The Gospel of Freedom
Saint Peter Claver. The Gospel of Freedom . Then and Now
From Spain to the Slave Pens of Cartagena
In the early 17th century, a young Jesuit named Peter Claver disembarked in Cartagena, a brutal epicenter of the transatlantic slave trade. Thousands of Africans (torn from their homes, chained in dark holds) poured through its ports. Many arrived barely alive.
Claver chose not to watch from a distance.
Descending into the suffocating belly of the ships, he moved through stench and sickness, reaching for the hands of those who had been stolen from freedom. He did not begin with sermons. He began with service.
“We must speak to them with our hands, by giving, before we try to speak to them with our lips.”*¹
This was Claver’s mission: embodied mercy before moralizing, action before abstraction. He brought bread, water, medicine, comfort… and when accepted, baptism and prayer.
“Slave of the Slaves”. Solidarity to the End
Peter Claver baptized over 300,000 souls in his lifetime. But he did more than administer sacraments. He lived among the enslaved, shared their quarters, heard their stories, and became their advocate. His vow as a Jesuit reads:
“I must dedicate myself to the service of God until death, on the understanding that I am like a slave.”*²
This wasn’t poetic flourish. It was a holy contradiction: a free man choosing the lowest place. Choosing to live and serve as if bound to those the world had abandoned.
Not Only Freedom from Chains, But Freedom from Sin
While Peter Claver confronted the physical horrors of slavery, he also bore witness to its spiritual dimension: the degradation of dignity, the erasure of identity, the infection of sin into systems of commerce and power.
To love and liberate, Claver believed, one must become radically detached from selfish ambitions and material comfort:
“To love God as He ought to be loved, we must be detached from all temporal love. We must love nothing but Him, or if we love anything else, we must love it only for His sake.”*³
And further:
“To do the will of God, man must despise his own; the more he dies to himself, the more he will live to God.”*⁴
These words echo the deeper Christian call: not only to free others, but to free oneself from selfishness, from complacency, and from the sin of silence in the face of evil.
Echoes Into the Present
Cartagena’s chains may be gone, but slavery endures in new forms: human trafficking, forced labor, systemic poverty, spiritual despair. We must not romanticize Peter Claver, nor excuse his historical limitations. But we must let his life speak anew in the context of his own time.
“Seek God in all things and you shall find God by your side.”*⁵
That divine presence (discovered in the wounded, in the enslaved, in the margins) compels us still. His legacy is not an artifact but a commission: to be present, to be prophetic, to be free.
No Longer Slaves of Sin
Claver’s Gospel wasn’t only for the captives of ships. It was for all enslaved by sin, for all who walk this world burdened by greed, pride, fear, addiction, or despair.
In a world still rife with chains (seen and unseen) his voice calls us to live not as slaves, but as free agents of the kingdom of God.
Let us be, like Claver, servants of the suffering, witnesses of freedom, and friends of the forgotten.
📿 Reflection Prompts
- In what areas of my life do I need to speak with my hands before my lips?
- What chains—spiritual or societal—am I called to help break?
- How can I die to my own comfort in order to live more fully for others?
📌 Footnotes
- Peter Claver, as quoted in AZQuotes
- Jesuit Profession Formula, cited in FranciscanMedia.org
- Anastpaul.com, Quote of the Day – 9 September
- Ibid.
- Ignatian Solidarity Network
✝️ A Gospel Framework for Speaking Truth in Love
Slavery in Colombia didn’t start with European arrival. It has deeper indigenous roots. But colonialism expanded the scope vastly. By the late 1500s, Cartagena had become a major port of enslaved Africans. The human toll was immense: in the early 1600s, Africans made up a quarter of the city’s population. And yet, even amidst this horror, resistance burned bright: in 1603, the free community of San Basilio de Palenque emerged. A beacon of autonomy and dignity.
Slavery didn’t end with colonial oppression. It transformed. Today, many face killing, abducting, and enslaving with terrifying efficiency. These modern atrocities echo the raw horror that Peter Claver witnessed centuries ago.
To speak of modern-day slavery (especially where Christian communities are suffering) is not to incite violence or blame. It is to name suffering so we may respond with prayer, presence, advocacy, and nonviolent love.
Jesus did not call down fire on oppressors; He preached the Father’s love, conversion, and the inward liberation of the human heart. And yet, He never ignored suffering. He stood with the poor, the marginalized, and the broken. Silently, compassionately, truthfully.
1. Jesus = The Liberator of the Heart
“Jesus never organized armies, but He moved hearts. He broke chains not with swords, but with grace. His Gospel was not a manifesto of resistance—but a path to healing, truth, and transformation.”
Christ is the liberator of both soul and society. Not through force, but through conversion and compassion.
