Word to the Wise
Friday, November 3, 2017 - Friday in the 30th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rom 9:1-5 and Luke 14:1-6,1107]Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, "Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?" But they kept silent; so he took the man, and, after he had healed him, dismissed him. Then he said to them, "Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?" [Luke]
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017 ST. MARTIN DE PORRES, O.P.
[Romans 9:1-5 and Luke 14:1-6. These scriptures will vary at Dominican locations since St. Martin De Porres is an important figure for us.]
St. Martin De Porres is the patron saint of the Southern Dominican Province, of which I am a member. His life overlaps two other Dominican saints in Lima, Peru, at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries - St. Rose of Lima and St. Juan Macias. All three of these remarkable people were noted for their care for the poor and the sick. Martin was the son of a Spanish soldier and a freed slave-woman. As a youth he was trained as a barber/physician and then brought to the Dominican priory, where he became the doorkeeper. In that capacity he developed a reputation of taking care of anyone who came to the door, and literally lived in a broom closet near the door! His statues and pictures will feature him with a broom in his hands. They also show mice at his feet. Supposedly he made a deal with them that he would feed them provided they stayed out of the house! (Martin is the nearest thing we Dominicans have to St. Francis of Assisi when it comes to animals!) Because he showed compassion for poor and rich alike, he is a patron saint of those who work for social justice, especially for those who suffer from racial discrimination - something Martin experienced even in his own Dominican community.
Although the scriptures given in the Roman liturgical calendar would not be used in Dominican locations today, I find the gospel passage appropriate for this feast day because Jesus did not hesitate to heal the sick man on the sabbath, despite the presence of scribes and Pharisees who would surely object. Suffering knows no schedule of the days of the week! In this, Martin De Porres was surely a "Christ-figure" to all who came to the door of the priory in Lima. As a child, I occasionally saw the inside of small churches with African/American congregations. It was not unusual to see a small statue of St. Martin De Porres in some of them. This humble Dominican brother stands as a giant example to all of us, especially in the light of recent events of demonstrations of racial hatred in our country. Compassion is a powerful antidote to such ugly things. St. Martin De Porres, pray for us! AMEN