Feast of St. Martin de Porres

by

Friday, 3 November 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, we are all called to do what is right and just in all of our actions, works and deeds. All of us as God’s beloved and holy people are expected and called to do God’s will in each and every moments of our lives, to be exemplary and inspirational to others all around us so that we may indeed bear the truth, love and the Good News of God to many others, who have seen and witnessed our works and lives, and embraced God because of what they have experienced through their interactions and encounter with each and every one of us. And all of these are indeed crucial because these actions and right direction in life will help us in how we may truly be good role models and be truly faithful as Christians in all things, and not merely in name only.

In our first reading today, we heard from the continuation of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, in which the Apostle spoke about the examples of faith which he himself showed, in his persistence to spread the Good News and the truth of God through the efforts and works which he had done, in persisting to do the will of God despite the opposition and all the hardships that he had constantly faced and encountered even from his own people, the Jewish people. Back then, the Jewish authorities, the members of the Sanhedrin, composed of many Sadducees and Pharisees, the elites among the people of God, had mostly opposed the Lord Jesus and His teachings, and persecuted His disciples and followers. Many of the early Christians had to face great persecution and sufferings because of their faith in God.

St. Paul himself was a member of the Pharisees and was in his youth, a very overzealous person, who hunted and persecuted the earliest members of the Church, the early Christians, and made them to suffer very greatly just as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. He was misled by the wrong understanding and interpretation of the Law, and also the misunderstanding and prejudice against Christ and His teachings, which the Pharisees in particular refused to accept because they held on firmly to their version of the Law, while the Sadducees on the other hand was also opposed to because of their firm refusal to believe in supernatural and spiritual aspects of the faith like that of the belief in the Resurrection, the afterlife and the concept of Angels and spirits. In either case, both of these prominent groups of the Jewish leaders and people were opposed to the Lord and to the Christian faith.

But St. Paul saw the errors of his ways, and after having personally encountered the Lord Himself on the way to Damascus, in his zealous persecution of Christians, St. Paul had a thorough and complete change of heart and mind, that he was no longer a persecutor of Christians, and then, at the same time, he was also renewed and reborn into the true path that the Lord has shown him. St. Paul became a new champion and defender of the Christian faith, and henceforth became a great Apostle, spreading the words of God’s truth and also the Good News through his evangelising missions and actions, in his dedication to serve the Lord through various ministries among the many communities of the early Church, and in his numerous letters and Epistles to help clarify the many aspects of the faith to those who have just embraced the Lord.

St. Paul as we heard in our first reading today did not shun his Jewish heritage and origins, and in fact, he praised the Jewish people that he belonged to, as the people whom God had first chosen and called to be His own, and how He had made His Covenant with all of them, with Abraham and his descendants. By mentioning this fact, St. Paul wanted to highlight that ultimately, everyone are called to be God’s disciples and followers, to be part of His flock, embracing His path and truth, and there should not be distinction based on whether one is a Jew or not, as ultimately, what matters is one’s faith and dedication to God, in the manner that He Himself has shown us all, as we heard in our Gospel passage today, in the account of the confrontation and the encounter that the Lord had against the Pharisees in one of His many works and ministries.

In that occasion, the Lord Jesus went to eat in the house of a leading and important Pharisee, and the other Pharisees as mentioned were watching His every moves and actions. There was a man who was suffering from an illness, and based on what we have experienced in the other parts of the Scriptures, it might not be a stretch to suggest and conclude that the person had been brought there in order to test the Lord, that day being the Sabbath day as well, out of all days. The Sabbath day was a day sacred to the Lord and according to the Law of God given to His people through Moses, the people ought not to be working on that day, and instead focus their attention on the Lord and to worship Him. The Pharisees interpreted this most strictly, and were opposed to the Lord Who often carried out His healing and works on the day of the Sabbath.

Thus, in that same occasion again, the Lord asked the Pharisees who were present blatantly, whether it was lawful or not to heal an afflicted person, that is to do a good and virtuous deed on the day of the Sabbath, and He spoke of it with such an authority that the Pharisees assembled there could not refute or respond to Him at all, using examples of how even the Pharisees would do something to help their flock that got into trouble on the Sabbath day, and the Lord healed the suffering man regardless, showing all those bigoted leaders and influential members of the people, the folly of their stubborn upholding of their mistaken and overzealous beliefs, in merely obeying the letter of the Law but not understanding and appreciating its true nature and purpose. Thus, the Lord wanted us all to know that to be His disciples and followers, we have to follow His examples, in loving God and our fellow brothers and sisters, and not merely blind followers obeying rites and empty letters of the Law.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Martin de Porres, a great and virtuous man of God, a holy servant and follower of Christ, who had dedicated himself and his life to the Lord, though his works, his commitments and actions. He is a humble and simple man, and yet, in his simplicity and great faith, he has shown us all how to truly be good and faithful disciples of the Lord, in doing our best to follow the Lord’s commandments, in obeying His will and doing His Law. St. Martin de Porres has shown his love both to the Lord and towards his fellow brothers and sisters, and hence, he has been doing what the Lord had commanded and told us all to do, and his virtues become for us a shining beacon of his faith, righteousness and justice amidst the darkness of this world and all the temptations and corruptions of sin.

St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, in what is now Peru, and then part of the Spanish dominions in the New World, the Americas. He was born of a mixed ancestry, of Spanish and natives, being an illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed slave of mixed African and native descent. He grew up in poverty, like many others like him at that time, and eventually, he wanted to join the Dominicans, only to be stopped by the law of the time which forbid those who has similar background as him from joining as full members of the Dominican Order. Instead, he became a third order member of the Dominicans, and he performed various works and actions in supporting the Dominicans and also in other charitable actions, particularly towards the poor, whose sufferings he understood very well, having been born, lived and dwelled in poverty and amongst the poor.

St. Martin de Porres was renowned for his great piety and faith, and for his loving outreach to the poor all around the community he was living and ministering in, faithfully doing whatever the Lord had commanded and told him to do through his part in the Dominican Order as a religious brother. He devoted much of his time before the Blessed Sacrament, in which he had a great devotion and also among the poor as mentioned. He did not even hesitate to help those who were sick and suffering, and showed everyone around him the true compassionate and loving face of God, shown clearly through his exemplary virtues and compassion. He obeyed the Lord perfectly and continued to do what he could to serve God till his death. He continued to inspire countless others even long after his death.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore devote ourselves, our time and attention to serve the Lord, our loving God and Father, our Creator and Master, in following the footsteps of the saints, especially that of St. Martin de Porres. Let us all be exemplary in our every way of life, in our love towards God and also our charity and care towards the poor and the less fortunate all around us. Let us all be truly faithful to God, not just merely in words alone, but also through real action and commitment towards God, in all of the love we show one another. May God be with us all and may He bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and forevermore. Amen.

by

Friday, 3 November 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Luke 14 : 1-6

At that time, on one Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and He was carefully watched.

In front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy; so Jesus asked the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”

But no one answered. Jesus then took the man, healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, “If your lamb or your ox falls into a well on a Sabbath day, who among you does not hurry to pull it out?” And they could not answer.

by

Friday, 3 November 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Psalm 147 : 12-13, 14-15, 19-20

Exalt YHVH, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.

He grants peace on your borders and feeds you with the finest grain. He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word.

It is He, Who tells Jacob His words; His laws and decrees, to Israel. This, He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!

by

Friday, 3 November 2023 : 30th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Romans 9 : 1-5

I tell you, sincerely, in Christ, and my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit, that I am not lying : I have great sadness and constant anguish for the Jews. I would even desire, that, I myself, suffer the curse of being cut off from Christ, instead of my brethren : I mean, my own people, my kin.

They are Israelites, whom God adopted, and on them, rests His glory. Theirs, are the Covenants, the Law, the worship and the promises of God. They are descendants of the patriarchs, and from their race, Christ was born, He, Who, as God, is above all distinctions. Blessed be He forever and ever. Amen!

by

Thursday, 3 November 2022 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each one of us are reminded that as Christians we must not have the elitist attitude thinking that we alone are righteous and that others are less deserving of God’s salvation than us. We must not think that we are more worthy than others just because we follow His Law and commandments, and then ridicule and ostracise, being prejudiced or biased against others, or worse still, blaming others just because we think that they have not been faithful to God the way that we have been faithful. Instead, first and foremost we must remember that it is our Christian calling and obligation in fact to not only love the Lord with all of our hearts and might, but also to love our fellow brothers and sisters, without prejudice, in the same way.

