Categoría: devociones y novenas

¡Es el turno de la soprano en la Novena de N. S. de Lourdes!

Texto:

Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis caelicus
figuris terminum
O res mirabilis!
manducat Dominum
Pauper, pauper,
servus, et humilis.

Traducción:

Pan de los Angeles,
se convierte en pan de los hombres;
El Pan del cielo
termina con todas las prefiguraciones
¡Qué maravilla!
Consume a su Señor
el siervo pobre y humilde.

Durante la Novena a N.S. de Lourdes este año en Tallaght, no lejos de Dublín, el cantor interpretó el Adoro Te Devote, himno eucarístico por excelencia de Santo Tomás de Aquino. Felizmente quedó esta grabación en vivo, que les comparto.

Texto:

Adóro te devóte Iatens Deitas,
Quae sub his figúris vere látitas:
Tibi se cor meurn totum súbiicit,
Quia te contémplans totum déficit.

Visus, tactus, gustus in te fállitur.
Sed audítu solo tuto créditur.
Credo, quidquid dixit Dei Fílius
Nil hoc verbo Veritátis vérius.

In cruce latébat sola Déitas,
At hic latet simul et humánitas;
Ambo tamen credens atque cónfitens,
Peto quod petívit Iatro paénitens.

Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intúeor;
Deum tamen meum te confiteor
Fac me tibi semper magis crédere,
In te spem habére, te dilígere

O memoriále mortis Dómini!
Panis vivus, vitam praestans hórnini!
Praeta meae menti de te vivere.
Et te illi sermper dulce sápere.

Pie pellicáne, Iesu Dómine,
Me immúndum munda tuo sánguine.
Cuius una stilla salvum fácere
Totum mudum quit ab omni scélere.

Iesu, quem velátum nunc aspício,
Oro fiat illud quod tam sitio;
Ut te reveláta cernens fácie,
Visu sim beátus tuae glóriae. Amen.

Traducción:

Te adoro con devoción, Dios escondido, oculto verdaderamente bajo estas apariencias. A Ti se somete mi corazón por completo, y se rinde totalmente al contemplarte.

Al juzgar de Ti, se equivocan la vista, el tacto, el gusto; pero basta el oído para creer con firmeza; creo todo lo que ha dicho el Hijo de Dios: nada es más verdadero que esta Palabra de verdad.

En la Cruz se escondía sólo la Divinidad, pero aquí se esconde también la Humanidad; sin embargo, creo y confieso ambas cosas, y pido lo que pidió aquel ladrón arrepentido.

No veo las llagas como las vió Tomás pero confieso que eres mi Dios: haz que yo crea más y más en Ti, que en Ti espere y que te ame.

¡Memorial de la muerte del Señor! Pan vivo que das vida al hombre: concede a mi alma que de Ti viva y que siempre saboree tu dulzura.

Señor Jesús, Pelícano bueno, límpiame a mí, inmundo, con tu Sangre, de la que una sola gota puede liberar de todos los crímenes al mundo entero.

Jesús, a quien ahora veo oculto, te ruego, que se cumpla lo que tanto ansío: que al mirar tu rostro cara a cara, sea yo feliz viendo tu gloria.

Amén.

Joyful Friar

1. During this Novena, that now arrives to an end, we have willingly remembered St. Martin as a joyful, kind, friendly man: the sort of people that we call: approachable. That is a beautiful expression: Behold a saint that is also a most approachable fellow.
2. Joyfulness is linked with some serious virtues. A bit of humor is a way of not taking ourselves too seriously. Moreover, you need a fair amount of gladness to announce the Good News enduring all the risks, drawbacks and failures, and facing people’s irony, indifference or even aggression.
3. Gladness is also the hallmark of a pacified soul. And peace is the ultimate gift, according to another Dominican, St. Thomas Aquinas. Inner peace spells harmony, contentment, awareness of all the other gifts God has granted us in his Beloved Son.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Ending On A Cheerful Note

1. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.” (Matthew 13,44)
2. “Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them: Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2,9-11)
3. “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area. He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4,14-19)
4. “Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, Rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things. The things which you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: do these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:4-9)

Missionary Zeal

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

Called To Be Saints

1. Once or twice in your lifetime you will get a particular urge. Rarely it will happen more than twice, but it can be powerful, almost overwhelming. That urge is a profound thrust to change everything in you and around you, like a heartfelt longing for being born again. Who has not experienced, at least once in his lifetime, that it would be only wonderful if a fresh start could happen?
2. I would like to mention at this point two great Irish men: Frank Duff, the founder of the Legion of Mary, and Matt Talbot, who left among us a so beautiful example of conversion through prayer and family life. Both heard the loud voice of God calling them to left behind what they were, or even more, calling them to embrace wholeheartedly a life of holiness.
3. Holiness should not be regarded as a strange field some people choose to build up their dwelling. We all have been called to be holy, we all have received the Spirit that we name Holy, we all belong to a Holy Body which is Christ’s same Body. Therefore, what we see in the Saints is not extraterrestrial life but the natural development of God’s life when is not from a human heart.

