Peter Claver was born in Catalonia in 1581. He attended the University of Barcelona before entering the Jesuits at the age of 20. During his study of philosophy in Majorca, he was encouraged by the porter, Br. Alphonsus Rodriguez, to travel as a missionary to the Americas. In 1610, Peter Claver arrived in Cartagena, in present day Colombia.

Cartagena was the center of the slave trade in the Americas at that time.

Slavery has had a long history in human relations. To this very day there are people enslaved in our world. Even within Christianity for most of its history, slavery was seen as one of those realities of life that are simply unquestioned until relatively recently. St. Paul, for example, wrote instructions on the proper behavior of slaves and sent an escaped slave who had become a Christian home to his master, with instructions to his Christian master to treat the slave well (Philemon). But there were no instructions to free him.

The West African slave trade that brought so many people to the Americas in chains had its roots in the Crusades. Pope Nicholas V, in a papal bull titled Dum Diversas (June 18, 1452), allowed the perpetual enslavement  of Saracens and pagans captured during the Crusades, because they were seen as enemies of God and Christianity. It seems ludicrous today, but that’s what people believed at the time. Later, on January 8, 1455, in Romanus Pontifex, he also authorized European dominion over newly discovered lands and the enslavement of non-Christian peoples living there. At that time, the Americas had not yet been “discovered” by Europeans, at least not by a Europe in any way ready or able to begin to colonize them.

Once Columbus and his crew brought word back of their findings, both Spain and Portugal, the foremost seafaring European peoples of the time, wanted to claim lands in America. Pope Alexander VI, on May 4, 1493, in Inter Caetera, divided the Americas between Spain and Portugal. He commanded Spain “to instruct the aforesaid inhabitants and residents and dwellers therein in the Catholic faith, and train them in good morals.” 

Despite the instructions of Alexander VI, military leaders and economic developers (colonists) had begun to enslave the native peoples whom they encountered in the Americas. Many had died of European diseases, against which they had no immunity. By May 29, 1537, Pope Paul III issued another papal bull dealing with the question of enslavement of peoples, Sublimus Dei. In this one, he specifically forbade the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, based on the fact that they are rational beings with souls. He further extended this prohibition to the enslavement of all other previously unknown peoples. Unfortunately, the peoples of West Africa did not count as “previously unknown peoples” - at least it had been know there were people living there - so enslaving them was not strictly forbidden.

Into this context, Peter Claver entered as a young man, not yet a priest. There he met Fr. Alfonso de Sandoval, another Spanish Jesuit who had earlier dedicated his life to the care of African slaves. Working with Fr. Alfonso, Peter Claver dedicated his life as well to this ministry, declaring himself “the slave of the negroes forever.” For the next 44 years, he served the slaves of Cartagena, from the time the ships arrived bringing them chained in the holds through their time of bondage on the plantations and in the mines.

The work of caring for the slaves was not easy. It was not unopposed. It was not welcomed by “the powers that be” of Cartagena. It was not even always welcomed by his superiors or by members of local parishes.

Each month, as the slave bearing ships arrived, Peter Claver went out to meet them, taking food, medicines, and other supplies with him. He went into the holds of the ships and began to care for those who were nearest death, caring for people with diseases such as smallpox and leprosy (Hansen’s Disease). He organized a group of helpers who spoke the various languages of the peoples arriving. They went with him to the slave pens, speaking to the newly arrived and helping to care for them. As the new slaves recovered their health and strength, Peter, Alfonso, and their helpers began to teach them about Jesus and to baptize those who accepted the faith. Despite official Church instructions, many people still questioned the humanity of these captives and opposed teaching them the faith or accepting them into the Church. This opposition did not stop Peter Claver and those who worked with him. They simply worked and prayed harder.

Care for the slaves did not stop at the slave pens. As men, women and children were purchased and set to work in the mines and on plantations, Peter Claver continued to be their advocate. He visited them, celebrated the sacraments with them, admonished their owners to treat them justly, and continued to teach and care for them. He refused to stay with the owners of the plantations and mines. When he visited slaves, he stayed with them in their homes.

