Archives

“God is wonderful in His saints.” (Ps. 68:35) Beginning on November 1 and spreading throughout the month of November, the Church rejoices in the great gifts the Lord has given her in the saints.  Through their examples they give us the sign posts that lead us on the path they once trod.  And through their intercession, they aid us on our journey so that we might be led on our way to the same end–heaven.

This nicely describes our the relevance for our saint of the week.  Often when I think of St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639, feast day – Nov. 3), I remember his miracles–his turning into a fireball, his bilocation, his miraculous healings, even his talking to rats.  But there is something more fundamental about St. Martin than these extraordinary graces, and there is another way that he is more properly an example to us all.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 5:3)

These words succinctly describe the life of St. Martin.  He was humble from his childhood.  Being born of black mother and a Spanish father in 16th century Peru, he was an outcast.  Since he inherited the dark skin of his mother, his father shunned and neglected him.  Yet, he persevered in a holy life and sought to enter religion.  When he entered the Dominican Order, it was not as a brother studying for the priesthood or even a cooperator brother.  He humbly entered as a servant, a familiari.  He did menial labor in the Convent of the Holy Rosary in Lima, Peru, and here he sought to live a simple life.  When the friars decided that they wanted to make him a cooperator brother, he shrunk from such a prospect, not feeling worthy to live such a great vocation.  Yet, in his humility, he accepted and continued the work he was known for–being the porter, the barber (i.e., surgeon), and whatever else would benefit the fathers and free them up to carry out the work of preaching.  In all this, he remained united to God.  In other words, he who was poor in spirit, was joined to Him in whom the kingdom of heaven is found.

May his example lead us to that same kingdom, and through his intercession, may we too become humble and accept the Lord’s will, wherever it may lead us.

O God, you led the blessed Martin, your confessor, to heavenly glory along the way of humility; grant, we beseech you, that being made humble by his example, we may deserve to be exalted with him in heaven.  Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

St. Juan Macias (1585-1645, feast day – Sept. 18) lived in Lima, Peru at the same time as St. Martin de Porres and only 5 years after the death of St. Rose of Lima.  Originally from Spain, St. Juan Macias first met the Dominicans at the age of 16 but was told in a revelation that he wasn’t to enter yet.  Later, he traveled to the New World, and at the age of 35, he entered the Dominican convent of St. Mary Magdalene in Lima (St. Martin was in the convent of Santo Domingo, otherwise known as Holy Rosary) as a laybrother (cooperator brothers were called laybrothers then).

Now while many historians might try to avoid talk of miracles and the supernatural and look solely at the heroic sanctity of saints, sometimes it is good to look at how God can work in these scientifically unexplainable ways.  And even though St. Juan Macias wasn’t known to be a miracle worker of the magnitude of saints like St. Vincent Ferrer or St. Martin de Porres, he still lived a life full of supernatural graces.

For instance, he was attacked by demons from the moment that he enter the Order, he had visions of St. John the Evangelist throughout his life, he would disappear when the overly curious or wealthy were looking at him, and he was visited by many of the souls whom he had liberated from Purgatory (he is said to have freed more than a million through his prayers and sacrifices – talk about devotion to the souls in Purgatory).

He was well known mainly for two things during his life.  First, he was known to love the Rosary, which he began to pray as a child in Spain while he shepherded his uncle’s flock of sheep.  He would pray the Rosary constantly, especially when he had any moment of free time.  Secondly, he was known for his generosity to the poor, 200 of whom he fed every day.  He was greatly aided in this by his little donkey that he sent through Lima.  He had a little sign which put on it asking for donations for the poor.  The donkey, knowing his route perfectly, would travel through the streets and come back with benefactions for the city’s poor.  Often the donkey would stop at certain locations and make loud noises so that the people inside would come out to make their donations.

St. Juan Macias was beatified with St. Martin de Porres in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and was canonized in 1975 by Pope Paul VI.

O God, you went before the blessed confessor, John, in the fullness of your grace, and willed that he should flourish in a humble state of life by the radiance of his ways; grant us, we beg, to tread in his steps that we may reach you with unsullied souls.