By Br. Joe Trout, OP, on the Feast of St. Martin de Porres, Nov 3.
"The Church is not a rose garden." We reflect on St. Paul's image of the Church as one body with many parts — and why a healthy Church is more like a wild, diverse garden than rows of one standard flower.
St. Martin de Porres didn't fit the usual categories. He wasn't a priest, and he wasn't quite a cooperator brother either. He lived something like a lay Dominican who shared the friars' life — a way of following Christ that no longer exists in the Church today. And precisely because of that unusual place, he was able to do extraordinary work for the poor, gathering and distributing resources freely in a way a vowed religious of his time could not.
In this episode of A Word of Hope, we explore what his life teaches us about vocation: God calls each of us to a distinct way of using our gifts in communion with Him and in service of our neighbor. We find that path not by trying to be different, but by praying, following Jesus, doing what is good, and trusting Him to lead us — even to a place no one has held before.
⏱️ IN THIS VIDEO
00:06 – The Church is not a rose garden
00:23 – St. Paul's image: one body with many parts
00:31 – A garden of true biodiversity
00:46 – St. Martin de Porres: a saint who didn't fit the mold
01:28 – When the Church is healthy, vocations are diverse
01:47 – How Martin's unusual role became a gift to the poor
02:21 – God calls each of us to something distinct
02:30 – Encouraging the next generation to imagine a big world
02:47 – How we find our vocation: pray, follow, trust
03:09 – Be willing to go where God leads
🙏 TODAY'S INVITATION
Like St. Martin de Porres, pray, trust in God, and be willing to go where He leads. Encourage your children, grandchildren, and friends to imagine a big world in which God may call them to something new and beautiful.
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