Over time, he gained some respect in Cartagena, if for no other reason than that he was consistent and persistent in following his calling. People began to believe that it was because of his work and his presence that they had escaped many potential disasters (think hurricanes, pirates, etc.).  The slave markets were not closed during his lifetime. But somewhere around 300,000 people received care, love, instruction in the faith and baptism through the ministry of St. Peter Claver. Not a bad record!

Mother Teresa was born in Albania in 1910. She went to India in 1929 to become a Sister of Loreto, an order of teaching nuns. She took her first vows in 1931 and began working as a teacher, work she deeply enjoyed. She chose the name Teresa in honor of St. Therese of Lisieux, patroness of the missions.

As the years passed, Mother Teresa became increasingly aware of the poverty and despair that were the lot of so many people in India, including around the school in Kolkata. On September 10, 1946, she received a “call” from the Lord to leave the work she was doing and go out to live among and serve the poorest of the poor. Her response to this call and the positive results of her service and witness are well documented.

From the streets of Kolkata, men and women who joined her in service as the Missionaries of Charity have moved throughout India and into the broader world. Today, as sisters, priests and brothers, they have schools, clinics and shelters in 120 countries, including the United States. My home parish, St. Patrick’s, in Spokane, WA is even blessed to have a group of sisters working in the community. They are quietly witnessing and bringing the Good News to the larger neighborhood and diocesan community through their service and I am grateful for their presence there.

Many words have been written about Mother Teresa, including a post in this blog last year. Some praise her. Some criticize her. Some mock her. Some don’t know what to think about her. None of this would come as a surprise to her. It was like that from the beginning of her work. In the decades of her “dark night of the soul,” many of these things may have been thoughts she had herself. 

But she was faithful to the calling she received and Pope John Paul II declared her Blessed. We’d do well to keep that in mind as we try to be faithful to the calls each of us have received. There are no guarantees of success or popularity. Most of us will never be praised by Kings, Queens and Presidents. Few will receive Nobel prizes. But we all can aspire to be faithful to the work set before us by our Lord.

If you’d like to send an e-card with words, prayers, and/or blessings from Mother Teresa, check out this link. http://www.catholicgreetings.org/Saints/motherteresa.asp

Blessed Teresa, pray for us.

St. Gregory the Great was born in Rome around 540 AD. This was a time when the Goths and Franks were invading Rome. The emperor was in Constantinople. The Senate had been disbanded. Italy was still one country, called Rome, and late classical Latin was the language of the people.

Gregory’s family were wealthy, owning homes and property in and around Rome and in Sicily. He was raised and educated for a career in public office. He had fresco portraits of his family painted at some point, and his biographer, John the Deacon, left a description of them 300 years later as they appeared in the portraits. Gregory’s father was tall and had a light eyes and a long face. He wore a beard. Gregory’s mother was also tall, but she had a round face and blue eyes. She appeared to be a cheerful person. A portrait of Gregory himself was done shortly after his death. Again, John the Deacon left a description of his appearance in the portrait. Gregory is described as being somewhat bald, with a tawny beard. The shape of his face was somewhere between that of his mother and his father. His remaining hair was worn long and curled carefully. He had a thin, straight, almost aquiline nose and a high forehead. His lips and chin were described as also attractive and it is said that his hands were beautiful.

St. Gregory lived in a time of great turmoil. Wars, floods, famines, political changes, and religious controversies swirled through Italy and the Empire. He left a career in public service to enter a monastery when he was around 30 years old, only to be drawn back into public life by the Pope, who sent him to Constantinople to request help from the Emperor in defending Rome. Following 6 years in Constantinople, he returned to Rome. Eventually he himself was elected Pope, an office he tried to decline.

As Pope, he is remembered for reforms of the liturgy, establishing rules of conduct for bishops, the wielding of political power in dealing with invading armies and natural disasters, his insistence on the supremacy of the papacy over the other patriarchs of the church and for the notion that the Pope is the “Servant of the Servants of God,” and for establishing the papacy in the form it would take during the Middle Ages. He insisted that the Church has a responsibility to care for the poor. When famine threatened even the wealthy in Rome, he arranged for food and other supplies to be delivered from properties in southern Italy that his family had given the Church and distributed in the city, cooking meals for the formerly wealthy himself to spare them the pain of having to ask for charity.

