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Learning Virtue from St. Martin de Porres

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[This post appeared originally on my full site, which is now no longer in operation, in November 2012.] It seems that more should be written about a saint from whom we can learn so many lessons in virtue.  Yet that is not the case with St. Martin de Porres, from whom we have much to learn about humility, detachment, fasting, justice, and charity.  The website of the St. Martin de Porres Shrine and Institute (located in my own diocese; a wonderful initiative with a beautiful chapel) offers a mere four paragraphs of biographical information, while other sites ( here , here , and here ) devote no more than 10 sentences to this exemplar of heroic virtue.  Surely, Brother Martin, who was so humble in this life, finds that to be a fitting scenario even after his death. From the very earliest days of his life, he embraced his lowly situation.  He desired to do nothing more than glorify the Creator by serving creatures.  He reached out to slaves, orphan...
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The Virtues of the Sermon on the Mount

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The Gospel reading for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) is a portion of the Sermon on the Mount ( Matthew 5:17-37 ), "the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest Preacher who ever preached," according to Peter Kreeft.  In this segment of the sermon, just a few sentences after listing the Beatitudes, the Lord provides His audience (the hearers on the mount and us in the modern age ) a new and fulfilled understanding of the Law.  Those who follow Christ must examine their attitudes and actions in a way that is different than the legalistic culture of His day and the world in which we live.  Quite simply, a person who claims to be a disciple of Jesus must be ready to cultivate virtues, which will help her to choose rightly in the face of anger, lust, or even cultural tradition. Virtues are the habitual dispositions of mind and heart that lead individuals to act according to God's gracious plan.  It is no coincidence, then, that there are certain vi...
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Hope During Difficult Times

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Catholics are living in difficult times.  There are multiple, huge scandals that have come to light in recent weeks.  Now, even segments of the hierarchy seems to be pitted against each other.  It seems to be getting more heated and dire as each day passes.  It surely is not easy for the laity and faithful clergy to stand by and watch as all this unfolds. This post is not intended to add to the enormous (and growing) mountain of commentary about the scandals; about who's in the wrong or in the right.  There has been plenty written and spoken about this, including a wonderful homily from my own pastor .  I do, however, want to provide just a simple and quick commentary on a passage of Scripture that I think can help us. Horace Vernet, Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem (1844, close-up) In the very first chapter of the book of the prophet Jeremiah, we read God's direction to the ancient prophet, and we should read it as the Lord speaking directly to u...
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