Episode Transcript  

One

A Throne Prepared in Heaven

Peter Claver was born in Spain in 1580 and entered the Jesuits. While studying at the Jesuit college in Majorca, he came under the spiritual direction of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, the humble brother who served as doorkeeper. Alphonsus encouraged Claver to become a missionary in South America and often prayed for this intention. When Peter reached a moment of crisis in his discernment, Alphonsus was praying for him. His guardian angel took him to heaven, where he saw countless thrones occupied by saints. Then he saw an empty throne, and it was revealed to him that it was reserved for Peter Claver as a reward for his many virtues and for the countless souls he would convert through his toil and sweat in America.

Peter could not have imagined what that toil and sweat would cost. He arrived at Cartagena, Colombia, in 1610. Thousands of enslaved Africans were being brought into its harbor every year. Colonial authorities quieted their consciences with the hollow argument that these people were already slaves in Africa and that bringing them to a Christian land would give them the opportunity to be converted. Yet almost no one cared for them or taught them the faith. The land had supposedly been conquered for Christ, but the people most in need of Christ’s love had been forgotten.

Two

He Went Down into the Darkness

The enslaved Africans endured one of the most hellish experiences in human history. They were packed into the holds of ships for weeks, chained together in darkness, heat, and filth. Many arrived starving, diseased, and near death. A ship could lose one-third of its human cargo and still turn a profit. Whenever a slave ship entered the harbor, Peter Claver hurried to meet it. He begged for fruit, bread, medicine, clothing, and anything else he could gather. Then, accompanied by interpreters, he climbed aboard the ship and descended into its hold.

Imagine the darkness, the heat, the filth, the sickness, and the smell. Claver did not remain safely on the dock, he entered their darkness. He moved among them, gave them water and food, cleaned their wounds, applied ointments, and held the dying in his arms. In a letter describing the arrival of one ship, Claver wrote that they first addressed the captives, “not with words, but with our hands and our assistance.”

That is exactly what Jesus did for us. Humanity was trapped in the darkness of sin and death. The Son of God did not remain at a safe distance. He descended into our broken world, took our suffering upon Himself, and touched us with His own hands. Real love builds a bridge and then crosses the distance. We often know a person in our life is struggling but we don’t know what to do, or we are too consumed with surviving ourselves, so we do nothing. Peter Claver understood that God had allowed him to see the need because God was inviting him to respond.

Whose struggle have we noticed but kept at a safe distance?

Three

Not with Words, but with Our Hands

Peter Claver did not begin with preaching. He wrote that they first addressed the captives, “not with words, but with our hands and our assistance.” He understood something essential about evangelization: people become open to the Gospel when they encounter the love of Christ through another person. Arguments alone rarely bring people to Jesus. Usually, someone must first build a bridge of friendship and trust.

This is especially true of the people in our lives who are no longer interested in God. We cannot force them across the bridge. But we can take a genuine interest in them. We can listen, share their burdens, serve their needs, and remain faithfully present and patient, waiting for God to give us the opportunity to invite them to some encounter with Christ.

Peter Claver evangelized with his hands before he evangelized with his words. But he did not stop with material assistance. His works of mercy opened the way for the greatest gift he could offer, friendship with Jesus and eternal life. Over the course of his ministry, Peter Claver is said to have baptized nearly 300,000 people. When Pope Leo XIII canonized Peter Claver, he reportedly said, “No life except the life of Christ has so moved me as that of Saint Peter Claver.”

Four

A Slave of the Slaves Forever

In 1622, Peter Claver made his solemn profession as a Jesuit. Beneath his signature, he wrote, “Peter Claver, slave of the Negroes forever.” This was not a sentimental statement. He was giving his life away. For almost forty years, Claver tried to meet every slave ship entering Cartagena, as many as 10,000 captives a year. The work was so overwhelming that few assistants could endure it for long.

Then Claver contracted the plague. He survived, but his health was destroyed. For the final years of his life, the man who had cared for hundreds of thousands lay sick and totally neglected and almost forgotten because he spoke out so strongly against slavery that no one wanted to care for him. He had given everything and received little in return. But his life did not belong to him. It belonged to Christ and to the people Christ had entrusted to him.

Who has God entrusted to you? Your spouse, your children, a lonely friend, an aging parent, a struggling coworker, or someone who has wandered far from God? We do not have to serve everyone in the world. But we must take responsibility for loving the people God has placed within our reach.

Five

Become an Apostle of Friendship

Peter Claver did not begin by preaching Christ. He began by caring for their human needs. Period. Likewise, we probably should not begin by preaching Christ to our loved ones who are not interested in Him or in religion. We should begin by caring for their human needs. And one of the most basic human needs is to be known, understood, loved, and cared for.

How can someone believe that an invisible God knows them if the visible people in their life never take the time to know them? How can they believe that an invisible God is interested in them if the people around them show no genuine interest? How can they believe that God delights in them if they rarely experience the attention and delight of another person? Maybe that is where we need to begin.

That is what it means to become an Apostle of Friendship: to build a bridge of friendship where we can cross over to our loved ones and help them Cross over to God. Like St. Peter Claver, begin not with words, but with your hands, your attention, and your care.

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