“Live justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

This is one of the most direct, inspiring, and challenging passages in all of Scripture.

How do we live it out? We can look to Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo as an example.

Turibius was a judge in Granada, Spain, when King Philip II and Pope Gregory XIII unexpectedly chose him to be the Archbishop of Lima in Peru, despite not even being a priest. Turibius was reluctant at first (and probably a bit frightened to travel to the New World), but he humbly accepted the call, trusting in God’s plan.

When Turibius arrived in Peru, he found the diocese in disarray. He immediately immersed himself in the issues, educating priests, and protecting indigenous rights. Most of all, he listened to what God asked him to do. He didn’t question it. He just did it. And it often meant walking miles and miles to encourage local communities and priests in the remotest areas of Peru. Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo literally walked humbly with his God.

Walking humbly with God means allowing God, your Father, to take you by the hand and lead you. But too often, we want to race off ahead of our loving Father, tearing our hand from his and running frantically in all directions.

But walking humbly with God is difficult. To achieve it, it is essential that we acquire the habits of recollection and self-possession. How hard is it to walk humbly with God? It is as if I lit a candle and gave it to you to hold, and told you to take it everywhere you go and never let it be blown out.

You would have to protect it, wouldn't you? You would have to move slowly, thoughtfully, and deliberately. It would require conscious living: thoughts, words, and actions that spring from an awareness of who we are and what we are here for.

This is what is required to walk humbly with God. 

The candle is within you. When you have learned to carry and protect it, then you will be able to

live justly—to choose what is good, just, true, and noble in every situation—and love tenderly.

The candle is within you. Protect it. Don’t let the world blow it out.

Patron Saint of: Peru, Lima, Latin American Bishops, Native Rights, Scouts, and Valladolid

Feast Day: March 23

Canonized: December 10, 1726

Canonized By: Pope Benedict XIII