Cardinal Wilton Gregory commemorated Black History Month with a Feb. 28 Mass at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center’s St. Ursula Chapel in Hyattsville and a documentary screening. The event was organized by the Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. Concelebrants at the Mass included Washington Auxiliary Bishops Mario Dorsonville, Roy Edward Campbell Jr., Evelio Menjivar-Ayala and Juan Rafael Esposito-Garcia.
The gospel reading at the Mass was from the Gospel of Matthew when Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray the Our Father.
As he spoke to the archdiocesan staff in his homily, Cardinal Gregory said the gospel reading used a special word, babble. Babies, the cardinal said, babble as they learn how to speak.
“But soon that babbling takes form and begins to express in English, Spanish, Portuguese, or French the meaning that little ones want to say. It’s a wonderful contrast in today’s gospel that Matthew starts out by saying, ‘Now don't babble like babies,’ but he then gives us the prayer that is an adult prayer,” Cardinal Gregory said. “It's probably the prayer all of us learn first once we stop babbling…the Our Father. it’s an adult prayer, a serious prayer.”
“This is a prayer that gets the father’s attention. It's not babbling, it’s speaking from the heart,” Cardinal Gregory said.
Following the Mass was a lunch and screening in the Pastoral Center’s dining room of the documentary “A Place at the Table,” which follows the stories of six African American Catholics being considered for sainthood.
Cardinal Gregory gave an introduction to the film, thanking Wendi Williams and the rest of the Office of Cultural Diversity and Outreach before leading those gathered there in a prayer.
Williams, the executive director of that office, said the event stemmed from her office’s previous ‘coffee chat’ events. Following Williams was Bishop Campbell, who also serves as the president of the National Black Catholic Congress and as the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Largo.
“Outside, you have little chance of changing anything,” Bishop Campbell said. “In the history of this country there are people who never had a chance to have a place at the table.”
The bishop noted that the previous evening, his favorite television channel, the Smithsonian Channel, had a program about cowboys.
“How many of you knew that the first cowboys were Black?” Bishop Campbell said. “They were enslaved people who took care of the herds, and that’s where the name ‘cowboys’ came from. They herded cows, and so that they would know their place, they weren’t called ‘men’ they were called ‘boys’ and the name stuck.”
He continued to explain that it was not until Hollywood began depicting primarily white cowboys that they were perceived differently.
“To have a place at the table is to be recognized for what you can offer, what you have done, and what is the potential of what we can do together in this great country, (that) is the reason why we are doing this. The reason why we look at these six Black Catholics on the road to sainthood, because in their own way at the table in which they were denied, they still contributed by what they did,” Bishop Campbell said. “You and I can do the same, and you and I can be aware of those who need a place at the table, who need to be included so that all of us can travel together to and with our Lord who calls us to be with Him now and forever in heaven.”
The figures featured in the film, dubbed the ‘Holy Six,’ include Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Servant of God Mother Mary Lange, Venerable Sister Henriette Delille, Venerable Father Augustus Tolton, Servant of God Julia Greeley, and Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman.
The documentary featured interviews with many Black members of the clergy from across the country, who described their own experience with representation in the church, as well as giving background on each of the “Holy Six.” The film is available for streaming online. Bishop Dorsonville led the closing prayer after the portion of the film ended.
