'You gotta do some fightin' for the Lord'

By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic

Photography: JIM DAVIS | FC

MIAMI GARDENS | Melora St. Fleur could be closer to God, she confessed. After the annual Black Catholic Revival program for 2023, she said she wanted to fix that.

“It was emotional, made me feel like I want to know more,” the law student at St. Thomas University said after the service on campus.

Score one of several points for the service, held Feb. 9, 2023 at the St. Anthony Chapel at STU. With gospel music, praise and worship, and spirited preaching, the service sparked enthusiasm in young Catholics as well as their elders.

The event was the last of three scheduled for the revival, held each year by the archdiocesanOffice of Black Catholics during Black History Month. The other two services were held Feb. 7 at Holy Redeemer Church in Miami and Feb. 8 at St. Helen Church, Lauderdale Lakes.

Symbols of black heritage dominated the chapel. Six large portraits of African American saints-in-waiting – including the Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Father Augustus Tolton and Sister Henriette DeLille – sat in places of honor in front of the sanctuary. Folds of kente cloth decorated the floor just in front of the altar.

Songs included the traditional spiritual Come and Go With Me and I'm on the Battlefield for my Lord, the gospel-style Order My Steps by Glenn Burleigh, and the more contemporaryCan't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus by Andraé Crouch.

Leading the revival was Father Sidney Speaks, pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Church in Marrero, Louisiana. A native of Baltimore, he has served in Texas and Washington, D.C. as well as Louisiana.

Crafting his sermon to fit the Lenten season – set to begin with Ash Wednesday on Feb. 22 this year – he preached in terms of doing battle, conquering sinful desires and getting closer to God.

“When you choose a side, the other side watches you,” Father Speaks told his 150 listeners. “When Lent comes, the devil is coming. When the battle is the Lord’s, you gotta do some fightin’.”

His gestures were as sweeping as his message. Deserting his pulpit, he began walking the aisles, raising a hand, waving his arms, even getting up close and personal with this or that congregant.

He reminded his listeners that as Christians, they belonged to God. “Your life is not your own. It was given to you by God. He is calling you to surrender to him.”

He criticized the popular attitude to “Do what you feel,” saying that natural impulses can pull people away from God.

“When you sinned, you enjoyed it,” he said, getting laughs. “The problem is, you got caught up in what felt good, not what is good. When you let God inside, he takes care of your outside.”

He often used himself as a negative example, with jokes about his weight and even about sexual temptation – and resisting it.

“There’s a lot of beautiful women in Miami,” Father Speaks said, to surprised laughs. “Anyone know that priests have urges? [But] just because you have an urge doesn't mean God wants you to activate it.”

He suggested that people read the scriptures at every opportunity, a measure made possible by downloading a cellphone Bible app. “You want God and you to be on the same page. The Bible is as necessary as your cellphone.”

The priest then leaned into the two dozen younger congregants, nudging them to consider vocations in the clergy. 

“Before we leave, can we pray for more people to say yes to God?” he said, fixing his gaze on a row of young adults.

He asked the men to tell God they would be “open to what you want – and if you want me to wear the black and white, to be a padre, then I will.”

He then asked a similar prayer from the young women about being nuns or religious sisters.

Having made his case, Father Speaks invited people to come up front, worship and offer any thoughts or feelings they may need to give up for Lent. Roughly half the congregation did so, some of them lifting hands, some bowing heads.

“Sometimes you have to feel like it hurts,” Father Speaks said. “Sometimes, Jesus has to cut something away because it’s been there for awhile. Let him know why you are at this altar, what you have to lay down.”

Many of the younger listeners were brought to the service by theology teacher David Masters, most of them from the university, others from neighboring Msgr. Edward Pace High School.

“A lot of them told me they'd been away from the Church, and they wanted to come back,” Masters said.

Father Speaks’ approach worked for Athennea Gnecco, a junior in political science at St. Thomas University. “I like how he was outgoing and had a sense of humor. He balanced the jokes with what he was teaching.”

Josh Francois, a senior at Pace High, said he enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere of the service itself.

“I liked the spiritual fellowship,” Francois said. “When you're at church, you're home. We’re all brothers and sisters.”

For his part, Father Speaks said he felt something of a renewal himself, just by taking part in the South Florida revival.

“I'm going back to New Orleans a better man,” he said.