From the Dominican Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours:

In his life of prayer, Martin was especially devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and to the passion of our Lord. He was noted for his care of the poor and the sick. The Office of Readings for today’s feast emphasizes the following Scripture which St. Martin put to action in his life:

Sir 29:12: “Store up almsgiving in your treasure house, and it will save you from every evil.”
Sir 3:29: “Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins.”
Lk 11:41: “Give alms and behold everything will be clean for you.”
Mt 20:28: “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
1Cor 9:22: “To the weak I became weak to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some.”

Second Reading from the Office of Readings: from the Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena:

(Christ speaking to Catherine’s soul)

“The same is true of many of my gifts and graces, virtues and other spiritual gifts, and those things necessary for the body and human life. I have distributed them all in such a way that no one has all of them. Thus have I given you reason, necessity in fact, to practice mutual charity. For I could well have supplied each of you with all your needs, both spiritual and material. But I wanted to make you dependent on one another so that each of you would be my minister, dispensing the graces and gifts you have received from me. So whether you will it or not, you cannot escape the exercise of charity! Yet, unless you do it for love of me, it is worth nothing to you in the realm of grace.”

Here is some more background on the Saint from other online sources:

From the Catholic Forum:

“Illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a young freed black slave, he grew up in poverty. He begged more than $2,000 a week from the rich to support the poor and sick of Lima. Placed in charge of the Dominican’s infirmary; known for his tender care of the sick and for his spectacular cures. Established an orphanage and children’s hospital for the poor children of the slums. Set up a shelter for the stray cats and dogs and nursed them back to health. Lived in self-imposed austerity, never ate meat, fasted continuously, and spent much time in prayer and meditation. Great devotion to the Eucharist. Friend of Saint John de Massias. He was venerated from the day of his death. Many miraculous cures, including raising the dead attributed to Brother Martin. First black American saint.”

From the Catholic Exchange:

“From early childhood Martin showed great piety, a deep love for all God’s creatures and a passionate devotion to our Lady. At the age of eleven he took a job as a servant in the Dominican priory and performed the work with such devotion that he was called ‘the Saint of the broom.’”

I was hoping that someone knows where to find out more about canonization miracles. I like reading about these miracles. I have not searched very thoroughly, but finding these miracles online or in print does not seem like a simple task. As an amateur (very amateur…..very very amateur) engineer, I always need some sort of evidence to back up equations that govern nature. If I read a fluid mechanics textbook that simply states that the Navier Stokes equations govern fluid flow in nature, I need more proof and must see the derivation of the equations from basic physics knowledge. The same is the case for me and the saints. If the church tells me that a person is in heaven offering my prayers to God, conforming them to God’s will, I need proof. You may call me a doubting Thomas on this (Jn 20:25), but there is loads of proof for me about Jesus doing the will of the Father in the bible. For instance, in John 8:29, he says “The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” Thus, if I pray to our Lord Jesus, he as the Son of God must conform them to the will of God for me (Rom 8:26). I am also very convinced that he is in heaven (Acts 1:11) and that he came from there (Jn 1:2).

Thus, I will pray to Jesus because I know he is in Heaven and his Holy Spirit will pray for me to the Father according to the will of the Father. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us in the Summa Theologica that the saints have obtained heavenly glory and offer our prayers in conformity with the will of God for us, if we pray to them. Thus, I can pray to these saints, if I am convinced they are in heaven. Here is where the canonization miracles come into play. If I know a saints life, I may judge that this guy or girl was holy and must be in heaven. But, it really helps if I know that through their intercession the will of God is being done through miracles. It is a greater proof for me that the person I am praying to is actually where I think he is (heaven) and is doing what I believe he is (praying to God for me).

So, this is why I am searching for canonization miracles. For proof, but also because they are really cool to read about. The other day I read that St. Juan Macias, a Dominican, interceded for a poor community in Peru by multiplying rice. That is good stuff. I want to hear more. Protestants need to hear this stuff.

Thanks,

Dominic Maria

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I have begun reading the Aquinas Catechism, a work by St. Thomas
Aquinas given as public lecture during the last year of his life. It
is an amazing work that speaks more to the lay person than to the
philosopher or theologan.

The main point I wanted to say about it was the frequency with which he quotes scripture. All of his arguments come from his own reasoning of the Bible. This is an amazing thing that he knew the bible so well. During his time Bibles were harder to make, and having many copies, as we do today, right at our hands was probably a rare case. Thus, great Saints of this era, St. Dominic included, had to know the Bible well in their minds and hearts. They not only read the Divinely inspired word but had the whole of scripture “on file” in their minds ready for those times when they would be challenged by disbelievers and the devil.

I believe this is a great thing for a Catholic today, to challenge his
or her self to know the bible like the saints. It would be a shame to
believe that this is a “Protestant thing” or a “Cornell Chaplaincy
thing”, but should be thought of as a “Catholic Saint thing.” I know
that we must also read great works of the saints, church fathers, and
the popes…..and I am certainly not saying to stop….but not to
forget that these same saints, fathers, and popes drew their material
from the Divinely inspired Word of God.

The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us