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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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Great Expectations vs. Great Faithfulness

As I was praying earlier this week, God led me to reflect on the difference between great expectations and great faithfulness.  More specifically, God led me to pray about the discrepancies between my expectations and His, between my faithfulness and His. I set high expectations for myself and, in general, I am faithful to the commitments that I make.  Yet, I have been reminded many times, in many ways, by many people, that I should not measure my expectations by my own thoughts and feelings.  I should let God's expectations be the measure of the commitments I make and the actions I take. God is always faithful to helping His people meet His expectations.  He knows that we are weak and frail, and that we expect a lot from ourselves.  During these last weeks of Lent (and beyond), it is good for us to spend time pondering what God expects of us, and reminding ourselves that He is far more faithful than we are.  Let's transform our expectations and our ...
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A Good Steward of Papal Primacy

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In his most recent general audience , Pope Benedict XVI taught those who were gathered about St. Leo the Great , an early Church Father and a Doctor of the Catholic Church.  The pope's catechesis, however, was not focused on common historical details.  Instead, the current pope reminded listeners that St. Leo earned the moniker after his name primarily because he was a good steward of the power invested in him. The fifth-century pontiff was one who exercised his authority decisively, humbly, and pastorally.  He brought unity to the Church in difficult situations, but he never compromised the deposit of faith.  Without a doubt, he earned the title "Great" because he was focused on protecting and proclaiming the faith of the Apostles. On caveat: Pope Benedict seems to have nearly identical qualities to those he described about Pope St. Leo the Great.
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