2. Peter Claver = A Living Parable of Christ’s Mercy
Claver did not incite rebellion. He embodied mercy. He knelt with the enslaved, baptized them, prayed over them, washed their wounds, and pointed them to the Father.
“Claver didn’t raise a banner. He raised the cross. And in doing so, he pointed enslaved souls not only to physical care, but to spiritual freedom.”
3. Today’s Slavery and Naming Injustice Without Fueling Anger
Instead of blaming groups or governments directly, let us focus on the suffering of the innocent. This lets us lament without polarizing, and call for compassion without triggering backlash.
Example:
“In parts of the world today (Africa, Asia, the Middle East) millions still live in chains. Some are victims of war. Others of religious persecution. Many are simply poor, forgotten, and unseen. Among them are Christian families (our brothers and sisters) who cry not for vengeance, but for help, healing, and hope.”
4. The Christian Response = Peace, Prayer, and Presence
Let us frame our response not as activism alone, but as Gospel action: prayerful, humble, loving.
“Like Claver, we are called not to condemn, but to accompany. Not to fuel fire, but to carry the light. Not to shout against the dark, but to kneel beside the wounded.”
🕊️ A Bridge to transition into this delicate, holy ground
“It is tempting to speak boldly about injustice. Yet bolder still is the way of Christ: to speak with compassion, to act with love, to suffer with the wounded and pray for all… even those who persecute. As slavery persists in hidden and not-so-hidden corners of the world, especially among vulnerable communities, our task is not vengeance but mercy. To echo Claver, we ‘speak first with our hands : in care, in witness, in prayer. And then, when the time is right, with our lips: proclaiming the Father who sets all captives free.”
Mercy in Chains
“Petrus Claver, Aethiopum Semper Servus” . Peter Claver, Forever Servant of the Africans
In the 17th century, on the humid shores of Cartagena, a port city swollen with trade and blood, a young Jesuit priest walked down into the stinking holds of slave ships.
He did not carry weapons. He carried bread and medicine, words of comfort, and a crucifix.
He did not come to judge. He came to serve.
“We must speak to them with our hands, by giving, before we try to speak to them with our lips.”*¹
Peter Claver’s mission was not political. It was pastoral. Where others saw “cargo,” he saw the image of God. Where others recoiled, he knelt. And where others kept their distance, he entered into suffering.
Freedom = A Christian Virtue, A Human Cry
Claver’s legacy is not one of condemnation, but of conversion. Not of revolt, but of reverence. He believed that true liberation began in the heart: a freedom from sin, from despair, from the lie that any person is less than a child of God.
“To do the will of God, man must despise his own; the more he dies to himself, the more he will live to God.”*²
This is not passive piety. It is radical surrender for the sake of those forgotten, silenced, and bruised by the world’s cruelty.
And still, today, in parts of our world, the cry of the suffering echoes.
The Quiet Slavery of Today – Still Among Us
Modern slavery takes many forms. It hides in the shadows of trafficking, exploitation, and violence against the vulnerable. In some places, Christian communities (especially the poor) are caught in the crossfire of extremism or crushed by the weight of injustice.
But this blog is not a platform for accusation. It is an altar of remembrance, a prayer offered from one heart to another:
“Jesus came not to condemn the world, but to save it.” (John 3:17)
Let us, then, not point fingers, but lift hearts.
Peter Claver’s Way – A Gospel of Presence
Claver did not publish manifestos or lead revolts. He lived with the people he served. He prayed with them, wept with them, and whispered to them of a Father who had not forgotten.
“Seek God in all things and you shall find God by your side.”*³
Today, our calling may not be to board slave ships… but to step into the hidden suffering of others with that same spirit: presence, humility, healing.
A Reflection for Our Times
Peter Claver’s vow was simple:
“I must dedicate myself to the service of God until death, on the understanding that I am like a slave.”*⁴
He chose solidarity. He chose love. And he chose to become, in Christ, a servant of the servants.
In an age still scarred by oppression (whether loud or quiet, visible or hidden) what does such love look like now?
🕊️ A Prayer for Freedom and Mercy
God of the broken,
Father of all freedom,
You created each soul with dignity,
And breathe into every life the spirit of Your love.
Teach us the courage of Peter Claver—
To kneel where others pass by,
To speak peace where there is pain,
And to carry Your mercy where chains still cling.
Let us not condemn, but convert;
Not accuse, but accompany;
Not fear, but faithfully serve.
Let us become servants of the suffering,
That all may know the freedom of being Your beloved.
Amen.
📖 Reflection Prompts
- How am I called to “descend” into places of hidden suffering in my own life or community?
- What does it mean to serve others without judgment, only mercy?
- In what ways might I become a servant (not of sin or fear) but of compassion and hope?
