Missionary Zeal
- I suppose many of us imagine life within the walls of a priory as a very quiet thing, with no major changes besides the simple and natural events that occur to anybody, anywhere: people get sick and then recover; people earn some money and spend the same or a bit more; people criticize other people; people get elderly and eventually pass away.
- Religious life can be dull and boring to the extreme, but can also be exciting and very much lively. Religious life was born through the action of the Holy Spirit, and whenever we allow the Spirit to blow strong in our lives they become little wonders, full of promises and heavenly rewards. It is the work of the Spirit to push us, gently but firmly, towards the new lands of the Gospel. We never own the Gospel. We can serve the Gospel, we can offer the Gospel, we can live the Gospel, but we never own it.
- That is why the Church, whose soul is the same Spirit, only can be missionary. The true sign that tells us that a Christian community is alive is this one: they want to go out and get new people for Christ. It is the same with every Saint: missionary zeal is the hallmark of a genuine Christian life.
Love Is Boundless
- Love knows no bounds. The medieval theologians used to say: “Amor est diffusivum sui,” Love expands from within, love fills everything and then overflows. When we say that Martin was full of charity, we mean it. God’s love filled his heart, expanded it, stretched it so that the poor, the elderly, the afflicted, the sick, the unbelievers got a place in Martin’s daily journey and daily prayers.
- Once you begin to love seriously, you realize that there is no limit whatsoever: the faithful departed, the pagans in distant lands, the unborn children, the priests and other particular vocations in the Church: every person, every human life is so important! That is why we cannot be Christians and not be missionaries. Christian love will push us forward to reach other people with the Good News. Martin de Porres deeply felt this push and his desire to serve and love resulted in some of the most astonishing miracles that have been ever told of any saint.
- We are speaking of agility and even bilocation. In collecting testimonies about St. Martin’s life, it was reported many times that there was something beyond human nature in the way Martin’s body could move and function. An example. To dispel the doubts of his colleagues in the infirmary of the priory about the efficacy of some new treatment, the humble brother said: “I saw this done this way in France, in the hospitals of Bayonne.” This had to be taken as plain fantasy if we were not compelled by the number of testimonies from Africa, India and other parts of the world. Under the gravity of a solemn oath people reported that during St. Martin’s lifetime he actually went to those places and looked after them, when they were in need. We literally realize that love is simply boundless.
What We Can Learn from St. Martin To-day
- Many people travel a lot because of their business. They keep busy and fill up their schedules with plenty of appointments, meetings and programmed activities, all for the sake of profit, prestige and success. They probably would like to have the agility to move even faster from airport to airport, from country to country, from an important meeting to an even more important meeting. They would love bilocation in order to achieve what they long for, namely their gain and money. It is heartwarming that some holy people, like St. Martin, have walked on this earth moved by a desire to serve, strong enough to deserve heavenly nimbleness.
- We all are called to be missionaries, but we come to realize it only when we become aware of all the riches of our faith. In the process of getting to appreciate our faith we also get the tools and the style to share that faith with others.
- The pulpit is not the only place for preaching. St. Francis of Assisi used to preach at the corners in the marketplace; St. Martin used to preach to his fellow farmers. You do not need a long discourse but a great amount of love and a huge desire to do something good and lasting to other people.