Peter Claver led an extraordinary life as a missionary among Africans who had been shipped in their thousands from Western Africa to Latin America. He worked in the port city of Cartagena which is now in Colombia. It is difficult for us to contemplate the terrible sufferings of these people but Peter wore himself out trying to make their lives even a little more comfortable while also bringing them the comforting message of Jesus Christ and baptising them into the Christian family. The Gospel is a version of the Beatitudes which we find in Luke. The blessings apply so well to the work that Peter did for the slaves, filling their hunger - physical hunger, spiritual hunger, and drying their tears and bringing a modicum of joy into their miserable lives. But there are warnings also for all those who became rich and led comfortable lives based on their trading in other human beings. And even if we cannot literally follow in Peter's footsteps, let us never forget those who suffer pain and want while we enjoy the good things of life.