In our first reading today, taken from the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Church and the faithful in Philippi, we heard the Apostle speaking to the people regarding the matter of circumcision and the faithful. In order to understand the significance of this discourse, we have to understand that back then there were significant friction between the members of the Christian communities including that in Philippi, between the new converts from among the Jewish diaspora as well as the new converts from among the Gentiles or the non-Jewish people like the Romans, the Greek and many others. The Christian faith and truths attracted both the Jewish people and the Gentiles alike, and the differences in their thoughts and practices bring about this discord between the faithful.

That is because according to the practices of the old Law as revealed through Moses and as shown in the Old Testament, the Jewish people had to undergo circumcision or the removal of the skin from the genital of their males, in order for them to be part of the Jewish community. This Law had been preserved from the days of Moses onwards to this day. However, the crux of the matter as highlighted by St. Paul, was the overemphasis on these external and outward practices and which also became sort of badge of pride and honour by the adherents of its practices which resulted in the people of God being elitist and exclusivist in their way of life and in how they interacted with others who do not belong to their group, or those whom they deemed as inferior and less worthy than they were.

The Pharisees, to which St. Paul himself belonged to, and which the Apostle highlighted in that very occasion, was in particular the most to blame for this attitude. For back then, many among the Pharisees were very proud of their observance of the Law of God, their piety and dedication. They looked down on others and made great show of their faith practices and piety. They imposed the very strict interpretation and excesses of the additions to the Law of God over the centuries to the whole people. Their prejudice against people who were sick and diseased, possessed, and others like the tax collectors and the prostitutes, were carried on to some among the early Christian converts originating from among the Jewish people, some of them like St. Paul himself, were Pharisees.

Therefore, there were disagreements and even attempts by those who supported the Pharisees and wanted the whole Church to adopt the very strict interpretation of the Law and all of its immense number of rules and regulations, imposing them even to the Gentiles who converted to the Christian faith. That would have made it very difficult then for the Gentiles to adopt the Christian faith, as back then, some of the Jewish practices and customs were viewed with disdain and even with outright disgust by the Romans, the Greeks and the other Gentiles. In particular, this involved the practice of male circumcision, which the Gentiles found abhorrent. That is why, people like St. Paul, a former Pharisee, wanted this practice to be made completely optional for the whole Church.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the words of the Lord Jesus as He confronted the Pharisees and the elders who were very critical at the Lord’s warm treatment of those whom the they considered as sinners and unclean like the tax collectors, as He went even to their place to have a meal with them. Such an action would have been unthinkable for the Pharisees and the elders who wanted to have nothing to do at all with those pagans and all those whom they deemed to be inferior, less worthy and wicked. This was exactly why St. Paul warned the faithful against these attitudes that are actually incompatible with all of us being Christians. A Christian should not be prejudiced, exclusivist and self-righteous in their attitudes.

On the contrary, we have to remember what the Lord told all those assembled, using the parable of the lost sheep and the lost silver coin. When He mentioned how the shepherd would go out forth to look for the one lost sheep despite the ninety-nine other sheep that were safe and sound, and how the woman would put all her effort to find her missing silver coin piece despite the other pieces that she had with her, it showed us all the kind of love and the effort with which God had done for our sake, out of His ever enduring and ever great love for us all. Through His generous love, He has reached out to us again and again, all of us sinners who are undeserving of His love, and yet, despite our rebelliousness and stubbornness, God continued to reach out to us nonetheless, with love. And that is what we as Christians are expected to do as well with our lives.

Today, we shoud also look upon the good examples set by our holy predecessor, on his feast day, namely that of St. Martin de Porres, the renowned patron saint of the poor and the needy, and of those who are underprivileged and ostracised. St. Martin de Porres was himself born in the New World, the Americas, as a mixed-race illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed nativewoman. St. Martin de Porres grew up in poverty and endured a lot of prejudices and sufferings because of his background, and although as he grew up he wanted to join the Dominicans as a member of the religious order, the prejudices and the challenges facing St. Martin de Porres as a mixed-race man prevented him from joining the Dominicans as a full member.

