February will be here soon. That month we are invited to take special time to remember Black History. For some people it is not so much about remembering, as it is about  learning for the first time. And, we do not honor the history of African Americans as if it is more important than the history of other races and ethnicities. No! We focus upon Black History because for so long that history was overlooked, misrepresented, and overtly suppressed. The history of a people who were enslaved, and then against whom there have been decades of discrimination and outright racism, needs to be learned and remembered. Then we can move forward, honestly, having admitted the good, the bad, and the neutral with regard to our history as a whole people.

As I cited in last week’s bulletin, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has written about the sin of racism and its on-going detrimental effects in our nation. In Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love – A Pastoral Letter on Racism (2018), the bishops offered some definitions that help us as Catholic Christians:

“Racism arises when—either consciously or unconsciously—a person holds that his or her own race or ethnicity is superior, and therefore judges persons of other races or ethnicities as inferior and unworthy of equal regard. When this conviction or attitude leads individuals or groups to exclude, ridicule, mistreat, or unjustly discriminate against persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity, it is sinful. Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love (Mt 22:39), (p.1).

In that one statement the bishops have helped us to name that which is racist, and they have done so by rooting the definition in the person of Christ and his call to love. It is a value of Christian faith that we recognize the other as brother and sister.

In our local community, and especially here at St. Willebrord, we can be leaders in bringing attention to the ways in which racist and discriminatory practices still exist. We will do well to learn about the lived experience of our brothers and sisters who sit in the same pews as we do. The bishops offer some examples of racist actions: All too often, Hispanics and African Americans, for example, face discrimination in hiring, housing, educational opportunities, and incarceration. (p. 4).

God forgives! Let us repent!

Peace, Fr. Andy