Monday 9 September 2024
St Peter Claver
1 Corinthians 5:1-8. Lead me in your justice, Lord – Psalm 5:5-7, 12. Luke 6:6-11.
Preaching by actions
Today is the feast day of Jesuit priest and saint, Peter Claver (1581–1654). Claver was born in Spain to a wealthy family. After studies at university, he was advised by a mentor to seek God’s work as a missionary to the newly arrived slaves in Colombia. Here he was ordained a member of the Society of Jesus and embarked on his life’s mission to provide comfort and faith to those slaves who had been kidnapped from Africa and sold into servitude in South America. As the boats arrived in the port of Cartagena, he would disregard the stench of the hold and welcome and minister to these men whose lives were not their own. Over the course of his ministry, it is said he baptised more than 300,000 of these arrivals, always checking first on their welfare before preaching the salvation of the Lord. In this way, he restored some of the human dignity to those souls shipped across the sea. Let us pray today for all those who work against modern slavery and trafficking in the hope of releasing those many chained by exploitation and desperation.
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