Describing Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as someone who “followed in the footsteps of Christ and calls us to do the same,” Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy Campbell Jr. honored the life of the slain civil rights leader during a Jan. 22 Mass at St. Thomas More Church in Washington, D.C. 

“Today we celebrate the treasure of the gifts that Dr. King left us in his legacy,” Bishop Campbell said. 

The bishop said that as St. Paul made clear, gifts and power both come from God. “We carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus so that in our bodies the life of Jesus Christ may also be revealed. This is the message, the action, and the very being of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This is what we remember. This is what we love. This is what we honor at the memorial Mass,” he said.

Serving as the main celebrant and homilist at The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington’s annual Mass celebrating Dr. King’s life and legacy, Bishop Campbell noted that God-given talents must be shared with one another. He recounted the Gospel story of Jesus returning home to Nazareth to begin his mission – proclaiming freedom, setting captives free and restoring sight to the blind. Jesus was there to “proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord – words that should inspire us to use our God-given gifts to help others because we are in the one Body of Christ,” Bishop Campbell said. 

The bishop noted that soon many of Jesus’s own neighbors grew upset and envious that this son of a carpenter – whom they thought they knew so well – presented Himself as the fulfillment of God’s Word. Dr. King also experienced this type of jealousy when a majority of the country’s white population disagreed with his approach and a quarter of the Black population at the time felt King should be even more confrontational, Bishop Campbell said. 

“Dr. King waged a nonviolent protest against his nation, the United States of America, for constantly kicking aside his and all Black people’s equality, human dignity and (value) as integral members of the United States,” Bishop Campbell said. “And that was from slavery to Jim Crow laws in the South to the discrimination that is everywhere today.”

The civil rights leader did not speak for only Black people, the bishop continued, but “all minority people marginalized by the color of their skin, their social or economic status of their lives – and all of this through the sin of racism.” The theme of Dr. King’s work, his speeches, his marches, his writings, was “injustice and what all Americans must do to overcome it,” the bishop said.

Dr. King knew “it would take more…to achieve the equality that Black and other minority people deserve. That is why he worked to elevate people from poverty through education. He knew it was education that would give all a chance to achieve and be equal to others,” Bishop Campbell added.

After the homily, intentions were offered for the country to be united in building a society in which everyone can have the opportunity to live with dignity.  Prayers were also offered for government officials to lead with courage and wisdom reflecting the Church’s teaching that the moral test of society is how the weak are treated. Additionally, the participants prayed to be inspired by King’s work for equality and remembered all who died – especially those martyred in the struggle of civil and human rights.

The annual Mass was sponsored by the archdiocese’s Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the archdiocese livestreamed the Mass and limited seating within the church. However, this year’s celebration welcomed the return of live music provided by members of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington Gospel Choir under the direction of Lynné Gray and Henry Herrera. Each year the celebration coincides with the federal holiday honoring Dr. King that is observed on the third Monday of January. 

Concelebrants of the annual Mass included Father Raymond Moore, pastor of St. Thomas More Parish and Father Robert Boxie III, the Catholic chaplain at Howard University, assisted by Deacon Kyle Simon, a permanent deacon assigned to St. Joseph Parish in Largo where Bishop Campbell serves as pastor. Describing the Mass as a “huge celebration of the life, the love and the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” Father Moore noted that “the struggles continue. There are forces that work against equal rights, civil rights and social justice.” The pastor urged everyone “to continue the vision, the work of Martin Luther King Jr. to make the world better.”

Patricia Baker-Simon, who accompanied her husband Deacon Simon to the Mass, said Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy “is just so important to this country. The fact that the archdiocese does this annual tribute speaks to the importance of his mission and ministry.” She also noted the prevalence of racism today. “This Mass is so appropriate and even more relevant at this time – as the Church is coming to grips with and attacking the rootedness of racism, a rootedness which left unaddressed, will never be overcome,” she added.

Lectors at the Mass included two students from St. Thomas More School. Third grade student Terral Lewis said he felt “honored” to participate in the celebration. Lewis said King “made sure everybody had justice and equal rights – not just one single race.” His mother Amber Lewis said it was very important to keep the memory and legacy of King alive for all generations “so it’s not lost. When history isn’t taught, it’s lost.” 

During his homily, Bishop Campbell quoted extensively from King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail and the historic “I Have a Dream” speech that the civil rights leader delivered at the March on Washington in August 1963.

Victor Lugo, a first-year student at Howard University said he attended the Mass to “praise God with my university chaplain,” Father Boxie. For Lugo, Martin Luther King Jr. “was fighting to make America a better place. We need to pray because his work is not yet completed,” Lugo added.

Howard University student Adanna Okafor agreed, saying King’s “legacy is very important to Black Americans” and adding that the Mass celebrating King’s legacy reminds everyone “to honor his hard work for justice – and to know how to serve his community in ways that are beyond him.”

Wendi Williams, the executive director of the archdiocese’s Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach, said, “The legacy of Martin Luther King is worthy of celebrating, continuing, and cherishing. His work and vision have saved lives, changed lives and is worthy.” She said for many young people, King’s life and work is almost “mythical -- but the relevance and recentness of Dr. Martin Luther King’s life lives in us now – it’s current and so important today.”

The office plans a month-long celebration for Black History Month with a kick-off Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral on Sunday Feb. 6 at 11 a.m.