St. Paul is not one to hold back on saying what needs to be said as directly as possible. He reminds us today in the first reading of today's Mass from Romans 12: 5-16b, that although we are one body, there are many parts and many gifts that make up that body. Our gifts are meant to build up the Body of Christ. Today's saint, St. Martin de Porres, though born in poverty and, as a mulato, on the fringe of society in Lima Peru at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, he used his gifts without reserve for the good of all. As a barber, and thus a surgeon, he ministered to the sick, founded an orphanage, and catered especially to the slaves who arrived from Africa. He did the work of several men "with great generosity, promptness and attention to detail", living out the directives of St. Paul and serving as an example to us:
Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hop, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who week. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but association with the lowly." (Rm 12: 9-16)
Bro. Rene
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