Saint Martin, Man of God

1. Brother Martin de Porres never accepted to be regarded as a saint. Though he was so humble, his refusal was not only a matter of humility. Holy people like him have got plenty of light from Heaven, and they can see what other people do not see. An example: if we switch off the lights in a room at nighttime, everybody would say no dirt is apparent, and some would go as far as to affirm that the room is “more or less” clean. If we switch again the lights on, we immediately realize how much work should be done to leave that room truly clean and tidy! Martin was not lying when he assured he was not spotless. God’s penetrating light was showing him the relatively small imperfections that nobody among us could ever have discovered.
2. There is a beautiful mixture of simplicity and profundity in St. Martin’s holy life. Amazing things and most wonderful miracles happened to him, or to people he prayed for, so that what used to seem difficult would not be so for the bounteous Lay Brother. On the other hand, very simple and ordinary things, like the song of a bird at the dawn could take him to deep contemplation of God’s Providence and his fatherly tenderness to everybody.
3. In St. Martin’s life, holiness is clearly related to three things: union with God, self-control and true service of his neighbor. Regarding God, he  strove to be united to Him through prayer, sacramental life and getting fitting education on the divine doctrine. Regarding his neighbor, Martin strove to be patient, kind, understanding, charitable and to practice all sort of corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Regarding himself, he kept his own nature under control by means of penance, discipline and self-denial. The central knot in all this net of human and theological virtues was always the same, namely Christ Crucified.

What We Can Learn from St. Martin To-day

1. Christ’s Passion is actual and present in every Mass. And in the Mass we give glory to God the Father “Through Christ, With Christ, In Christ.” “Through Christ” can be referred to the union to God. “With Christ” is related to serving our neighbor, for we are not alone in helping others, and also, because the Lord promised He would be beside us whenever we go out to announce His gospel. “In Christ,” finally, can be referred to the way we endure the struggles, pains and sufferings in our own flesh while we bear our Lord’s yoke.
2. Holiness is not something that springs spontaneously from our own nature. Everybody has his or her own spiritual battle. That is why we all have to know ourselves. In that regard it is good to take every opportunity for knowing a little more about who we truly are. From our failures we can learn a lot, in particular. From the practice of the sacrament of penance we learn a lot, as well. From the corrections and comments other people do about us, even if they are not as charitable as we would like, we also can learn many things. That attitude of continuous discipleship keeps us on guard, ever ready to move forward and to admit that there is always room for improvement.
3. This world needs Saints. Those holy men and women, those unselfish witnesses to Christ offer to the world the only message that can bring hope to people in despair. Love is the medicine for every human heart, for, as St. Catherine of Siena put it, our souls were made up of love itself. What the Saints offer, on behalf of Christ, is the nourishment that reassures everybody that life is worth living, and that through the darkness of bewilderment the dawn is just waiting for us.

A New Kind of Justice

1. During these last days we have mentioned several times the challenging circumstances in which Martin de Porres grew up. The society of his time was deeply crossed by the plagues of discrimination, poverty and mutual distrust. Life, though, and we have also said it before, is not what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you. In the case of Martin de Porres his response to so numerous inequalities and forms of injustice brings plenty lessons to us.
2. The one Christian issue related to getting justice is that it can easily be transformed into seeking revenge. It often happens that we are looking for a way of pleasing our hurt egos, so that eventually we see the other person’s good as our lost, and the other way around.
3. Yet there is a new kind of justice, the justice that is related to the biblical expression “justification through God’s grace.” In this new model, my good is not increased by my neighbor’s lnor is his gain that I decrease.

Patron Saint of Social Justice

1. Many people regard as an embellished anecdote that Martin is pictorially represented with three animals: a dog, a cat and a mouse, and all of them are eating from the same plate. There is more to that picture than it seems at a first glance. Dogs and cats are usually considered enemies, and it is meant that cats would be scared and flee from dogs. All the same, mice are frightened by cats, and flee from them. Yet nobody is fleeing from nobody in that picture. Nobody is scared. There is no dread. There is no chase. There is no hatred. There is plenty good for everybody.
2. The same principle can be and should be applied to our society as a whole. Nobody should be scared or fleeing. Nobody should be dreadful or full of anger. Justice, reconciliation and charity mingle wonderfully in St. Martin’s life. Before his charitable heart, before his pacifying smile the differences of race, skin color or even religion fall apart, and it is only the essential good what emerges: we all are children of the same God, who is so loving and who deserves to be obeyed and adored so perfectly!
3. Two guys were bitterly arguing once upon a time. They passed from verbal discussion to hateful gestures and promptly a terrible fight was in full display in some busy crossroads of Lima. People, making improvised tribune around them, were plainly enjoying the noisy quarrel, backing with his shouts the hits and kicks among the two strong men. Martin happened to walk down that road, and unable to endure such an spectacle, went right away to the midst of all the punches, where was violently hit himself by one of the two contenders. As soon as the man realized what he had done, stopped on his feet and payed real attention to the poor mulatto, then an elderly religious. The fight ended: an innocent man was hurt, a Saint was badly hit. Nobody would dare to continue quarreling. Yet Martin announced that justice had been made and feeble still stood up. This is the image of Christ’s passion: the Holy One has been hurt. If you see that, if you behold the Crucified Lord, if everybody realizes that the Innocent Lamb has been slayed, justice and peace come to the world.

