Happy Birthday, Mary

      Today, September 8th, is the traditional date for celebrating the birth of Mary, the daughter of Joachim and Ann and the future mother of Jesus, the Lord.  How do we know that "this is the day"?  Obviously, we don't.  And yet the Church sets this day aside as it falls nine months after the Annunciation, when the angel appeared to Mary and her YES allows the Holy Spirit to come upon her and she conceives her child.  Nine months is a traditional amount of time for the carrying of a child to term.  Whatever the date ... and whatever the reason to celebrate her birth, the Church rejoices that this woman of faith is a mother to us all.  Happy birthday, Mary!

     Yesterday in the United States we celebrated Labor Day by taking the day off and enjoying each other's company as best we can in this time of restriction.  The Church has spoken countless times about the dignity and respect that needs to be given to the "work of our hands" and the rights and protection of those who use their God-given talents for the good of all.  The Church has stood on the side of labor, and despite one's political position or party or platform, we must strive for fairness and justice as we promote the best use of our talents for the common good.  We have our work cut out for us.

     Tomorrow, the 9th of September, is the feast of Saint Peter Claver, a Spanish Jesuit from a wealthy family who chose to become a priest and a missionary in the New World.  He was born in 1580 and died in 1654 on September 8th.  His ministry was spent in Cartegena, Columbia, where he did something that few others were prone to do - he ministered to the Blacks who were brought over from Africa as slaves to the New World.  He took up this ministry seventy years after Spain sanctioned the slave trade for economic reasons.  Slavery was not new, but had been condemned by Pope Paul III in the mid 1500's and by Pope Urban VIII in 1638, and was later described by Pope Pius IX as "supreme villany".

     For Peter Claver, Black lives mattered, as did the lives of all who were seen to be children of God.  During his 40 years in Cartegena he ministered to the slaves when they arrived on those terrible slave ships, he brought them whatever comfort that he could, he shared with them his love and the love of Christ, and he brought them the faith.  It is reported that during those years he personally baptized over 300,000 souls and would often reconcile these new Christian peoples in their darkest moments by hearing nearly 5,000 confessions yearly.  And he also ministered to others in the community, some involved in the slave trade themselves, much to their discomfort and unease.  An example of gentle, sensitive, uncompromising love for his sisters and brothers, especially those who were regarded so unjustly as nothing.  In our day, we need more such examples.