Nonetheless, St. Martin de Porres continued to persevere in his faith and faithful actions, devoting a lot of time and effort to care for his fellow brethren, especially to those who were sick and dying, those who were underprivileged and suffering. He performed many works, even menial works and labours for the sake of his community of Dominican brothers, as well as others. Soon after, many miracles and wonderful works occurred all around St. Martin de Porres, and many came to him for healing and advice. He continued to live humbly and faithfully in God’s path, and devoted his works to the good and the well-being of his brethren, obeying his superiors and listening to God’s will. He lived virtuously and humbly, to the very end of his life, a great example and role model for all of us.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, having heard of St. Martin de Porres, his life and good examples, let us all therefore reflect upon all these and see in what way we as Christians can do and act in our own lives to be more like St. Martin de Porres and the innumerable other saints whose holy lives, whose love for the needy, the poor and the underprivileged can become our source of inspiration and examples, in how we ought to lead our own lives. Shall we not follow the path of the Pharisees and the elders, and the path of those who thought themselves as being worthy and righteous, but instead, walk ever humbly and faithfully in the path that God had set before us?

May the Lord continue to guide us in our journey of faith through life, and may He strengthen and empower each and every one of us to be able to live courageously with faith and devote ourselves and our attention to Him. May God bless us all and all of our good efforts and endeavours, all for His greater glory. Amen.

by

Thursday, 3 November 2022 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Luke 15 : 1-10

At that time, tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what He had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering, “This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus told them this parable :

“Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and seek the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbours together, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner, than over ninety-nine decent people, who do not need to repent.”

“What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp, and sweep the house in a thorough search, till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbours, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way, there is rejoicing among the Angels of God over one repentant sinner.”

by

Thursday, 3 November 2022 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Psalm 104 : 2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Sing to the Lord, sing His praise, proclaim all His wondrous deeds. Glory in His holy Name; let those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Look to the Lord and be strong; seek His face always. Remember His wonderful works, His miracles and His judgments.

You descendants of His servant Abraham, you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! He is the Lord our God; His judgments reach the whole world.

by

Thursday, 3 November 2022 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Philippians 3 : 3-8a

We are the true circumcised people since we serve according to the Spirit of God, and our confidence is in Christ Jesus rather than in our merits. I myself do not lack those human qualities in which people have confidence. If some of them seem to be accredited with such qualities, how much more am I!

I was circumcised when eight days old. I was born of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin : I am a Hebrew, born of Hebrews. With regard to the Law, I am a Pharisee, and such was my zeal for the Law that I persecuted the Church. As for being righteous according to the Law, I was blameless.

But once I found Christ, all those things that I might have considered as profit, I reckoned as loss. Still more, everything seems to me as nothing compared with the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.

by

Wednesday, 3 November 2021 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are called to reflect on our lives in this world as Christians, as those who belong to the Lord and who have been called to live a good and devout life worthy of God. We are all called to do what is right according to the Law and the commandments of the Lord, distancing ourselves from evil and wicked deeds and things that may end up leading us into our downfall and destruction in hell.

In our first reading today taken from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Church and the faithful in the city of Rome, we heard the Apostle speaking to the faithful through his letter regarding the commandments of God, the Law that God has placed in our midst to govern us and how we ought to be living this life in obedience to God. We have to do as commanded by the Lord, to love Him first and foremost above any other things, and to love one another in the same way that we love ourselves.

St. Paul mentioned this in his Epistle to remind the people of God there in Rome of their obligation as Christians to love, loving God and loving one another. Otherwise, they will not be truly faithful to the Lord and whatever faith they had will be meaningless and empty. For in another occasion, St. Paul also said that, we may have received many gifts, talents and abilities, the gift of speaking in tongues, of prophecy and even miracles and healing, but unless we have love in us, then everything we have is meaningless.

Love indeed lies at the centre of our faith and existence as Christians, as the Law of God and the rules and regulations set by the Church are all meant to help and guide us in our journey towards the Lord, to help us in redirecting our attention to Him, to love Him and to be able to show that love which God Himself has shown us, in our lives and in how we interact with one another. As Christians, we are all called to love and love generously, to show care and concern, compassion and love to everyone, and especially to those who need them the most.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, as we heard the words of the Lord speaking to His disciples, we heard how He told them what it truly means to become His disciples. He told them that they ought to be ready to leave everything behind, every attachments, every other desires and put the Lord and His cause first and foremost, or else, we may get our priorities wrong. However, we must not interpret this as the Lord is asking us to leave behind our family members and relatives, our loved ones. God did not call us to be people who are irresponsible.