What We Can Learn from St. Martin To-day

1. St. Martin is a revolutionary in his own particular way. His revolution of social justice does not follow the lines of people like Marx, Lenin and others. His model of society is not the series of programmed results that people like Stalin would prefer. The human race is the object of God’s predilection. We only understand the human truth on the basis that human beings have been loved beyond any limit. The key to interpersonal relationships is not only respect but true love and genuine desire to serve and honor God in our neighbor.
2. People do mistakes. Martin is anything but an idealist, on this regard. He does not love the idea of humanity but real human beings, for God has loved them not as they could be but as they are.
3. Prayer to God and service to people are interlocked. Charity, alike true justice, is not the work of sheer willpower. More often than we would prefer, we will come across people we do not like. To be really loving is to go beyond what is lovable. We cannot wait for people to become charming to decide if we start to love them. Yet the only way of loving dull people is to love them from the source of love that is in God’s bosom.

The Wonders of the Lord

1. Modern science has had a special effect in many minds. Since we have been able to provide an explanation for many phenomena it is easy to think that everything can be explained. Since we have solved so many problems with the aid of technology, it is easy to imagine that every difficulty can be successfully tackled in technological terms.
2. It should be noted that this is not the first time that human reason is presented as a perfect solution for understanding and dominating the world. Back in the Seventeen hundreds some thinkers began to proclaim their atheism on the grounds of human mind’s power. The same attitude resurfaces nowadays with the dress of skepticism or open mockery at religion.
3. Nonetheless, there remain many unexplained facts. Many of us are familiar to Lourdes, for example. Dozens of well-documented miracles have happened in direct connection to prayer at the Grotto, in Lourdes. People have been cured and the physicians can only say: “We do know that this person had this illness… and he no longer has it, for no apparent reason.” Science has a limit, and whenever strong devotion flows, that limit emerges more than once.

Martin, the Miracle-Maker

1. There are hundreds of testimonies about the wonders and miracles that filled St. Martin’s life. The “cloud of witnesses” includes male and female, young and elderly, lay people as religious as well. Let us read a couple of ancient testimonies, told by Giuliana Cavallini in her book on the life of our Saint.
2. “One morning the master of novices sought out Martin and confided a great grief to him. Two novices had disappeared and could not be found anywhere. They must have fled. Martin promised the master of novices he would do his best to help find them, and began to pray. When he had finished, he went to ask the prior’s permission to go out. Knowing what had happened, the prior granted the permission, even though it was already night. Martin walked several miles and then stopped before the door of a house. The door was closed, but had made no difference to him. He entered and found the two fugitives tranquilly sleeping on two cots. Martin awoke them without one word of reproof. Instead, he began to speak in his pacifying and convincing tone of the beauty of the religious state, of the dignity of a life intimately united to the life of God, of the boundless field opened to love when a man closes his heart to the attractions of his lower nature and disposes himself to receive the light from on high. His whole discourse seemed so logical to the young men that they found it hard to believe they were really guilty of having fled from the monastery the day before. They heartily wished they had never done such a foolish thing. All they could think of now was how to get back to the monastery. The problem was simple for Martin. As long as the two culprits were sincerely repented, everything else would take care of itself. Just as he had entered the house alone through locked doors, he re-entered the monastery through its barred doors with the two novices. Thus, no one knew of their flight except the prior and the master of novices, and no shadow was cast on their honor as religious. They became good religious and remained members of the Order until their death.”
3. Here it goes another one: “I have said it and I have repeated it millions of times–Father Ignatius of St. Dominic used to say–that I decided to become a Dominican because I saw Brother Martin de Porres in prayer, lifted high above the earth, almost embracing the crucified Christ of the chapter room.” “Oh, if Father Ignatius were only here–said Father Christopher one day to Marcel de Rivero, the surgeon–And is not my testimony enough?–replied de Rivero testily–I also saw him, just as Father Ignatius did, high above the ground, in the chapter room, and my word is just as good as his!”

What We Can Learn from St. Martin To-day

1. Miracles do happen. It is good to remember this in order to escape a narrow vision of the world. Our Lord is the Lord of Wonders, and He has gone to the extreme of enduring his only Son’s death for the sake of our salvation. We have been powerfully loved by God and we can trust completely in his love, in his care, in his mercy.
2. St. Martin’s miracles are linked to prayer, just as his entire life was. If we want to see the wonders of the Lord, the very beginning is a real life of prayer. Prayer itself is an amazing thing, for is nothing less than uniting our being with God, the Creator of the Universe.
3. Every miracle has a message. This is evident enough in the gospel of St. John, for example, who uses to call Jesus’ miracles “signs” that ought be read. It is important that we do not stop in contemplating miracles as “funny things.” Through them, what we should attend is God’s Providence and the way He is calling us to lead a better, more faithful and more meaningful life.