St. Gregory is also remembered for sending missionaries to England, the “end of the Earth” from the perspective of Rome. At that time, there was no knowledge of lands beyond the British Isles. In the rest of the Roman Empire, Christianity had been introduced. Even the Franks in Central Europe had been reached by missionaries. Given the turmoil and upheaval, it stands to reason that he might have thought, as many do today in times of natural disasters and social turmoil, that the end of the world must be near. The Gospels said that the end would not come until the Good News was preached to the ends of the Earth, however. So, perhaps with that in mind, and certainly with a fondness for the blond, blue-eyed people (the Angles) he had seen in Rome, he sent Anselm of Canterbury to preach the Good News in England.

The end of the world didn’t come in St. Gregory’s time. However, the works he did influenced the Christian community of his time and continue to play a role in even our beliefs and style of worship today.

St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan, is widely known as the saint of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz, where he voluntered to take the place of a young husband and father who was one of ten innocent men condemned to death by starvation as a reprisal. As courageous as this was, he is also considered a martyr because of the abuse and torture he endured when he affirmed his faith in Christ.

Born Rajmund Kolbe (1894 - 1941), to a working class family in what is now Poland, he took the name of Maximilian when he entered the Conventual Franciscans. He had doctorates in philosophy and theology and founded a thriving monastery at Niepokalanow near Warsaw. St. Maximilian Kolbe was also a missionary to Japan and is remembered for his respect for Japanese culture and tradition as he created a thriving center near Nagasaki.

He lived a life of true Franciscan poverty, often living in very difficult circumstances, but always depending on God for the resources he needed for his apostolate. St. Maximilian Kolbe used publishing and radio to promote the Gospel and to defend the Church. He landed in Japan with a couple of companions and no money. They began their work sleeping on the ground in an improvised hut. Within a month he had a press and was publishing a weekly newspaper. He ventured into India where he wanted to create another foundation, but his superiors recalled him to Poland because of his ill health.

In 1939 the Nazis invaded Poland. St. Maximilian Kolbe and his fellow Franciscans sheltered 3,000 refugees at Niepokalanow including 2,000 Jews. On February 17, 1941 he was arrested by the Gestapo after publishing a defense of truth in the face of Nazi propaganda. In May he was transferred to Auschwitz, where he continued his ministry despite inhuman conditions and beatings. It was in late July that a prisoner from his cell block disappeared and he volunteered to take the place of one of the ten men selected to be executed as a reprisal for the missing prisoner. After three weeks of hunger and thirst, during which he encouraged the other men and led them in prayer, he was murdered by a lethal injection on August 14.

St. Maximilian Kolbe had a powerful effect on a young Polish man, Carol Wotyla, who as Pope John Paul II would declare him a saint.

St. Maximilian Kolbe has also inspired Operation Kolbe, a group in Colombia, to offer themselves in exchange for those who have been kidnapped by rebels. They can be reached at: operacionkolbe@hotmail.com.

St. Camillus de Lellis is one of those saints that remain quietly in the background of our Catholic lives, despite having sown seeds that continue to bear fruit into our present day. He was born in Italy in the mid-1500s and lived to the age of 64. His mother died when he was thirteen and his father was in the military, so he did not receive as much attention and loving care as he should have as an adolescent. He grew up to be an agressive, hot-headed, compulsive gambler. He worked as a mercenary soldier, selling his services to whichever ruler’s army would pay him. Between stints as a soldier, he spent time working in a hospital for the incurably ill. But his gambling and agressive behavior cut short that employment and he returned to being a soldier, serving in the war against the Turks in 1569.