On the contrary, what He wants us to do is to reorientate our lives and change our focus from one that is centred on ourselves to one that is centred in God. Our families and relationships should also be framed in the presence of God and His path, and that is essentially how we lead a more wholesome and holy Christian life. We have to live our lives with true love, love for God and love for our fellow brothers and sisters, and not just selfish love and desire for ourselves and our own needs and wants.

The Lord then went on to speak regarding the plans one ought to go through before building a house, and the considerations and plans that kings must have prepared before they marched out to meet other kings for war and battle. What the Lord meant with this is that, all of us have known what is due for us at the end of the journey, and therefore, we are all called to discern carefully how we are to live our lives from now on. Are we going to continue living our lives in the manner as wretched and sinful as they may be, or are we going to embrace the Lord and His path?

We know that following the Lord will also likely include plenty of obstacles and challenges, and many occasions where we may have to make sacrifices and endure the trials and tribulations of being faithful to God, of standing up to our Christian faith and remaining resolute in living our Christian calling in each and every moments of our lives. But it is possible for us to do this if we put our faith and trust in God, and allow Him to lead us in the path that we traverse through life.

And we should also follow the great examples of our holy predecessors, the saints, holy men and women of God who are our role models in faith. Today, in particular we celebrate the feast of St. Martin de Porres, who was a renowned religious and member of the Dominican Order as a lay brother. He was renowned for his great personal holiness and dedication to the Lord, his care and love for his fellow men and women, especially all those who have suffered oppression and prejudice just as he himself had experienced and suffered from.

St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima in Peru as the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman with his freed slave, and as a mixed race or mestizo person, he was accorded like many others a second class treatment below that of those with European descent or came directly from Europe, the latter of which which had the highest prestige and position in the society. He lived his early life in poverty, and as a descendant of the Native Americans, he was barred by law from becoming full member of the religious orders, although he desired to become a priest and religious.

As such, St. Martin had to beg the Dominicans to be allowed to join as a lay brother, who dedicated his life from then on to do the many works of the Order, supporting the religious brothers and the community. It was a lot of hard work, and was sometimes looked down upon by the members of his own community and by the priests, some of whom looked upon his descent and ancestry with disdain, as well as the illegitimacy of his birth.

Nonetheless, St. Martin de Porres dedicated himself all the harder to serve his community, and he dedicated himself to the Lord all the more, especially in the Blessed Sacrament. He ministered to the poor and the sick as part of his works, and for many years, cared for many of the people in his community, as well as within the Dominican religious community. His dedication and faith eventually earned him great respect and support by the time of his passing. Many attributed miracles to him and his tomb also exuded great fragrance and other signs of holiness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, if St. Martin de Porres had been able to commit himself and his life despite his difficult background and conditions, to love the Lord and also to love his brothers and sisters, even those who despised and made his life difficult, then why can’t we, most of us with much better condition than he was, dedicate ourselves in the same way too? Are we too complacent and lazy to follow in the same path that this holy saint had walked? Are we not courageous and faithful enough to follow the Lord in the same way?

Let us all discern our path in life carefully then, so that all of us may hence learn to live our lives with greater devotion from now on. May God be with us always and may He guide us and strengthen us so that we may be more willing to follow Him with ever greater sincerity, just as St. Martin de Porres had shown us, in being true and genuine Christians as we should. Amen.

by

Wednesday, 3 November 2021 : 31st Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Religious (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Religious)

Luke 14 : 25-33

At that time, when large crowds were walking along with Jesus, He turned and said to them, “If you come to Me, unwilling to sacrifice your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not follow Me, carrying his own cross, cannot be My disciple.”

“Do you build a house without first sitting down to count the cost, to see whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, if you, have laid the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone will make fun of you : ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'”

“And when a king wages war against another king, does he go to fight without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand can stand against the twenty thousand of his opponent? And if not, while the other is still a long way off, he sends messengers for peace talks. In the same way, none of you may become My disciple, if he does not give up everything he has.”