Without Love I Am Nothing

1. “This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13,35). “This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you. No one shows greater love than when he lays down his life for his friends” (John 15,12-13).
2. “If I speak in the tongues of humans and angels but have no love, I have become a reverberating gong or a clashing cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can understand all secrets and every form of knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains but have no love, I am nothing. Even if I give away all that I have and surrender my body so that I may boast but have no love, I get nothing out of it” (1 Corinthians 13,1-3).
3. “A religion that is pure and stainless in the sight of God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1,27).

Martin of Charity

1. Among the many titles and nicknames St. Martin got during his lifetime, the one that stuck the most is “Martin of Charity.” He was remembered especially for his complete selfishness, his incredible generosity, and the kindness of his way of treating everybody. Charity became a second nature in the poor Lay Brother, who was a true sign of bounty for all kind of people. In the midst of a harsh environment, with so much violence around his peaceful smile was a great relief for many, who would never forget him.
2. We would consider his charity and self-denial as extreme. It is said that when his priory was in debt, he implored them: “I am only a poor mulatto. Sell me. I am the property of the Order. Sell me.” It is also well known how much he pushed his health and human forces to the extreme, so that more than once his Superiors had to intervene to lessen his tireless self-giving to all, especially to the poor and sick.
3. Martin did his best with whatever means he could get striving to do every work of mercy. He spent his whole life as a barber, farm laborer, almoner, and infirmarian among other things. His love was all-embracing, shown both to humans and to animals, including vermin, and he maintained a cats and dogs hospital at his sister’s house.

What We Can Learn from St. Martin To-day

1. Nowadays, when we hear that “Love is powerful,” I suppose we think firstly of passionate or romantic love. People would regard love as a blind force that is able to overcome all sort of difficulties and survive in extreme circumstances. However, the face of love that Martin, like many other Saints, has depicted is not linked to the immediate and vain gratification of flame but with the lasting warmth and healthy purification of true charity. I suspect many people would do well learning a bit less about new ways of pleasure, and caring a bit more about Love, with capital L.
2. Christian love is today as necessary as always. Not far ago we had before our eyes the beautiful example of Mother Theresa of Calcuta, another great saint so devoted to serve the poor and destitutes. She has become an icon for a whole generation. Love is actual, it is always well received because it is so badly needed.
3. Notwithstanding that, we must bear in mind what the apostle teaches us: “Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4,10). It is not a matter of heroism; it is a matter of giving permission to God to work freely within us. St. Catherine of Siena used to say: “When the soul sees itself so loved, it cannot avoid committing itself to love.” The short way to love is accepting God’s love.

Man of Prayer

1. Prayer is not the first thing we notice when we meet someone. In ordinary conversation, it is difficult to tell if a person prays a lot or what is the quality of her prayer. Yet if we stay for a while close to her we begin to perceive how she reacts in times of trial. When things go tough we immediately note who relies on herself and who relies on God.
2. Paul VI, the pope who canonized Martin de Porres, once taught: “The quiet personal prayer in which you encounter Christ in order to keep vital the contact of the soul with God, the source of all graces, simply does not have a substitute.” Prayer cannot be traded and there is no workaround for that time we spend with the Lord.
3. Prayer is the beginning and the end of a holy day. If we are called to be holy, we are called to be prayerful, for we cannot lead a holy life without holy mornings, holy evenings and holy nights.

A Contemplative Man

1. Martin is well remembered as a man of prayer. He used to spend a good portion of the night in the church, contemplating the Crucified Lord. If Christ hanging on the Cross is the great source of every grace, where are we supposed to go if not to that fountain?
2. St. Martin’s prayer shines forth with many rays. Among them, I would like to highlight these four: humility, adoration, perseverance, confidence. He certainly knew the power of prayer and was generous in giving time to his best friend, Jesus Christ.
3. It has been reported that, even walking down by the corridors of the priory, he would seldom or never pass by the image of a saint without saying some prayer. The statues were not mere decoration for him! He would recommend similar practices to his brothers in religion, and to everybody that would listen to him.

What We Can Learn from St. Martin To-day

1. We are in great need of rediscovering prayer. It can be difficult at times; it can seem wasting of time; we can feel we are going nowhere. Yet that “useless” time delivers our lives to the One that is able to shape us according to the image of his only Begotten Son.
2. The important point in prayer is not what we do but what God does. More important than our words is his Word. More important than our feelings is the mysterious action of his grace and his love.
3. We are not alone on the way to become prayerful people. The lives of the saints, true witnesses of God’s love, is constantly remind us that if we sow with generosity, we will harvest with joy.

Humility

1. Have you noticed that in Christianity the only popular people are humble people? To be popular is to be humble. It is all the same in our own lives: we only remember with pleasure those who were kind with us. Most popular Saints, like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Martin de Porres were humblest and kindest among all.
2. We like other people to be humble yet we struggle ourselves in getting humility. It is a difficult virtue, hard to acquire and easy to lose.
3. There is a complex relationship between being humble and being humiliated. We cannot derive the former from the latter. Some people learn humility from a tough environment; others instead grow a deep feeling of rebellion and hatred.

