Yesterday was the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, a little known saint in our part of the world, but a very important one in Europe because the day marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. It is already snowing in parts of Northern Europe.
Martin of Tours (316-397) was a Roman soldier who was sent to Gaul, now France. He became a Christian and was baptized as an adult. Known as a man of great charity, he saw a beggar in the midst of winter and cut his own cloak in half to share with the beggar. That night the beggar appeared to him in a vision as Christ.
The story goes that the people wanted him to be the bishop but not wanting to, he hid in a pen of geese, but their cackles gave him away. In some countries, St Martin’s Day begins at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It is a day to remember the peace we can have if we, too, can share our cloaks with the poor.
Prayer for the Day
Hearing stories of saints, models for our lives,
We wonder if we can ever be like them;
Struggling to live up to our ideals of servanthood,
We know we often fall short of how we should live.
Be with us, O God, as we seek to be your servants
As was the One we confess as Lord.
In the name of him who is our model of service,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen’
Thoughts for the Day
Whatever a person has in superabundance is owed, of natural right, to the poor, for their sustenance.
- Thomas Aquinas, Saint, Philosopher (1225-1274)
When a poor person dies of hunger, it does not happen because God did not take care of him or her. It happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed.
- Mother Teresa, Saint (1910-1997)
And if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
Jesus, from the Sermon on the Mount Matthew. 5: 40-42