Following the war, when he was working in construction on a building at Manfredonia for the Capuchins, he was touched by a talk from the guardian of the community there and at the age of 25, his life changed. His legs had been injured when he was younger and they never really healed completely. He spent time in hospitals both receiving treatment and helping with the care of other patients. Following his conversion, he dedicated the rest of his life to caring for the ill and injured. He eventually became a priest and founded a religious order, the Fathers of a Good Death, in 1584. Wearing a red cross on their black cassocks, they cared for the sick, including victims of the plague, in hospitals, in the homes of their patients and on the battlefields. The order continued to grow through the years, and today they are known as Camillians (Clerks Regular Ministers to the Sick). Camillians work all over the world.

St. Camillus de Lellis was called the “Founder of a new school of charity” when he was canonized by Pope Benedict XIV in 1726. He taught that God is present in people confined to hospitals and sick beds, reminding his followers, “The poor and the sick are the heart of God.  In serving them, we serve Jesus the Christ.” 

A Camillian priest visited our parish last year, raising money for their work in the missions. He spoke compellingly about the people he had served and their stories. It was quite inspiring. When he introduced himself and his order, he told us that Camillians were the “original Red Cross” because of the color of the cross on their habits. Their work through the centuries in hospitals, battlefields and sick rooms would seem to bear that out.

Once again it seems that “God writes straight with crooked lines.” A mercenary, who is a compulsive gambler and brawler, with injured legs, becomes the founder of a group of men who spend their lives working to heal the sick and care for the dying - the patron saint of gamblers and nurses. Truly a life story to be told more widely.

Somewhere, lost in the depths of a bookcase, my family has a comic book about Junipero Serra. It is set in the year 20something, still in the future from now, on board a space craft. The story is about a priest telling a friend of his about Serra. I first picked up the book, (actually I found it), in fourth grade, the time when all California kids study the California missions. That was the first real intro I had to Serra and the founding of the missions, because I found the book just before we started studying the missions in school. His story fascinated me, but soon I forgot about him and the book, until today when I started doing research for this post. Some might say that comic books never tell the truth, but they would be wrong about this one. The research I did showed me that the comic book is actually rather accurate at portraying his life.

Blessed Father Junipero Serra was born Miguel Jose Serra on November 24th, 1713 in Petra, Majorca, Kingdom of Spain. Later, he took the name “Junipero” in honor of Saint Juniper. He entered the Order of Friars Minor on September 14th, 1730.  Because he was so good with his studies, Serra was appointed Lector of Philosophy (some sort of professor) before he was ordained a priest. Later on he also received his doctorate from Lullian University in Palma De Mallorca.

In 1749, Serra travelled to Mexico City. On the way from Vera Cruz to Mexico City, he was bitten in the leg by an insect. The bite never got better, and that leg bothered him for the rest of his life. He never wanted any help with it though, and preferred to walk whenever he could.

From Mexico City, Serra requested transfer to the Sierra Gorda Indian Mission. He spent nine years there, learning the language of the Pame Indians, and translating the Catechism into their language. He was soon recalled to Mexico City and gained fame as being the most fervent and most effective preacher, because he would do ridiculous stuff in order to get people to repent. It is said that he used to pound his breast with rocks at the pulpit, scourge himself and hold a lit torch to his chest. Whether or not he actually did any of that is debated.

The years went by, and in 1769, Serra acompanied Govenor Gaspar de Portola to Nueva California. On July 1st, 1769, the exedition landed in San Diego, where Fr. Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first of 21 California missions. After founding Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo in Montery, Serra relocated his head quarters to Carmel. Under his rule as ”Father Presidente of Alta California”, the missions expanded to include: Mission San Antonio de Padua, Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission San Francisco de Asis, Mission Santa Clara de Asis and Mission San Buenaventura. Each of the California missions is located within one day’s walk of each other. He also pressed for laws to protect the Natives from the abuses of the military.

Around 1778, Serra was given dispensation to give the sacrament of Confirmation. He went around confirming people for a year until Felipe de Neve told him to stop until he could present a Papal Brief. Serra waited for two years, until the Viceroy Majorga gave instructions to the effect that Serra was within his rights. Over the next three years, Serra traveled from San Fransico to San Diego, over 600 miles, and confirmed 5,309 people. 600 miles may not seem like a lot now days, but it was a lot then, on foot, with a bad leg.