St. Martin, A Humble Lay Dominican Brother

1. When we fully realize how well loved is St. Martin we probably think “It would be great to have someone like him in my family,” or “among my friends.” Yet, Martin was only acknowledged as son of his father when the child was 8. This abandonment locked Martin into the lower levels of Lima’s society even if he knew his father was nothing less than a Spanish nobleman fully capable of looking well after him.
2. Two things amaze me. Firstly, there is simply no record of any unkind word from Martin about his father. Secondly, it was among the poor of his time that Martin made his spiritual dwelling. He would not regard them as destitutes but as brothers and sisters.
3. Martin entered the Dominican Orden through the humblest door. He gave himself up to the Order and did not ask to be admitted as a brother but only as a “donado”–a Spanish name for unpaid servants that used to live in the priories for no other reward than food and shelter. Eventually he was asked to do his Religious Profession; later on, he considered that day the happiest in his life.

What We Can Learn from St. Martin To-day

1. When Jesus presented himself as an example, he did not say: “learn from me, for I am wise and admirable,” even if he was. What he said was: “learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11,29).We only can thank people like St. Martin for making this passage alive for us.
2. We have to acknowledge that humility is not an easy virtue. Yet what is the alternative? Pride is the worst adviser. Pride is the oldest maker of quarrels and wars. Pride is ready to fill with hatred our souls. It has been scientifically proved that pride is close to madness, for a proud person has to deny the opinion of the rest of the world. Humility is a sensible choice and God’s grace will bestow it on us as soon as we open the door.
3. Humility is deeply related to fraternity. Pride spells isolation; humility means gathering, community, encounter. For similar reasons, humility is a close relative of happiness and peace of mind.

Why Do We Celebrate the Saints?

1. We celebrate the Saints because they are living pages of the Gospel of Christ. In them we learn that the Gospel is not a fable; it is not a fairy tale but something real, as real as the bones and flesh of these heroic men and women.
2. We celebrate them because no joy could be more justifiable. What profit is to conquer this Earth if we were to lose Heaven? The Saints are people that won the true battle and deserve the true prize.
3. We celebrate them as a means of inspiration for each one of us. Life has been likened to a road, and as travelers we constantly need new strength, advise and direction. We get them from the Saints.

Basic Facts about St. Martin de Porres’ Early Life

1. Martin was the son of a freed slave woman from Panama and a Spanish conquistador, who abandoned the young mother and son for many years.
2. He was born during the Colonial period of the Spanish dominion over South America. Poverty, racism and illiteracy pressed heavily down on the young boy.
3. He was particularly discriminated against, for he would not be seen as neither Spanish nor native south American. His neighbors would call him “Blackish Dog!” just to enrage him.

What We Can Learn from St. Martin To-day

1. Martin was an ideal candidate for hatred and resentment. Yet neither could really grab his heart. We are not defined only by the circumstances, no matter how difficult they are.
2. Martin is remembered as a joyful man. He had the capacity of picking the best from everybody. How did a rich man get his riches? Collecting them. To be rich in virtue we have to collect virtues, as we can find them in others. It is our choice, whether we focus our attention in the good that others have or only in their defects, faults and failures.
3. Life is not what happens to you; is what you do with what happens to you. Many people have gone through situations similar to St. Martin’s. Most of them left no trace of their path. We are happy to celebrate someone that threw himself so completely in God’s hands, as to receive from God his victory–and a well deserved place among the Saints.

Como este gesto vuelve con frecuencia en mi jornada, tengo el peligro de hacerlo sin prestarle la atención que se merece. Sin embargo es precioso por su historia, por su significado y por su poder.

Es la señal de mi fe; muestra quién soy y lo que creo. Es el resumen del Credo. Es la señal de mi agradecimiento. Tengo que hacer con amor y emoción este gesto que me recuerda que Jesús ha muerto por mí. Es la señal de mi intención de obrar, no para la tierra, sino para el Cielo. Al hacerla, y pronunciando estas misteriosas palabras.

-“EN EL NOMBRE DEL PADRE Y DEL HIJO Y DEL ESPÍRITU SANTO” me comprometo a obrar:
• en el nombre del Padre que me ha creado,
• en el nombre del Hijo que me ha redimido,
• en el nombre del Espíritu Santo que me santifica.
En una palabra: a actuar como hijo o hija de Dios.

Este signo es la señal de la consagración de toda mi persona.
Al tocar mi frente: rezo a Dios todos mis pensamientos.
Al tocar mi pecho: consagro a Dios todos los sentimientos de mi corazón.
Al tocar mi hombro izquierdo: le ofrezco todas mis penas y preocupaciones.
Al tocar mi hombro derecho: le consagro mis acciones.

La señal de la Cruz es en sí misma fuente de grandes gracias. Debo considerarla como la mejor preparación a la oración, pero ya es en sí misma una oración, y de las más impresionantes. Es una bendición.

Si me emociona ser bendecido por el Papa, por un obispo, ¡cuánto más ser bendecido por el mismo Dios!.
Señor, concédeme la gracia de hacer de mi señal de la cruz un “Heme aquí” motivador para la oración, para la acción, para mi día entero; así como una poderosa llamada de las bendiciones del cielo sobre mí.

