Humility and Martin de Porres

This was a homily preached to my seminary community on November 3rd, 2014. The reading for the day (Phil 2:1-4, Ps 131:1b-3, and Lk 14:12-14) may be seen here. 

Martin de Porres was a lay member of the Dominican Order. (b. 1579 - d. 1639, Lima, Peru)

Humility, as we heard today, is regarding others as more important than ourselves and giving of our wealth and gifts to those who cannot repay us. Humility is expressed by lowliness and generosity.

Martin de Porres, whom we celebrate today, is a model of humility. Born in lowliness as a mulatto he sought to make himself even lower. He preferred to be out of sight and perform menial tasks. He cared for the poor and the sick. He also performed many miracles of healing. His fame spread because of this, much to his dismay.

He was sent by his superior at one time to heal the Archbishop of Mexico who had fallen very ill. Having completed his task, he returned to his friary embarrassed his gift was made public. He then sought to perform the most menial tasks he could think of. A priest asked him, "Would you not be better off in the palace of the Archbishop?"

Martin replied, "Father, I think one moment doing what I'm doing is more important than many days in the palace of the Lord Archbishop."


I believe an appropriate image of humility is a bed of white-hot coals. Whether they are our faults and failings, or our accomplishments and talents, humility immolates them all.

Gold is purified by intense heat which separates the dross from it. We ought to commit all things to the furnace of humility, for it separates the dross of despair and pride and produces in us love--that one virtue that is the fulfillment and crown of all things; it is the one thing that endures, for even faith and hope will pass away.

Jesus Christ is rightly said to love perfectly because He emptied Himself perfectly. Allow this Eucharist, a sign of His humility and the source of ours, to remove all dross from your hearts day by day.

To paraphrase the book of Sirach,

There is no precious gold except by fire,
and there are no acceptable men made except in the furnace of humility (cf., Sir 2:5).

Accept the Kingdom like a Child

This is a reflection on the daily readings for 5/25/12 (Sat) which may be found here.

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When Jesus says you must be like a child, or in this case, “accept the kingdom of God like a child” there is more to it than, in a childlike way, accepting everything.

The book of Sirach teaches us what it means to be a child: a child is a symbol of our original state in creation. Sirach writes that all men were “created with knowledge in the spirit” and likewise“he puts fear of him in all flesh.”

Man was created to know, understand, fear, and love God. Many of us, being hardened to sin, no longer seek Him, fear Him, or love Him as we should. A child, on the other hand, has built into him all these things. Children express innocence and you see how devoted a child is to the parent who loves them. Since God loves them with a greater love than anyone, they cling to Him in total trust, and rightly so.

This was the original state of our creation. In error a child must be corrected, but the one who loves his parents will willingly listen when he's gone astray.

When Jesus speaks of children he speaks about innocence, but not about an innocence where we don't know anything. The innocence Jesus calls us to is where we know and trust all that we need to know.

To Choose and to be a Friend

This is a reflection on the daily readings for 5/24/12 (Sat) which may be found here.

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The wisdom of Sirach states, “For he who fears God behaves accordingly,” (Sir 6:17) which is to say that someone who fears the Lord will seek to live his life according to right conduct.

The Pharisees, the ones who sought to trick Jesus, were not acting in a manner respectful to the Law, but rather acting according to pride. These are the sort of people we should seek to correct, for any of us who engage in gossip or deceit in order to discredit our foes become a foe to right conduct. If they cannot or will not be corrected we should not share in their friendship, for a friend who speaks ill of others in a mean and spiteful way may become the enemy who does the same to us.

Sirach warns us to be on our guard and that when it comes to friends we should be selective and careful, probing the character of each.

The Psalm today is a hymn to this very process. Those who hold this Psalm in their hearts have the heart that each of us desire in a friend—delighting in God's precepts, desiring to understand His ways, and the humility to be lead in what is right.

Jesus warns, however, that a love of law—the Pharisees loved the law—must always be coupled by a life of love. Only then can both operate in harmony.

Love without the Law allows all others into our hearts as friends. Like bad dispositions, bad friends lead us to vice and sin. The Law without love makes us harsh, deceitful, and protective of a thing over a person. Both are good in themselves, but either can be corrupted into sin. It is only together, loving the Lord and His precepts, and loving each other, that either one takes root and transforms us.