Blessed Father Junipero Serra died of a snake bite on August 28th, 1784. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 25th 1988. He is buried in the Carmel Mission.

P.S This is not actually Kathy writing. I am Rosie her 15 year old daughter. Gotcha!

December 3 is the feast of St. Francis Xavier, “Apostle to the East.” Francis Xavier was born in Navarre, Spain in 1506, to a wealthy and influential family. However, his family lost their lands in 1512 when Navarre was conquered by troops from Castille and Aragon. His father died in 1515.

Francis went to study in Paris when he was 19 and met Iñigo (Ignatius) Loyola there. To make a long story short, Francis eventually joined with Loyola as one of the founding members of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits.

Francis is best known for his missionary work in India, Malacca, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Japan. From 1540, until his death on an island off the coast of China in 1552, he traveled and preached throughout the East, frequently returning to Goa in India. He left behind communities of Christians in each place he visited and pioneered the missionary style of the Jesuit order through the compromises he worked out with the existing Christian community, founded by St. Thomas the Apostle, in India.

There are many biographies and studies written about St. Francis Xavier’s life, teachings, influence in the Church, and miracles.

My family has had a close relationship with St. Francis for several generations in the Pacific Northwest. Jesuits were among the first to arrive in eastern Washington and brought with them a devotion to St. Francis. Growing up in parishes staffed by Jesuits, we shared in the tradition of the “Novena of Grace” each year in March. In fact, my parents’ first date ocurred when my father picked up my mother from her teaching assignment in northern Idaho and escorted her to the Novena in Spokane!

As a child, many of my early memories are related to the family tradition of attending Mass and the Novena from March 4-12. Each year we went, with our own prayer requests, and gathered with hundreds of other people from Spokane and the surrounding areas to praise God and ask St. Francis to intercede for us. There were people we only saw once a year - at the Novena.

Some years  the prayer intentions were very practical - a job for a relative out of work, health for a sick relative, help with school work, etc. Other years the intentions were more “spiritual” - help in overcoming a bad habit, help in discerning a life path, greater understanding of the Holy Spirit - little things like that!

Important things happened during or after the Novena. Two cousins who were born during the Novena were adopted into the family - we had been praying for a child for each family that year. Other children have been born into or adopted into the family in the year following the Novena. One of my brothers survived a difficult birth on March 4 and was given an extra middle name, Francis, in thanksgiving. Relatives got jobs. People got well. An uncle returned to the Church as he lay dying during the Novena. My Great Grandmother and my Grandmother both died on First Friday during the Novena. 

Sometimes funny things happened, like the year my youngest brother dropped a “steely” marble at the back of the church and it rolled all the way to the front, causing a stir as it went all the way! Mom was not amused, but we’re all still laughing about it.

The relationship with St. Francis is not limited to those nine days in March. At harvest time, when a storm threatens to ruin a crop before the field is harvested, prayers go up to “St. Frank” to protect it. When a relationship needs a boost from the Holy Spirit, prayers go to St. Francis. And when something goes really well, prayers of thanks go up too. It’s good to have a powerful big brother (saint) to help out.

A little over ten years ago, a young man from a Goan family knocked on our front door, hoping to sell a medical software program to a medical group we managed. The software was not what our group needed, but he became a close friend. We found many common threads in our educations, life experience and shared bond as Catholics. He in turn has introduced us to his family and many of his friends, including those who are the founders of Suggestica.com and who have opened this world of internet blogs and vertical discovery engines such as theologika.net to us.

It seems St. Francis Xavier is still looking out for us in this increasingly small, small world and doing his part to continue spreading the Good News.

“Learn to let others do their share of the work. Things may be done less well, but you will have more peace of soul and health of body. And what temporal interest should we not sacrifice in order to gain these blessings?”
     St. Philippine Duchesne

Rose Philippine Duchesne, pictured here in a mosaic in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, Missouri, was a French woman, born in 1769 to a successful middle class family. She entered the Visitation order during the French Revolution, but was forced to return home when revolutionaries expelled the nuns from their convents. She was active in the underground church during the Revolution, caring for the poor and sick, visiting prisoners and helping fugitive priests.

