Diversity of Church is highlighted at St. Martin de Porres celebration
Dr. Pilar Sayoc, a member of St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis, presents a petition during the St. Martin de Porres feast day Mass on Nov. 3 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. She also is a member of the archdiocesan Multicultural Ministry Commission. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)
By Mary Ann Wyand
We are children of God—regardless of our nationality, ethnicity and culture—and must live together as brothers and sisters in Christ, Father John McCaslin emphasized during his bilingual homily for the St. Martin de Porres feast day Mass on Nov. 3 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Indianapolis.
The pastor of Holy Trinity and St. Anthony parishes in Indianapolis reminded the multicultural gathering that “people of all cultures and nations are one in the body of Christ.”
As Catholics, Father McCaslin said, “we gather here as one body in Christ … around the sacred table where we celebrate time and time again the presence of Christ in our life and in our world.”
St. Martin de Porres was a humble lay brother at a Dominican friary in Lima, Peru, he said, who continues to inspire the faithful with his many examples of loving service to the poor.
The biracial son of a Spanish noble and freed black woman from Panama was born in Lima in 1579.
Because of his mixed ancestry, St. Martin de Porres was “a victim of discrimination,” Father McCaslin said. “He also was a man of deep faith who understood the power of the Gospel [message] to ‘love God with your whole heart, your whole mind and your whole soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ ” (Mt 22:37-39).
St. Martin de Porres lived his life in loving, generous and compassionate service to the poor, the priest said. “He sought to serve those with the greatest needs, and he tried to bring the healing power of God to their lives. He is a wonderful example for us today. He is truly catholic in all senses of the word.”
By his holy examples of how to live a Christian life, Father McCaslin said, St. Martin de Porres teaches people how to lovingly act out against countless injustices in the world and work to bring about God’s kingdom.
Sometimes even very small differences between people can be a cause of division within humanity, Father McCaslin said. “That is truly a reflection of human weakness and sin. … In Christ, we can change the division of humanity into the unity of Jesus. … The little differences that we have in our genes are nothing compared to the power of baptism to make us one. That is the truth, but we have to live out our baptism like it matters, like it makes a difference in our lives.
“To be Catholic is to be part of heaven and Earth,” he said. “To be Catholic is to be part of hundreds and hundreds of nationalities, hundreds and hundreds of ethnicities, and hundreds and hundreds of languages, [which] are all brought together in the great mystery of Christ.”
People must work together in faith to set aside false differences, he said, and bring the Gospel messages alive in the world.
“We are to love God and neighbor,” Father McCaslin said, “and to fight injustice, not each other, because we are the children of God. So we walk, friends, arm in arm with humility, like St. Martin de Porres, to be humble bearers of the Gospel with the belief that fighting injustice as one body in Christ will make a difference. And we will love our God and our neighbors all the days of our life.”
Holy Angels parishioner Marilyn Crain of Indianapolis sang in the Multicultural Ministry Choir with members of several other Indianapolis parishes.
The former secretary at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish said it was nice to welcome people from so many countries and cultures to the feast day celebration.
“St. Martin de Porres is very special,” Crain said, “and the fact that we’re celebrating as a joint [African-American and Hispanic] community is so special. I’ve been able to work on my Spanish a little bit, and some of the
[Spanish-speaking] people are working on their English. We’re helping each other. We may speak different languages, but we’re all one in Christ. There’s just one race, and that’s the human race.”
St. Anthony parishioner Lucia Lazo of Indianapolis also sang in the Multicultural Ministry Choir.
“It’s my second year to participate,” Lazo said. “I’m happy to be celebrating with many people from different cultures. It’s interesting to see how people from other cultures express themselves in worship.”
Benedictine Father Boniface Hardin of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, the founder and president emeritus of Martin University in Indianapolis, concelebrated the Mass with Father McCaslin as well as Father Steven Schwab, the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, and Father Thomas Schliessmann, the pastor of St. Lawrence Parish in Indianapolis. Deacon Emilio
Ferrer-Soto from St. Patrick Parish in Indianapolis also assisted with the bilingual liturgy.
After the Mass, Father Boniface said Martin University is dedicated to St. Martin de Porres and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“When I was growing up, we didn’t have many saints that looked like us,” he said. “So when St. Martin de Porres was canonized, we identified with him in the African-American community.”
Father Boniface said he enjoyed meeting Catholics from Africa, Central and South America, and even India.
“The liturgy was very inspiring,” he said. “The oneness in Christ was epitomized by people from so many countries. Because he was of mixed ancestry, St. Martin de Porres doesn’t just belong to the people of one or two countries. He belongs to all of us.” †
