An Easter Challenge to BE the Body of Christ

The past couple of years have been unlike any other. Many of us have been feeling like we have been in a perpetual Good Friday moment between economic uncertainty, pandemic-related issues, and the racial unrest that followed George Floyd’s murder. I want to take a moment to focus on the latter. 

The USCCB refers to racism as “America’s Original Sin.” This sin is one of the main issues that has prevented us from really being ONE BODY OF CHRIST as a Church. This sin has demeaned and caused great harm to large groups of people, including those faithful Catholics of color. Many times, this sin has reared its ugly head within the Church as well, harming many, and has turned many away from the faith.

These are some of the requests I continue to receive through my ministry:

“Can you come to speak to my youth ministers about racism?”

“Can you come do a workshop on diversity for our faculty and staff?”

“How can we talk to our youth and young adults about racism?”

“Can you put together a list of anti-racism resources that we can share on our website and with the members of our organization?”

“Can you help our diocese develop a diversity training program for our deacons?”

These are just some of the questions I’ve been asked over the past 20-plus years of my full-time ministry work.

These requests have come more often since the murder of George Floyd and the racial reckoning that has been facing the world, and specifically the United States of America, since then.

Catholicism is no stranger to racism. Even though there have been countless documents, prayer services, book clubs, discussions, town halls, and other events concerned with cleansing us of this original sin, it is still prevalent in our society and within our Church.

Thus, in response to the requests I have received, I wanted to create a resource for our Church to have these discussions. It comes in the form of a book, “Leveling the Praying Field: Can the Church We Love, Love Us Back?”.

In it, I share some of my own experiences with our Church while also giving various discussion questions at the end of each chapter so that readers (individuals, groups, or classes) can go deeper into the discussion.

The book is for all ages, but there was a specific focus to create a resource for catechists, theology/religion teachers, and campus ministers to use for their ministry with young people. This book is also a companion to the Emmy-nominated “Black Faith Matters” video series I participated in.

Ultimately, three years of work went into writing this material, and I was blessed to include personal reflections from two of my friends and mentors: Fr. Bryan Massingale of Fordham University wrote the foreword, and New Orleans' auxiliary bishop Fernand Cheri III, OFM wrote the afterword.

I have witnessed the sacrifice that these two men have given to remain authentically Black and Catholic in a world that tries to deny the dignity of both. My hope is that this book continues their work.

Hopefully it will also help us, as a society and Church, move from asking questions about how to address racism to taking effective action against America’s Original Sin. Action that will create a better world for future generations as we truly level the praying field.

This Easter Season, let us continue to evaluate how we, as a Church family, can see where there are gaps in our parishes, schools, diocese, and nation so that we can heal, mend, and come together as ONE body of Christ united in the love our savior modeled in his death and his resurrection for ALL of his children.

Leveling the Praying Field: Can the Church We Love, Love Us Back?” was released in February 2022 by Orbis Books. Group orders can be placed by calling the publisher at 1-800-258-5838.

Written by the Holy Rukus