Following the Revolution, she joined the Society of the Sacred Heart. When the Bishop of Louisiana requested missionary help, she volunteered, arriving in New Orleans in 1818. She worked in Missouri and Kansas, starting schools and orphanages, for children of the settlers and Native Americans of the area. When she was 72 she founded a mission school for Native American girls and spent many years working there. The Potawatomi among whom she worked called her “Woman-who-prays-always.”

Despite the many years she lived in America, she was never able to master the English language. Yet that limitation never stopped her from doing what needed to be done for the children or the poor.

Her final years were spent at St. Charles, where her work in America had begun. She died there at the age of 83 on November 18, 1852 - a woman who accomplished wonders on the American frontier without sacrificing ”peace of soul and health of body.”

“Learn to let others do their share of the work” — Not bad advice today either!

November 13 is the feast day of St. Francis Cabrini (1850 -1917), the patron saint of immigrants. She was born in northern Italy, in the province of Lombardy, and was one of 13 children. Her desire to become a nun was put on hold because of health problems. St. Frances devoted herself to caring for her parents and working with her brothers and sisters on the farm. She was asked to teach in a school by the local bishop. After six years, the bishop asked her to start the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to care for poor children. St. Frances was known for her administrative and leadership abilities and Pope Leo XIII asked her to extend her work to the United States for the care of Italian immigrants.

There is a lot more to the story of a woman whose frail health put her in the circumstances of founding her own order at the age of 30. She established orphanages, hospitals, and schools in the United States, Central America, South America, Spain and France. The complete story is available at www.mothercabrini.org. St. Frances Cabrini never made it to China, which had been a long time dream. She made it as far as Seattle and California and had hopes of setting up programs in Alaska. At age 67, her health finally gave out and she died on December 22, 1917, in her room at the Columbus hospital in Chicago, while preparing candy for children.

Italians were forced to migrate for economic reasons. As displaced rural farmers, they brought little money, skills, or education with them. Their intention was to make money and return home. About 25% of Italian immigrants did return to Italy. For the most part they lived in dire poverty, in the worst of living conditions, and worked as manual laborers. By 1890, 90% of New York City’s public works employees were Italian, as were 99% of Chicago street workers. There were no social, health, or educational services for immigrants. They also encountered ethnic bigotry and religious prejudice.

The parallels with the current Mexican immigration to the United States are striking. In fact, St. Frances Cabrini opened programs in California for Mexican immigrants. The major difference is that Italian immigrants were documented and had a legal status. Although legal status is an issue for many Mexican immigrants, according to the San Jose Mercury News, 70% of persons of California’s Mexican community - 7.6 million of the state’s 36 million people - are United States citizens. While more social programs are available to immigrants with legal status, there are still great needs in housing, health care, employment protection, and nutrition.

In today’s global society, similar situations exist all around the world. The feast of St. Frances Cabrini is a good day to remember that prayer, work, and the desire to help the less fortunate can turn a person of frail health into a giant of Christ’s charity.

Today is World Mission Sunday. We are reminded that the mission of the Church (the People of God) is to share the Good News through all the world. Today I offer a few quotes from people working in “the field.”

“Growing up I met so many Sisters who visited the sick and families, who taught about Jesus. They made a big impression on me, nurturing my desire to become like them … We must be the Lord’s voice to the poor, telling of His great love.”  Sr. Christine Mwaka, Zambia

“We are forming missionaries to bring hope — the hope of our Lord — to our people. … Above all, we want the hope we have found in Jesus, our joy in following the Lord as priests, to uplift the poor and those in need.”  Fr. Anthony Jayakody, rector of Our Lady of Lanka Seminary in Sri Lanka

“My greatest strength comes from receiving our Lord in the Eucharist … My 14-year-old daughter prays that God will give me the wisdom to be an effective catechist. My prayer is that too, and also that the Lord will be with me as I teach about Him, opening the hearts of those who hear.”  Peter Soko, catechist in Zambia

For more information, click here to see the website of The Society for the Propagation of the Faith.