¡Qué bien se está contigo SEÑOR junto al SAGRARIO!
Qué bien se está contigo, ¿por qué no vendré mas?
Hace ya muchos años que vengo a diario y aquí te encuentro siempre -AMOR SOLITARIO- solo, pobre, escondido, pensando en mi quizás!….. TU no me dices nada ni yo te digo nada; si TU lo sabes todo ¿que voy a decirte? Sabes todas mis penas, todas mis alegrías, sabes que vengo a verte con las manos vacías.
y que no tengo nada que te pueda servir.

Siempre que vengo a verte, siempre te encuentro solo
¿Será SEÑOR que nadie sabe que estás aquí? no sé; pero se, en cambio, que aunque nadie viniera, aunque nadie te amara ni te lo agradeciera, aquí estarías siempre esperándome a mi….. ¿Por qué no vendré mas? ¡Que ciego estoy, que ciego! Si se por experiencia que cuando a TI me llego siempre vuelvo cambiado, siempre salgo mejor.

¿A donde voy Dios mío, cuando a mi Dios no vengo?
¡Si TU me esperas siempre! Si a TI siempre te tengo
si jamás me has cerrado las puertas de tu AMOR.
Por otros se recorren a pie largos caminos,
acuden de muy lejos cansados peregrinos o pagan grandes sumas que no han de recobrar.

Por Ti, nadie me pregunta, de TI nadie hace caso,
si alguna vez te visitan es solo así de paso; aquí eres TU quien jamás paga si alguno quiere entrar.

¿Por qué no vendrás si se que aquí, a TU lado, puedo encontrar, Dios mío, lo que tanto he buscado mi luz, mi fortaleza, mi paz mi único bien?
¡Si jamás he sufrido, si jamás he llorado SEÑOR sin que conmigo llorases TU también! ¿Por qué no vendré mas JESUCRISTO BENDITO?

¡Si TU lo estás deseando! si yo lo necesito! Si se que no soy nada cuando vengo aquí….. Si aquí me enseñarais la ciencia de los santos como aquí la buscaron y la aprendieron tantos, que fueron tus amigos y gozan de TI….

¿Por qué no vendré más, si sé yo que TU eres el modelo único y necesario que nada se hace duro mirándote a TI aquí….?

El SAGRARIO es la celda donde estás encerrado…..
¡Que pobre, que obediente, que manso, que callado,
que solo, que escondido……nadie se fija en TI!
¿Por qué no vendré más? ¡ Oh Bondad infinita!
riqueza inestimable que nada necesita, y que te has humillado a mendigar mi amor Abreme ya esa puerta, sea esa ya mi vida olvidado de todos, de todos escondida,
¡Que bien se está contigo, que bien se está SEÑOR !

Amén

Tengo la costumbre de andar con una pequeña cruz de madera en el pecho. Amo esta cruz porque Jesucristo salvó al mundo por este signo. Además, como hermano-religioso y ministro de la Iglesia Católica, quiero mostrar así mi entrega total a Jesús, mi Maestro.

Pero pasa, a veces, que cuando me ven los hermanos evangélicos con esta cruz en el pecho, comienzan a criticarme y me echan en cara que así estoy crucificando a Cristo; otros me dicen que soy idólatra, y que soy un condenado con el patíbulo pegado en el pecho; y por último no faltan los que hasta me quieren prohibir hacer la señal de la cruz o persignarme.

No entiendo por qué algunos se ponen tan fanáticos, o por qué se escandalizan frente a una cruz colgada en el pecho…

Bueno, no importa lo que piensan ellos de mí, pero sigo llevando esta cruz en el pecho porque es para mí un símbolo de la fe que llevo en mi corazón, esta fe en Cristo crucificado y resucitado.

Ahora les voy a hablar sobre la grandeza de la cruz de Cristo, y cómo el Señor invitó a sus verdaderos discípulos a cargar su cruz y seguir sus pasos. Ojalá que tengan la paciencia de consultar todos los pasajes bíblicos que les voy a citar. Creo sinceramente que nuestros hermanos evangélicos, al no leer toda la Biblia, sólo por ignorancia llegan a prohibir estas cosas.

La cruz de Jesucristo

Jesús murió crucificado, y su cruz, juntamente con su sufrimiento, su sangre y su muerte, fueron el instrumento de salvación para todos nosotros. La cruz no es una vergüenza, sino un símbolo de gloria, primero para Cristo, y luego para los cristianos.

1. El escándalo de la Cruz

“Nosotros predicamos a Cristo crucificado, escándalo para los judíos y locura para los paganos” (1Cor. 1, 23). Con estas palabras, el apóstol Pablo expresa el rechazo espontáneo de todo hombre frente a la cruz.

En verdad uno se pregunta: ¿Cómo podía venir la salvación al mundo por una crucifixión? ¿Cómo puede salvarnos aquel suplicio reservado a los esclavos? ¿Cómo podría venir la redención por un cadáver, por un condenado colgado en el patíbulo, por una muerte tan cruel como la de un malhechor?… (Deut. 21, 22; Gal. 3,1).

Cuando Jesús anunciaba su muerte trágica en la cruz a sus discípulos, ellos se horrorizaban y se escandalizaban. No podían tolerar el anuncio de su sufrimiento y de su muerte en la cruz (Mt. 16, 21; Mt. 17, 22).

