Today, November 3, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Martin de Porres, religious, we are invited tofirst read and reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul, to the Philippians (3:7—4:1, 4-9), entitled "Rejoice in the Lord always". Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily at the Canonization of Saint Martin de Porres by Pope John XXIII.
Saint Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru on December 9, 1579. Martin was the illegitimate son to a Spanish gentlemen and a freed slave Negro mother from Panama, of African or possibly Native American descent. At a young age, Martin's father abandoned him, his mother and his younger sister, leaving Martin to grow up in deep poverty. After spending just two years in primary school, Martin was placed with a barber/surgeon where he would learn to cut hair and the medical arts. He studied medicine which later, as a member of the Dominican order, he put to good use in helping the poor.
As Martin grew older, he experienced a great deal of ridicule for being of mixed-race. In Peru, by law, all descendants of African or Indians were not allowed to become full members of religious orders. Martin, who spent long hours in prayer, found his only way into the community he longed for was to ask the Dominicans of Holy Rosary Priory in Lima to accept him as a volunteer who performed the most menial tasks in the monastery. In return, he would be allowed to wear the habit and live within the religious community. When Martin was 15, he asked for admission into the Dominican Convent of the Rosary in Lima and was received as a servant boy and eventually was moved up to the church officer in charge of distributing money to deserving poor. He led a humble and disciplined life and was devoted to the Holy Eucharist. He died in 1639.
Saint Pope John XXIII was the 260th successor of St. Peter, was one of the most popular popes of all time, serving as pope from October 1958 to June 1963. His pastoral approach to the papacy made him beloved by many: his nick name was the "Good Pope". He is best known for convening the Second Vatican Council.
Philippians is written to a group of believers with whom Paul founded a church, during his second missionary journey in approximately AD 49. Philippi was a Roman colony, with believers consisting primarily of Gentiles. This letter, written about 12 years after the founding of the Philippian church, is largely a thank you letter to the Philippians. The main message of the Book of Philippians is for the Christian community in Philippi to be steadfast in faith and to express joy. Philippians is recognized as Paul's joyous epistle and is also known as the "friendship letter" because of its tone. However, because Paul wrote this letter during a time of house arrest in Rome, it includes the major theme of rejoicing during suffering.
