The greatest threat to your happiness and wholeness is your unrecognized spiritual needs.

Jesus calls our attention to our spiritual needs when he says, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:3-4)

All of Jesus’ teachings draw our attention to the spiritual realities that we can so easily overlook if we become too absorbed in the physical realities of this world. The world is amazing. It captivates all of our senses. Encountering Jesus awakens and captivates our spiritual senses. 

Saint Peter Claver had his spiritual senses awakened by Jesus, and he felt called to help the least among us have the same experience.

Peter was born in Catalonia, Spain, in 1580. He joined the Jesuits in 1602 and soon after traveled to the Americas to be a missionary to slaves being imported. For Peter Claver, Jesus’ words, “Not on bread alone” meant ministering to both physical and spiritual needs. He declared himself “the slave of slaves forever.”

As soon as a slave ship docked, Peter would board it with interpreters, carrying food, medicine, and comforting words for the traumatized captives. He baptized over 300,000 slaves and ensured they understood their worth in the eyes of God, despite the inhumane treatment they endured.

Beyond the dockyards, Peter Claver spoke out against the abuses of slave traders and owners, traveled to plantations to preach, taught the slaves about Jesus, and administered the Sacraments. He was always tending to both the slaves’ physical and spiritual needs.

Saint Peter Claver dedicated his life to this work and died in 1654, neglected and forgotten by many. However, his legacy was rediscovered in the late 1800s and he was canonized by Pope Leo XIII. 

We fool ourselves into thinking we can live on bread alone. We fool ourselves into thinking this world is all there is. It is natural to favor what can be seen over what cannot be seen, but our hearts and souls, our will and intellect, make us capable of prioritizing what matters most regardless of whether or not it is seen or unseen. 

Our lives have become physical feasts and spiritual famines. Today is a reminder that nothing in this physical world can satisfy us. It is a reminder that everything in this physical world is incapable of satisfying us. It is a loving reminder to tend to our spiritual needs. 

What will you feed your soul today?



Feast Day: September 9

Feast Day Shared By: Saint Gorgonius and Saint Audomar of Thérouanne

Patron Saint of: Slaves, Colombia, Race Relations, Ministry To African-Americans, Seafarers

Symbols: A Seashell

Canonized: January 15, 1888

Canonized By: Pope Leo XIII