Así, la víspera de su pasión, Jesús les dijo que todos se escandalizarían a causa de El. (Mt. 26, 31). Y en verdad, a raíz de una condena injusta, Jesús fue crucificado y murió en forma escandalosa.

2. El misterio de la Cruz

Jesús nunca dulcificó el escándalo de la cruz, pero sí nos mostró que su crucifixión ocultaba un profundo misterio de vida nueva. El camino de la salvación pasó por la obediencia de Jesús a la voluntad de su Padre: “Jesús fue obediente hasta la muerte y muerte de cruz” (Fil. 2, 8). Pero esta muerte fue “una muerte al pecado”. A través de la debilidad de Jesús crucificado se manifestó la fuerza de Dios (1Cor. 1, 25). Si Jesús fue colgado del árbol como un maldito, era para rescatarnos de la maldición del pecado (Gál. 3, 13). Su cadáver expuesto sobre la cruz permitió a Dios «condenar la ley del pecado en la carne. (Rom. 8, 3).

Además, “por la sangre de la cruz” Dios ha reconciliado a todos los hombres (Col. 1, 20), y ha suprimido las antiguas divisiones ente los pueblos causadas por el pecado (Ef. 2, 14-18). En efecto Cristo murió “por todos” (1Tes. 5, 10) cuando nosotros aún éramos pecadores (Rom. 5, 6), dándonos así la prueba suprema de amor. (Jn. 15, 13 y 1Jn. 4, 10). Muriendo “por nuestros pecados” (1 Cor. 15,3 y 1 Ped. 3,18), nos reconcilió con Dios por su muerte (Rom. 5, 10), de modo que podemos ya recibir la herencia prometida (Heb. 9, 15).

3. La cruz, elevación a la gloria

La cruz se ha convertido en un verdadero triunfo por la Resurrección de Cristo. Solamente después de Pentecostés, los discípulos, iluminados por el Espíritu Santo, quedaron maravillados por la gloria de Cristo resucitado y luego ellos proclamaron por todo el mundo el triunfo y gloria de la cruz.

La cruz de Cristo, su muerte y resurrección han destruido para siempre el pecado y la muerte. El apóstol Pablo nos canta en un himno triunfal:

La muerte ha sido destruida en esta victoria.
Muerte ¿dónde está ahora tu victoria?
¿Dónde está, oh muerte, tu aguijón?
El aguijón de la muerte es el pecado.
Pero, gracias sean dadas a Dios,
que nos da la Victoria por Cristo Jesús Nuestro Señor
(1 Cor. 15, 55-57)

Escribe también el apóstol San Juan:

“Así como Moisés levantó la serpiente de bronce en el desierto (signo de salvación en el Antiguo Testamento), así también es necesario que el Hijo del hombre sea levantado en alto, para que todo aquel que crea, tenga por El vida eterna” (Jn. 3, 14-32).

Y dijo Jesús: “Cuando Yo haya sido levantado de la tierra, atraeré a todos a mí” (Jn. 12, 32).

La suerte de Cristo crucificado y resucitado será, entonces, la suerte de los verdaderos discípulos del Maestro.

4. La cruz de Cristo y nosotros

En aquel tiempo Jesús dijo: “Si alguien quiere venir en pos de mí, niéguese a sí mismo, cargue con su cruz y sígame” (Mt. 16, 24). Eso quiere decir que el verdadero discípulo no sólo debe morir a sí mismo, sino que la cruz que lleva es signo de que muere al mundo y a todas sus vanidades (Mt. 10, 33-39). Además el discípulo debe aceptar la condición de perseguido, perdonando, incluso, al que quizá le quite la vida (Mt. 23, 34).

Así para el cristiano llevar su cruz y seguir a Jesús es signo de su gloria anticipada: “El que quiere servirme, que me siga, y donde Yo esté, allá estará el que me sirve. Si alguien me sirve, mi Padre le dará honor”(Jn. 12,26).

5. El cristiano lleva una vida de crucificado

La cruz de Cristo, según el apóstol Pablo, viene a ser el corazón del cristiano. Por su fe en el Crucificado, el cristiano ha sido crucificado con Cristo en el bautismo, y además ha muerto a la ley del Antiguo Testamento para vivir para Dios.

“Por mi parte, siguiendo la ley, llegué a ser muerto para la ley a fin de vivir para Dios. Estoy crucificado con Cristo, y ahora no vivo yo, sino que Cristo vive en mí” (Gál. 2,19-20).

Así el cristiano pone su confianza en la sola fuerza de Cristo, pues de lo contrario se mostraría “enemigo de la cruz”. “Porque muchos viven como enemigos de la cruz de Cristo” (Fil. 3, 18).

6. La Cruz, título de gloria del cristiano

En la vida cotidiana del cristiano,”el hombre viejo es crucificado”(Rom. 6, 6) hasta tal punto, que quede plenamente liberado del pecado. El cristiano diariamente asumirá la sabiduría de la cruz, se convertirá, a ejemplo de Jesús, en humilde y “obediente hasta la muerte y muerte de cruz”.

