All of us have heard the well-used quote, “A saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.” Every year on November 1st, the Catholic Church honors the Solemnity of All Saint’s Day, remembering those men and women throughout Christian history who have lived their lives in faithfulness to God and the gospel. They are people who have lived their lives in stark contrast to the values that the world usually holds as important—values such as pursuing wealth, power or fame—values which are usually a threat to justice and liberty. Saints upset the “status quo” and disrupt attitudes that are unjust. This was the kind of saint that the church celebrated on November 3rd, the Feast Day of Saint Martin de Porres, Patron Saint of Social Justice.

Earlier this month, I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate my Dominican brother, St. Martin de Porres with a short presentation here in our motherhouse in Columbus, Ohio. It was an honor to share reflections about the message and insights that the life of St. Martin, born in the 15th century, shares with us in our 21st century society. You see, many of the challenges faced by St. Martin and the poor of his society are still present in today’s society, just in different forms. The extraordinary life of St. Martin de Porres challenged the status quo of his society and revealed God’s eternal vision of love and justice for all—people, animals and all creation. Is that not a message which continues to be relevant throughout the ages?

Like St. Martin de Porres in his time, religious men and women today continue to proclaim this message of God’s love and justice in many different ways. In fact, the Dominican Sisters of Peace, reiterate our commitment to proclaiming this message as part of our Chapter Commitment statements that promise to “promote justice through solidarity with the marginalized and to create environments of peace by promoting non-violence and unity in diversity…” Our sisters join in efforts with others to address local and national areas of poverty and injustice, in such areas as human trafficking, education or working in impoverished areas, to name a few of our ministries.

What about you? Is God inviting you to help change the “status quo” of society today? Yes?
Then, I invite you to give us a call! (Click here)

In addition, I would like to share with you my reflections about St. Martin de Porres and his messages for us in the 21st century. Click here.