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| St. Martin de Porres statue at San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca Oaxaca, Mexio Photo by Claire & Richard Strike |
History
Born in Lima, Peru, Martin became a
Dominican lay brother when he was only 15 years old. He served as a barber,
farmer, and medical assistant. What he really wanted to do was to go on foreign
missions and to die for Jesus, but that wasn’t possible. He was so full of
faith and humility, that God used him in powerful ways. He helped many sick
people, and he even received knowledge about people’s secrets from God, so that
he could help them seek forgiveness. He also had a gift called bilocation. Once
a merchant from Lima who had traveled to Mexico, cried out, “Oh, Brother
Martin, if only you were here to care for me!” At that moment, the man saw Martin
enter his room to help him. But Martin never left Peru. This is called “bilocation”,
or being in two places at once, and it happened to Martin several times.
Activity
A person has to be very, very holy in order to receive a
gift like bilocation. Only a handful of saints have ever been blessed in that
way! Today, you can play a special game of “bilocation” hide and seek. One
child takes two prayer cards or printed pictures of Saint Martin de Porres and
hides them in two different places in the room. Then, the other children seek
for the pictures.
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