No debemos temer llevar una cruz en el pecho ni menos colocar un crucifijo en la cabecera de nuestra pieza. Sí debemos temer “la apostasía” o la traición a la verdadera religión que sería lo mismo que crucificar de nuevo al Hijo de Dios (Heb. 6, 6).

El verdadero cristiano con la cruz en la mano debe exclamar: “En cuanto a mí, quiera Dios que me gloríe sólo en la cruz de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, por quien el mundo está crucificado para mí y yo para el mundo”» (Gál. 6, 14).

Consideraciones finales

1. En la cruz de Cristo encontramos como un compendio de la verdadera fe cristiana y por eso el pueblo cristiano con profunda fe ha encontrado miles y miles de formas para expresar su amor a Cristo crucificado. Espontáneamente la religión del pueblo ha reproducido por doquier, en pinturas y esculturas, cruces de distintas formas. El creyente ha colocado cruces sobre los cerros, en el techo de sus casas, etc. el cristiano se persigna para proclamar su fe en la gloria de Cristo; el discípulo fiel se coloca la cruz en el pecho para anunciar la fe que lleva en el corazón…

2. Estas expresiones populares no son de ninguna manera idolatría como pretenden algunos hermanos evangélicos. Es realmente una auténtica expresión de fe y de amor a Cristo que murió por nosotros. ¡Qué hermoso cuando uno entra en una familia cristiana y ve cómo la cruz de Cristo tiene un lugar privilegiado en el hogar! ¡Qué profunda fe se expresa cuando un cristiano hace, con sentimientos de reverencia, la señal de la cruz! Es muy fácil y barato burlarse de estas expresiones populares de fe. Pero tales ironías son faltas graves al respeto y al amor al prójimo, tales burlas son simplemente signos de una atrevida ignorancia.

3. Y ¿qué decir de la cruz en el pecho? Si alguien sacerdote, religiosa o laico- lleva una cruz en el pecho con fe y amor, con sentimientos de reverencia, nadie tiene el derecho de reírse de esta persona. ¿Quién eres tú para juzgar y criticar los auténticos sentimientos religiosos del pueblo? Sólo Dios sabe escudriñar lo más íntimo de nuestros corazones.

4. Por último, una palabra acerca del crucifijo. Cuando sobre la cruz se coloca la imagen de Cristo, llamamos al conjunto “crucifijo”. No se adora el madero, sino que el cristiano ve a Cristo muerto en ella. Tener un crucifijo no es ninguna idolatría. Es un signo de amor a Cristo.

Nunca la Iglesia ha enseñado a adorar cruces, sino a adorar a Cristo que en ella murió. Sí, la Iglesia nos invita a venerar estos signos de fe. También nos enseña la Iglesia que nadie debe llevar una cruz en el pecho si no tiene al menos la intención sincera de seguir las huellas de Jesucristo. Menos debemos llevar una cruz como un simple amuleto o como un adorno para lucirse.

El amor al Señor que murió en la cruz hace que frecuentemente se hayan hecho crucifijos de materiales preciosos, pero en nuestros días la Iglesia vuelve a preferir un crucifijo simple y rústico, más realista y expresivo.

Queridos hermanos, éstas son las razones por las que nosotros los católicos veneramos y honramos la santa Cruz con sumo respeto. Y cuando nosotros llevamos una cruz en el pecho, siempre debemos acordarnos de las palabras del apóstol San Juan:

“En cuanto a mí, no quiere Dios que me gloríe sino en la cruz de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, por quien el mundo está crucificado para mí y yo para el mundo”. (Gál. 6, 14). “Que nadie, pues, me venga a molestar. Yo, por mi parte, llevo en mi cuerpo las señales de Jesús” (Gál. 6, 17).

Fire is a rather small word, which entails huge changes, though.

Fire brought a major revolution in cooking and eating, not only in terms of flavour but also regarding hygiene and the process of assimilation of proteins.

Fire conquered the roughness of winter and created an altogether different picture: we can affirm that houses became homes thanks to fire. In many languages “home” is said in a way that reminds of the presence of the fireplace.

Fire was the first means to overcoming darkness. The hours of consciousness, the time to be aware and to be able to talk, discuss or pray, were extended. People could encounter each other in a different way, not only in relation to work, survival or warfare. Most ancient paintings have been found in dark caves, that once were enlightened by torches and lamps.

Yet, long before that, the very birth of life on this planet was possible because of the gigantic burning fire which is the Sun itself. From this perspective, it is understandable that so many peoples have worshipped the Sun, because of its power, beauty and countless benefits.

We need fire. That is all I like to stress today. We need lots of other things as well, but without fire we cannot conquer the spiritual winter most of the Western world dwells in nowadays.

We need good ideas, good relationships, good techniques, but first and foremost we need good fire. Dare I to say “foolproof fire”? It is a weird expression, but could help to highlight that the Fire we are in need of is far more than enthusiasm. Some excitement is required to get our hands into the work, but mere exhilaration will not lead us too far on the road.

The foolproof Fire is the Fire that governs our very thoughts. The foolproof Fire is the one that guides our memory and heart, our feelings and words in such a way that we bear the fruit that truly lasts.

This could be a new name for the Holy Spirit: Foolproof Fire. Not without a reason we invoke Him so often and so wholeheartedly.