God Works Best Through the Poor and Lowly

Jesus constantly challenges us but also provides examples of people who accept those challenges to show us that they are not impossible for us.  At the home of a Pharisee who had invited Jesus to dine with him, Jesus challenged him not to invite friends or people who could reciprocate by inviting them to their homes.  Rather, he said, "invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.  Blessed will you be because of their inability to repay you." (Lk 14: 13-14).
We celebrate a man today who did just that:  St. Martin de Porres, a mulatto born in Lima, Peru to a Spanish nobleman and his freed-slave mistress.  Abandoned by his father, he offered his services as a young boy to the Dominican Friars, doing all sorts of menial chores.  He had learned to cut hair and some rudiments of medicine, and because of his willingness  to do anything  he was asked, and because of his prayerfulness,  the Dominicans eventually allowed him to take vows as a lay brother. His ministry of healing led him beyond the Friary to the poor of the city, something like Mother Teresa in our day. His healings were often miraculous, and one story describes him passing through a locked door to attend a quarantined patient inside.  He was so gentle and loving that he spoke to mice and rats.  None of his "clients" could pay him back, naturally.  His life was so powerful that he has become the patron of those of mixed race, hair stylists, public schools, public health services and those involved in social justice.  He lived Luke 14: 13-14, showing us that it is not impossible
Bro. Rene