World Rat Day and St Martin de Porres. By Dr. Chapman Chen

According to PETA, today (April 3) marks World Rat Day, a chance to honor rats as the affectionate, intelligent, and distinct individuals that they are. They laugh when gently tickled; they assist one another; they possess remarkable visual abilities; they are highly intelligent and capable of learning tricks; and they are devoted mothers.

Rats experience pain, fear, and happiness, just as humans do. Yet despite this, they remain among the animals most frequently used in outdated and cruel experiments.

In research laboratories, rats are often regarded as mere test subjects—kept in barren cages, exposed to painful procedures, and killed once they are no longer considered “useful.”

The same applies to mice. St Martin de Porres (1579-1639) from Peru had compassion for all animals regardless of their species. He lived with a dog, a cat, a bird and a mouse. He often fed them with the same bowl of soup.

"At the feet of St. Martin were a dog and a cat eating peacefully from the same bowl of soup. The friar was about to call the rest of the monks in to witness this marvelous sight when a mouse stuck its head out from a little hole in the wall. St. Martin without hesitation addressed the mouse as if he were an old friend. 'Don't be afraid, little one. If you're hungry come and eat with the others.' The little mouse hesitated but then scampered to the bowl of soup. The friar could not speak. At the feet of the servant St. Martin, a dog, a cat, and a mouse were eating from the same bowl of soup." (Laura Hobgood-Oster 2012:81)

St Martin de Porres (1579-1639) was born in Lima, Peru as the illegitimate son of a Spanish gentleman and a freed African slave woman. Abandoned by his father at a young age, he lived a life of poverty and was also ridiculed for being of mixed race. He lived a life of fasting, prayer and abstaining from meat and was only allowed to join a monastery (as a Dominican) by accepting the menial tasks. He grew famous for his humility, for caring for the sick, for performing miracles and for his love of animals and for being able to communicate with them and heal them.

This World Rat Day, please take a moment to learn more about such remarkable and clever creatures of God as rats and mice—and encourage others to show them the compassion and kindness they deserve.

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