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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.