Today, we celebrate the Memorial of St. Peter Claver, a native of Spain who lived from 1580 until 1654. He was born to a devoutly Catholic family in Catalonia. He entered the Jesuits at the age of 20. He volunteered to work in the Spanish colonies and, in 1610, was assigned to work in the New Kingdom of Granada. He studied in Columbia, a center of the slave trade in the New World, and he was deeply distressed at the plight of the slaves.
In Cartagena, he started ministering to slaves, and it is estimated that in his 40 years of ministry, he personally catechized and baptized more than 300,000 slaves and heard more than 5,000 confessions a year. He also preached to sailors and traders in the city square and ministered to a wide and varied segment of society, including the poor, the rich, lepers, and prisoners. Due to his diligent work, it was reported that there had been some improvement in how the slaves were treated.
His last four years were filled with pain, and he was largely left alone, forgotten, in his room, mistreated by those entrusted with his care.
Some suggest that he was a part of the problem with the slave trade, that he didn’t do enough, and that, in some ways, he participated in it. But it has also been pointed out that some saints worked for structural change, and some worked on caring for people directly; St. Peter Claver did the latter at personal risk to himself.
Let us pray that we may have the dedication to our faith and the courage to reach out to help the needy and vulnerable among us.
Homily for the Memorial of Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian
Homily for the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Homily for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Homily for the Memorial of St. John Chrysostom
Homily for Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily for Saturday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Homily for Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary time
Homily for Tuesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily for the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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