Saint of the broom

***Saint of the broom*** Portraits, pictures or statues of people, in general, depict and reveal their character and personality. Usually, if people are asked to have… … a photograph taken … or a picture drawn … or a statue created They would either prefer just by themselves... ... or posing with some expensive artefacts/costly goods. What if there is a person in history who preferred instead to pose with a broom! >> And has most of his images/statues holding a broom… … along with a cat and dog around him! So much is his association with the “broom” that he is called as the “Saint of the broom!” This person is St Martin de Porres. Born in Lima, Peru, in the 16th century, this saint - being of a mixed race and cast lower as belonging to an inferior social caste – was able to raise his life with the great virtue of selflessness! So much was his zeal to dedicate his life for the Lord, that he would willingly accept to be a “donado” - a volunteer who performed menial tasks in the monastery... ... in return for the privilege of wearing the religious habit in the community. He devoted his life to penance, charity and humility… … spending nights in prayer and penitential practices … dedicated days in nursing for the sick and caring for the poor - regardless of their color, race, or status … and reflecting extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air, light filling the room where he prayed, bi-location, miraculous knowledge, instantaneous cures, and a remarkable rapport with animals! In St Martin de Porres, humility shone through selfless giving ... expecting nothing in return ... just as the Lord invites us in today’s Gospel.