Black Catholics: 'A beautiful gift to the Church'

By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic

LAUDERDALE LAKES | Pride and conscience blended at the closing Mass of Black Catholic History Month, shared by 250-300 people from at least 10 parishes.

Red shirts dotted the Nov. 30 Mass at St. Helen Church, their backs emblazoned with the spreading tree logo of the Office of Black Catholic Ministry (OCBM). The worshipers sang spirituals and gospel. They heard a challenging message from Msgr. Chanel Jeanty, archdiocesan chancellor for canonical affairs.

And perhaps just as important, they reconnected with one another.

"It did me a lot of good to get together with people from other Catholic churches," said Lenora Gardner of Visitation Church, Miami. "You meet a lot of new people."

November was designated Black Catholic History Month 23 years ago in the U.S., as a way to remember the dual heritage of African Americans in the Roman Catholic Church..

The Mass, held on the first Sunday in Advent, culminated the month-long celebration in the archdiocese. The other main events were a Mass Nov. 1 at Notre Dame d'Haiti, Miami, and an awards luncheon Nov. 8 at the Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort, Sunny Isles Beach.

Parishes represented at the St. Helen event includedBlessed Sacrament in Oakland Park, St. Bernard in Sunrise, and St. Malachy in Tamarac, and,St. Anthony and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, both in Fort Lauderdale.

Also attending were members of Miami-Dade parishes: Visitation, St. Philip Neri in Miami Gardens, Holy Redeemer in Miami, and St. Martha in Miami Shores.

Black music of several genres permeated the Mass, sung by soloists and an interchurch choir, and often by the congregants. They began with the Negro spiritual "Plenty Good Room," then sang parts of the "Mass of St. Cyprian" by Kenneth Louis, one of the most popular pieces for black Masses.

The choir also led a responsorial song based on Psalm 80, and the gospel-tinged "I Know Something About God's Grace" by Patrick Bradley. For the offertory, the song was "I Thank You Today" by Wilhelmina King of St. Anthony, who also led the choir.

"There has been no liberation movement without music," Riccardo Hinton, part of the black Catholic ministry team, said in his welcome speech. "We have moaned, hummed and sung with joy."

The music was the number one draw for Ron Francis, a member of St. Helen. "It's so uplifting. I could relate to my culture."

The congregation applauded a short address by Bishop Fernando Isern, a strong supporter of the ministry to black Catholics. Bishop Isern, retired bishop of Pueblo, Colo., says Mass on weekends at St. Helen. He also visits largely black parishes like Christ the King, Perrine, founded in 1958.

"I have witnessed the wonderful contribution that black Catholics have made," he said. "You are a beautiful gift to the Church."

Msgr. Jeanty's homily, however, was much harder-hitting than his pride-building sermon at Notre Dame d'Haiti. This time, he preached on the need for self-scrutiny and repentance.

"Oftentimes, we fail to look inside so that we may point out the wrong ways that we have used our freedoms," he said. "Refreshing and renewing can't keep happening unless we repent of our sins."

Among them, he said, are materialism and abortion. He cited a 2002 study by the Centers for Disease Control that found 35 percent of all abortions were performed on African American women, although they comprised only 12 percent of all American women � a toll of millions of unborn lives.

"What many years of slavery couldn't do, abortion is doing," the monsignor said. "Focusing on racism won't solve the problem. Focusing on sins of the past will not call us out of the sins of the present moment. Only when we look inside ourselves will we free ourselves.

"The Master is awaiting our commitment to our families, to our neighbors, so that we can bring them to the Kingdom of Heaven," he said.

Despite its tough tone, the sermon reaped applause.

"It was right to the point, left nothing unsaid," said Doris Brown-Hunt of Holy Redeemer Parish. "The truth will set us free, but you have to confront it."

Sam Lennox of St. Helen praised the black Mass for fostering religious unity. "I'm from Jamaica, and everyone there is not a black Catholic; they're just Catholic."

He was echoing the remarks of Father Lesly Jean, pastor at St. Helen. "The Office of Black Catholic Ministry is not about being black, it's about love. If you have love in your heart, you're a member of the black Catholic community."

During the Prayer of the Faithful, Riccardo Hinton read the names of several black saints, including Augustine, Monica and Martin de Porres. He also offered prayers for four black candidates for sainthood: Pierre Toussaint, Father Augustus Tolton, Mother Mary Lange and Mother Henriette DeLille.

In helping close the Mass, Katrenia Reeves-Jackman, director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministry, repeated the month's themes of Educate, Empower and Evangelize.

"We need to go out into the community and bring in our people, so that our legacy as black Catholics will continue. Because, after all, black Catholic history is every day of the year,” she said. “I know that in 20 or 30 years, it will still be a vital part here."