COLLECT: “O GOD, WHO MADE SAINT PETER CLAVER A SLAVE OF SLAVES AND STRENGTHENED HIM WITH WONDERFUL CHARITY AND PATIENCE AS HE CAME TO THEIR HELP, GRANT, THROUGH HIS INTERCESSION, THAT, SEEKING THE THINGS OF JESUS CHRIST, WE MAY LOVE OUR NEIGHBOUR IN DEEDS AND IN TRUTH. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD, FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
1Cor 7:25-31; Ps 44:11-12,14-17 and Lk 6:20-26
Saint Peter Claver was born in Spain. He vowed to become a missionary in America. He was ordained as a Jesuit in Columbia. He spent his life serving African slaves. Accordingly, anytime the slaves’ ship arrived at Cartagena, Peter Claver would meet it and enter the infested holds to take care of the dead, the dying and the sick slaves. He would instruct and baptize the slaves and minister to them on the plantations where the slaves were working. This was a man who called himself “THE SLAVE OF THE BLACKS FOREVER”. He also had this as part of his prayer: “JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, YOU SHALL BE MY FATHER, MY MOTHER AND ALL MY GOOD. I LOVE YOU MUCH”. This is a very inspiring prayer. What can we learn from this?
Nothing in this temporary world is permanently lasting. Whatever we come to meet here, including our dear lives have their beginning and end. In fact, either they pass away from us or we pass away from them. We are therefore cautioned today by scriptures not to behave as if everything about this world is all life entails. There is therefore the need, and this is very important, to cultivate and exercise or live some spirit of detachment in this world. This is what St. Paul urges the Corinthian believers, as well as all of us to do. This meshes very well with the list of Beatitudes Jesus gives in the portion of Luke we are meditating on.
I like you to take a very close and critical look with me at marriage. Some cultures/customs and of course, some people think that this earthly life is all about marriage and therefore when someone is not married, he/she is useless and the person’s life is not fulfilled. In this sense, marriage is regarded as the ultimate goal of life. Cultures and their people who look at marriage this way miss the point, because marriage is also a divine vacation (call), and it is God who instituted marriage, not human beings. We only have to cooperate with God, the one who ordained marriage, to happen to those fit for it, so that they can fulfil the divine commandment of ‘multiplying and filling the earth’ (Gen 1:27-28). We also have to look at Mt 19:11ff, where Jesus told his disciples that, “It is not everyone who can accept what I have said (about marriage) …. Let anyone accept this who can”.
Marriage, indeed, is good, once it is a divine institution. However, we should not naively think that it will solve all our problems in this world. There are lots of problems marriage will not be able to solve, if only it will not even bring more problems. It will not be able to solve: loneliness because there are lots of married people who are very lonely. It will not solve sexual temptation because there are lots of married people who still fall into sexual temptations.
One’s deepest emotional needs, and life’s difficulties will not be solved at marriage because sometimes the emotional needs and life’s difficulties are more in the marriage life than in other life in the world. Rather, what can solve all our problems, including those created in marriages, are being content with our situation and be commitment, as well as focus on Christ.
We pray for the inspiration and understanding that we should not regard marriage, home or financial security as the ultimate goals of life. Let us as much as possible live lives that should not be “unhindered by the cares of this world, not getting involved with burdensome mortgages, budgets, investments, or debts that might keep us from doing God’s work”.
Those called into the marriage life must take care of earthly responsibilities as well as make the conscious efforts to keep them modest and manageable. Stay blessed and once again, pray for all married men and women. May Saint Peter Claver intercede for us. Stay blessed and happy feast to all who bear the name Peter Claver.
WE MEDITATE TODAY, WEDNESDAY, ON THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES: ‘THE RESURRECTION, THE ASCENSION, THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE ASSUMPTION, AND THE CORRONATION’. (WE PRAY FAITH, HOPE, LOVE OF GOD, GRACE OF A HAPPY DEATH AND TRUST IN MARY’S INTERCESSION) “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and the hour of our death, Amen”.
PRAYER: “MAY THE SACRAMENT WE HAVE RECEIVED, O LORD OUR GOD, NOURISH IN US THAT FAITH TAUGHT BY THE PREACHING OF THE APOSTLES AND KEPT SAFE BY THE LABOURS OF BLESSED PETER CLAVER. THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN.”
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@yahoo.com.
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