Monday of the Second
Week in Ordinary Time
Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. Hebrews 5:1-3
“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.” Mark 2:19-20
Piety
“But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your 20 million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your 6-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a 5-year-old son asking in agonizing pathos, “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading “white” and “colored”; when your first name becomes “nigger,” your middle name becomes “boy” (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John,” and your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”; then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.
“The Negro is Your Brother (The Letter from a Birmingham Jail)” by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., April 16, 1963
Study
Yesterday, Fr. Paul Keller, CMF, a Catholic priest and Claretian Missionary, posted this question on his social media page:
It was hardly a ripple from a pebble tossed into the Atlantic Ocean in the scheme of viral postings. But think about that question juxtaposed with Christ’s query from two thousand years ago and Martin Luther King’s message about racial attitudes 60 years ago.
Our bridegroom is long gone from being among us physically, yet his Holy Spirit remains – reminding us of his probing questions and how we should consider our response in the context of our times.
Action
If our faith does not challenge us to grow and leave our comfort zones, what's the point?
Today on the National Day of Service, marking what would have been the 92nd birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., many people will watch, listen or read from his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. However, some people do not that the essential message of his life. Some might contend his Nobel Peace Prize speech in Oslo could be counted among his most powerful messages. Others might nominate his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail (quoted above). They all have in common a call to equality confronting racism.
In 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was behind bars in Alabama due to his continuing crusade for civil rights. While there, he was the subject of criticism by eight white clergymen, who called his protests and demonstrations “unwise and untimely.” In response, King wrote a letter from Birmingham City Jail, noting, “I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, ‘Wait.’ ”[i]
In 1967, a year before his assassination, Dr. King spoke with NBC News reporter Sander Vanocur at the Ebenezer Baptist Church about the “new phase” of the struggle for “genuine equality.” He said, “There must be a revolution of values in our country.”
Catholic church teaching about the solidarity of all people in the image of God is in explicit agreement. If we are all made in the image and likeness of God, there is no doubt that racism is sinful.
As a reminder, the Dominican Sisters of Peace offer this yard sign. (PeaceOP is the order which merged with our friends Sister Agnes and Sister Mary Lou, who used to run the retreat house in McLean, VA).
In addition to any service you do for your community today, why not head over to their website and pick up a few: one for your front yard, one for your parish, and even offer one to your bishop. While there, drop Sister Agnes a note via the contact us button.
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