Porres
[Philippians 1:1-11 and Luke 14:1-6]I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the Gospel from the first day until now.
In 1996, I celebrated the 25th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. A "souvenir" card was printed for the occasion with the quotation from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians given above. I am firmly convinced that the "partnership for the gospel" is a powerful reality in my life. There is no completely adequate way to convey the importance that my friends have in the way that I preach. I can only do like St. Paul and thank God for them! They vary from the creator of a website that stores this daily preaching to a "peace maker" traveling in Southeast Asia to a student at Tulane to a school principal in Tucson to a brother who teaches business law and on and on. I can never equal the social ministry of a Martin de Porres. His incredible outreach to all the people who came to the door of the priory in Lima, Pera in the 14th/15th centuries is something beyond my meager resources. I recall his statue in small chapels, Catholic AND Protestant, in the Catholic Creole part of Natchitoches Parish, LA, where I grew up. This represented a hope for African-Americans that is still a hope in so many ways. We Dominicans of the Southern Province have asked St. Martin de Porres to be our "partner" in the preaching of the gospel. He is our Dominican brother, yes. But he is our patron and ideal, too. He lived in a "broom closet" beneath the stairs and made a deal with the mice to stay out of the house in exchange for food. As a "lay brother" he could not preach from the pulpit, but his preaching continues in our day. I give thanks for him and for all of you, my beloved congregation, who are "partners" in my preaching! AMEN! Note to the BELOVED CONGREGATION. This preaching is posted at under the title of "Daily Reflections" where you can find a week's worth of these efforts. But it is also available at www.RBWORDS.com, created by my dear friend, Craig Baker of [www.merefaithproductions.com] You'll also find my monthly newsletter, RBWORDS, and an occasional "reflection."
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