HOW CARDINAL GREGORY CELEBRATED NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC CONGRESS IN WASHINGTON, DC! (1794 hits)
For Immediate Release From Catholic Standard!
At African National Eucharistic Congress, Cardinal Gregory calls Eucharist ‘an incredible gift’ and ‘path to unity’
Calling the Eucharist “an incredible gift that the Lord has given us,” Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory said July 22 that the Most Blessed Sacrament unites all Catholics “no matter our language, liturgical style, or cultural expressions.”
“The path of unity is what Christ calls us to in the Eucharist. We celebrate the Eucharist being our very answer and reason to come together in our charisms and vocations,” Cardinal Gregory said. “In the Eucharist, we respond to Christ’s invitation to us to be one with Him in receiving Holy Communion.”
The cardinal made his remarks while delivering the keynote address at the fourth African National Eucharistic Congress taking place July 21-23 on the campus of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Nearly 500 people - whom the cardinal referred to as “my dearest brothers and sisters in the Lord” -attended the talk, which was the official opening of the congress.
“Jesus lovingly draws us to the sacred table and reminds us each time we receive the Eucharist at Mass … that He is with us. We are not alone. What a comforting reminder that we all need,” Cardinal Gregory said. He added that the Eucharist gives the faithful “the power to resist worldly voices that aim to seduce us with temptations that divide us.”
Cardinal Gregory told the African National Eucharistic Congress participants that “it is in receiving Christ’s Body and Blood that we are remade into His image and likeness and partake in His divine nature. This Eucharistic encounter is what unites us and is for all. It is when we receive the Eucharist that we are nourished and strengthened.”
“With the Eucharist at the center of our lives, we find the source of revitalized energy to give the gift of our time and ourselves to one another with much-needed patience. This is the path to unity and peace that we crave,” he said. “The Eucharist at the center of our lives will open our hearts to God’s transformative, healing love to be shared with all of our brothers and sisters who need us.”
The cardinal encouraged the congress participants to “focus on the living Lord whose real presence changes us, our relationships, and our perspective for the better. We must prioritize the Eucharist – sitting often in silent prayer in Adoration before the Lord who gives us the Gift of Himself in the Eucharist.”
He said that by focusing their lives on the Eucharist, the faithful “essentially agree to respond to our world in charitable ways that will bring about necessary just changes in every nation and among all peoples.”
“The Eucharist is not only for us who receive it – it is to be shared, and therefore, received by those who have yet to know the risen Christ in any way,” the cardinal said. “We are to be modern-day prophets participating in bringing the healing power of Christ to our society and especially to those who are often pushed aside to the peripheries.”
Referring to the Congress’s theme, “That They May All Be One,” Cardinal Gregory said the theme is “particularly relevant to our modern-day lives, as our society and world face numerous armed conflicts and so many types of violence, racism, and a general lack of civility in every aspect of living.”
“Christ calls us – He demands – that we, as His followers, His believers, and His disciples, be one,” Cardinal Gregory said. “We are to be united in order to love and serve Him in bringing about the kingdom of God here on Earth. We are to remember that Christ is our unity – the way, the truth and our life.”
The African National Eucharistic Congress was organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, the National Association of African Catholics in the United States and the African Conference of Catholic Clergy and Religious in the United States.
(The following is the text of the homily given by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, on July 21, 2023 at the opening Mass for Congress XIII of the National Black Catholic Congress, held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.)
Visionaries are important people for every culture. They are the ones who are able to see and to discover unimagined possibilities. They are those who offer people hope. They are the lead agents for change. We all need visionaries and fortunately, we Black Catholics have many such visionaries in our heritage to follow and to honor.
One of the late Father Clarence Rivers’ frequent admonitions was “without a vision, the people perish.” It is the citation on his funeral commemorative card. Clarence, the first African-American Cincinnati diocesan priest, was a tremendously gifted man with an artistic vision and great musical talent. When I first returned from Rome, he called me at Mundelein Seminary. He said, “You have the degree, but I have the talent.” He is but one of those Black Catholics whose legacy and memory should remain a source of hope and courage for the current generation. In many respects, Clarence was the father of African-American liturgical inculturation.
There are now six Black candidates for sainthood who have offered us incredible visions and who led exemplary lives of holiness and hope. As these women and men continue down the passageway toward official sainthood, we rightfully ought to take special pride in the gifts and in the spiritual examples that they bestowed upon our entire Church. Their progress in the sainthood trek must inspire us all to follow their courageous examples as we all learn more about their extraordinary routes to holiness under conditions that were as challenging as any that we now face – if not more so.
God chooses women and men to do astonishing things in every age. He saves each of us in unusual ways like through a sacred meal that we continue to adhere to following specific instructions and patterns as He did for our Hebrew forebears who were then held as captives in Egypt. He fed them before He freed them. So dramatic was their escape from slavery, that even today, our Jewish sisters and brothers painstakingly rehearse the telling of that freedom episode annually so that every generation will participate in this liberation event throughout the ages. This commemorative meal of deliverance is a lesson that must never be forgotten.
We all glimpse more hopefully at tomorrow when we call to mind the great events of yesterday – the heroes and the heroines from the past who assure us that eventually we will overcome. It is our solemn responsibility to pass on that liberating vision to the generations to come as do our Hebrew brothers and sisters annually reminding their children – even today of their passage from pharoah’s bondage to freedom. Our own young people so desperately need a well-honed faith vision to pierce through the haze of hatred and violence that too often disrupts our world and may, in fact, dishearten them.
There is perhaps no more important contemporary visionary for people of color than that of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He spoke so boldly of his vision – the dream – that he offered to all men and women in this very city. Dr. King has been referred to as our nation’s only modern-day founding father, so vital was his vision for this country and indeed for the entire world. His vision challenges everyone in the United States to dream of a better world, a more perfect union, and a society truly free from hatred and fear. Like most visionaries, Dr. King eventually paid the ultimate price for his dream. Visionaries often must endure the ridicule, the skeptical glance, and the violent response of those who may be frightened by a dream or a vision that might urge people to change.
Jesus Himself was the revelation of freedom sent by the Father. He chose disciples – ordinary men and women – and entrusted that life-changing vision to them. We are the Church that has been entrusted with the redemptive vision of the Lord. We are, in so many ways, Jesus’ vision of a people called into holiness. Sometimes that vision can be frightening. Sometimes it can be daunting. But it is always the treasure that we must share with all men and women.
Pope Francis wrote an encyclical that focuses on Jesus’ vision of universal harmony and friendship – Fratelli Tutti. He beckons all people to see one another through the eyes of a deep familial unity. Like Dr. King, and those holy men and women of color making their way through the labyrinth process of canonization, we are invited into a genuine friendship with God and deeper unity among ourselves and all other people.
The Holy Father has taken the prophetic admonition of Habakkuk to heart, and Pope Francis has written a vision of human unity and solidarity for our entire world to consider and to adopt. He serves as a visionary for human solidarity, and he invites all of humanity to share that vision that will bring true healing and lasting peace to our worldwide family. May we all accept the challenge of following that vision into a more peaceful tomorrow. And let it begin today. Amen.
Yesterday, Cardinal Gregory celebrated the opening Mass for Congress XIII of the National Black Catholic Congress.
