Come together: perhaps St. Martin de Porres can help Christians today to stop fighting like cats and dogs.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ONE DAY I WAS HOME, A FAMILIAR comfortable place; the next day I was a stranger in a strange land. It was Nov. 3, 1960, the date of my exile from my home in Cuba. It was also the feast day of St. Martin St. Martin in midwinter, gave his cloak to a freezing beggar. [Christian Hagiog.: Brewer Dictionary] See : Kindness de Porres, a Dominican friar from Peru. St. Martin, I now believe, was assigned to be my guide in this strange land, the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Although not many English-speaking Catholics are familiar with St. Martin, he is one of the most popular saints in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. . St. Martin was the son of the white, blue-eyed hidalgo Hidalgo, state, Mexico Hidalgo (ēthäl`gō), state (1990 pop. 1,888,366), 8,058 sq mi (20,870 sq km), central Mexico. Pachuca de Soto is the capital. (a Spanish noble) Don Juan Don Juan (dŏn wän, j  `ən, Span. dōn hwän), legendary profligate. de Porres and the freed black slave Ana Velazquez. Born in Lima on
Dec. 9, 1575, Martin also was born into a kind of exile. His own father
would not acknowledge him as his son in public. The baptismal entry in
the registry of the church of San Sebastian in Lima reads simply:
"On Wednesday the ninth of November of 1579, I baptized bap·tize v. bap·tized, bap·tiz·ing, bap·tiz·es v.tr. 1. To admit into Christianity by means of baptism. 2. a. To cleanse or purify. b. To initiate. 3. Martin, son of an unknown father." At the age of 16, Martin presented himself as donado to the Dominican friars of the Monastery of the Holy Rosary Holy Rosary may be:
St. Martin, however, saw things differently. At the door of the monastery, he began to greet the conquered Inca, the African slave, the homeless Spanish poor, and even dogs and cats who had been brutally abused. Standing at the door, a border between the friar's holy life and the city's crushing cruelty, made St. Martin a guide for the people of Lima in his day and also for us today. Out of that menial position, St. Martin became known for his skill in healing; his social work among widows, orphans, and prostitutes; his founding of hospitals and orphanages; his work with the indigenous, black, and mixed-race poor of the city; and for his love of animals. Indeed San Martin was known as the "St. Francis of the Americas." St. Martin transformed living at the margins of society into service at the door of the kingdom of God. He saw attending the monastery's entrance as attending the very entrance of God's kingdom. For this reason, St. Martin has been my guide and light. Rather than curse the marginal life that was my exile, I began to see it as a door into God's home. I believe it is also the reason so many in Latin America see Martin as a guide as well. Those who find themselves outside of society find themselves welcomed home at the door attended by St. Martin. THERE IS MORE TO ST. MARTIN THAN an affable social worker. The stories of his compassion for the abandoned and maltreated animals of his city best reveal the heart of St. Martin's St. Martin's or St. Martins may refer to:
In one of the most famous stories, a Dominican friar walked into a room near the kitchen to find a strange sight: At the feet of St. Martin were a dog and a cat eating peacefully from the same bowl of soup. The friar was about to call the rest of the monks in to witness this marvelous sight when a mouse stuck his head out from a little hole in the wall. St. Martin without hesitation addressed the mouse as if he were an old friend. "Don't be afraid, little one. If you're hungry come and eat with the others." The little mouse hesitated but then scampered to the bowl of soup. The friar could not speak. At the feet of the servant St. Martin, a dog, a cat, and a mouse were eating from the same bowl of soup, natural enemies eating peacefully side by side! This "little story" of St. Martin envisions an unparalleled fellowship. As such, it refers to the "big story" of the end times as envisioned by Isaiah: "The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling fat·ling n. A young animal, such as a lamb or calf, fattened for slaughter. together, and a little child shall lead them" (11:6). The story also shows us the way to the kingdom of God, the entrance of those we consider stranger, exile, or lost. When we are welcomed at that door, we are no longer to fight like cats and dogs Cats and Dogs A slang term referring to speculative stocks that have short or suspicious histories for sales, earnings, dividends, etc. Notes: In a bull market analysts will often mention that everything is going up, even the cats and dogs. . Instead we drink from the same bowl of soup. And this bowl of soup, this new image of Eucharist, shall be for us the true meaning of communion. Opening the door to a stranger is making a space at the table of the Lord. This is the real meaning of St. Martin's service at the door of the monastery. In taking care of the poor and even dogs, cats, and mice, St. Martin de Porres leads us from the margins of this world's structures into the warmth of the Lord's table in the kingdom of God. SELECTED RESOURCES: Saint Martin de Porres: Apostle of Charity by Giuliana Cavallini (Tan Books, 1963) St. Martin de Porres: The "Little Stories" and the Semiotics semiotics or semiology, discipline deriving from the American logician C. S. Peirce and the French linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. It has come to mean generally the study of any cultural product (e.g., a text) as a formal system of signs. of Culture (Faith and Cultures Series) by Alejandro Garcia-Rivera (Orbis Books, 1995) "The Human Aspect of Atonement: St. Martin de Porres," A Wounded Innocence: Sketches for a Theology of Art by Alejandro Garda-Rivera (Liturgical Press, 2003) By ALEJANDRO GARCIA-RIVERA, professor of systematic theology at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley The Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley (often abbreviated JSTB) is one of the member colleges of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. JSTB is located two blocks north of the UC Berkeley campus, and about two blocks east of "Holy Hill" the central . |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion