Saint Peter Claver, pray for us

On September 9, I celebrated Mass on the feast of Saint Peter Claver. Along with my brother priests, I prayed:
God of mercy and love, you offer all peoples the dignity of sharing in your life.
By the example and prayers of St. Peter Claver, strengthen us to overcome all racial hatreds and love each other as brothers and sisters.
Saint Peter Claver was born in Spain in 1580. As a Jesuit priest, he heard the call to the missions. This call took him to Columbia, where many African people arrived in America as slaves. He literally spent his entire priestly ministry being a “servant of the African people.” In this ministry of love and service, St. Peter Claver was able to see the dignity of the human person beyond his skin color. He did not have the cataract of racism.
Sadly, on St. Peter Claver’s feast day, two Philadelphia men were arrested for burning a cross in front of a home of an interracial couple in their neighborhood. Their actions remind us that racism is still alive today. Let’s be clear about the Gospel and the teaching of the Church. Racism is a sin. We can- not call ourselves good Catholics and, at the same time, harbor racial hatred.
Recently, in his weekly column in this paper, Cardinal Justin Rigali reiterated the Church’s teaching on racism. His Eminence quoted from the U.S. Bishops’ pastoral letter on racism, ‘Brothers and Sisters to Us’.
Cardinal Rigali wrote, “Racism is a sin: a sin that divides the human family, blots out the image of God among specific members of that family, and violates the fundamental human dignity of those called to be children of the same Father.”
Let us ask our Lord to fix our eyes to see His image and likeness in each other, and ask Saint Peter Claver to pray for us.

Father Stephen D. Thorne is the Archdiocesan Director of the Office for Black Catholics.

Some upcoming events in the Black Catholic Community

Workshop on Liturgical Art & Environment
October 9, 10 a.m. — 2 p.m. Saint Peter Claver Center for Evangelization, 12th & Lombard Streets, Philadelphia

Pro-Life Presentations by Black Catholics
October 10, 11 a.m. — Saint Therese Church
October 17, 9 a.m. — Our Mother of Sorrows Church
11 a.m. — Saint Ignatius Church

Open Choir Rehearsals for St. Martin de Porres Mass
October 7, 14, 21, 28, 7 p.m.
Archdiocesan Office Center