Black History Month |
Homilist Cites Black Saints in the History of the Church
By Marie Elena Giossi
Living faith born of hard-fought victories and expressed through vibrant prayer, singing and dancing are the gifts black Catholics brought in abundance to Sacred Heart Church, Cambria Heights, as hundreds gathered for the annual diocesan Black History Month Mass of thanksgiving on Sunday afternoon, Feb.  14.
“Bringing Our Gifts Into the Church” was the theme of the three-hour celebration, sponsored by the diocesan Vicariate of Black Catholic Concerns. Haitian-born Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq, pastor of St. Gregory the Great, Crown Heights, was the main celebrant, and Father Bryan Patterson, Sacred Heart’s pastor, preached the homily. For the opening hymn, the Vicariate Mass Choir and Sacred Heart’s Gospel and Haitian choirs offered an enthusiastic rendition of “We’ve Come This Far By Faith.” Banners from various groups within the vicariate led the procession down the center aisle followed by priests, deacons, seminarians and altar servers. The faithful clapped and sang in the main worship space and galleries overlooking the altar. Colorful patterned cloths hung from the galleries and covered the altar table. A placard featuring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President Barack Obama, Malcolm X and the words “Peace, Power, Respect” was displayed in front of the altar.
Vicariate Coordinator Father Caleb Buchanan, administrator of St. Gregory the Great, energetically took  the pulpit and called the congregation to worship. Before beginning the Liturgy of the Word, he invited the faithful to rejoice in their future by watching young liturgical and praise dancers from Our Lady of Charity, Brownsville, and St. Bonaventure-St. Benedict, Jamaica, dance “as David danced before the Lord.” The congregation then listened to the story of the African peoples’ journey from Mother Africa to new homes throughout the world, with a special salute to Haiti.
As they prayed for lost loved ones and survivors of the Haitian earthquake, Bishop Sansaricq acknowledged the presence of the late Port-au-Prince Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot’s sister at Mass. Pictures of the archbishop were displayed before the altar, near a basket where members of the congregation then placed seven loaves of bread and seven containers of water as a sign of unwavering faith and trust in God.
Whether their parents and grandparents came to the U.S. from the Caribbean or Canada, Latin America, England, Italy or France, Father Patterson reminded the faithful in his homily that “all of us came from Africa. Some left home earlier than others.”He spoke about the origin of the national observance of Black History Month, which began with the establishment of Negro History Week in 1926 and expanded to a month-long commemoration during the country’s bicentennial celebration of 1976. He explained that Black History Month is not just an opportunity for people of African descent to recall their “history of struggle, history of achievement,” but a time for all Americans to reflect upon how a people once enslaved and oppressed have now risen to the highest levels of success.
While the achievements of George Washington Carver, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks are often highlighted during this month, Father Patterson chose to focus on three notable figures of African descent, who, though lesser known in the eyes of the world, are models of Catholic faith – Sts. Moses the Black, Martin de Porres and Josephine Bakhita.
He spoke of their struggles and the unifying thread in each of their lives: they were people “in a bad way ... who were told ‘No, you can’t,’ but they did everyday” because they had faith.
“Everybody gets to that point where things get too hard,” he said. Even the saints had those days, he said. But no matter how bad it was, they held onto their faith.
“By having faith they were able to respond to God’s grace. ... Blessed are you when it’s hard and seems impossible. Thank God and say ‘Yes’ because now you will be able to see the power of God. Faith is the ability to respond to grace. You can’t do it yourself, that’s why Jesus did it for us,” he told the crowd.
Pointing to their roots of faith, the fortitude of their ancestors and saintly models they have to follow, he challenged the congregation “to get up and get moving.” He asked when there will be more black saints, more black priests to follow the footsteps of Bishop Sansaricq and more advancements among the African diaspora.
In the face of obstacles, trials and uncertainty, he told the faithful they could choose to back away or push forward in the spirit of Moses the Black, Martin de Porres and Josephine Bakhita. “It’s up to you to respond to grace,” he said.
 Petitions offered in Creole, Spanish, Ibo, Nigerian and Ghanaian languages were followed by the recitation of the Prayer for the African-American Family. Items reflecting the culture and liturgical practices of black Catholics were among the offertory gifts.
“It was wonderful, spiritual, exciting. It was very uplifting for me,” shared Reggie Previl, Sacred Heart parishioner, who attended Mass with his wife Oreatte, and their five children, four of whom shared their gifts as altar servers or greeters for the Mass.
“Mass was great. I really enjoyed listening to the history presented and it gave the children a true understanding of their worth and the impact people of the African diaspora have made,” Oreatte said. “The call for more black priests was on target. We need more people from our community to come forward and minister to our community,” she added. |
|
|
|
Menu
-------------------------
|
