September 9: Saint Peter Claver, Priest—USA Memorial

Read entire reflection online >>>September 9: Saint Peter Claver, Priest—USA Memorial1581–1654Patron Saint of African missions, African-Americans, black missions, black people, foreign missions, interracial justice, slaves, and ColombiaInvoked against slaveryCanonized by Pope Leo XIII on January 15, 1888Liturgical Color: WhiteQuote: Yesterday, May 30, 1627, on the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, numerous blacks, brought from the rivers of Africa, disembarked from a large ship. Carrying two baskets of oranges, lemons, sweet biscuits, and I know not what else, we hurried toward them. When we approached their quarters, we thought we were entering another Guinea. We had to force our way through the crowd until we reached the sick. Large numbers of the sick were lying on the wet ground or rather in puddles of mud. To prevent excessive dampness, someone had thought of building up a mound with a mixture of tiles and broken pieces of bricks. This, then, was their couch, a very uncomfortable one not only for that reason, but especially because they were naked, without any clothing to protect them… ~Letter from Saint Peter ClaverPrayer:Saint Peter Claver, you embarked upon a journey into the hellish conditions of abuse and suffering, caused by greed and a total lack of respect for human dignity. Within those conditions, you brought the light of Christ and administered the grace of the Sacraments, giving hope to those who needed it the most. Please pray for me, that I will be a beacon of hope for those who need it the most, by always preaching Christ Crucified and making the salvation of souls, beginning with my own, my number-one priority. Saint Peter Claver, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: mycatholic.lifeCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Main image: Mill 1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons