HOW CARDINAL GREGORY HOMILY CELEBRATING BLACK CATHOLIC HISTORY MONTH, TODAY'S YOUNG PEOPLE NEED MENTORS! (1874 hits)
For Immediate Release From Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, DC!
Today’s young people need mentors, cardinal emphasizes at Black Catholic History Month Mass
Youth today, especially Black youth, “desperately need” the guidance and living example of solid role models, Cardinal Wilton Gregory said in a Nov. 4 homily at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Southeast Washington at a Mass commemorating Black Catholic History Month.
“I am not speaking of another long list of sports figures, movie, or recording artists,” Cardinal Gregory said. “I am not even speaking simply of public religious models, like priests, sisters, deacons or even bishops.” The cardinal said young people have a serious need for men and women of faith and integrity, including fathers, mothers and grandparents, to offer “those life lessons that so many young people seem to have forgotten – or perhaps never even actually learned.”
The cardinal’s homily fed off the Gospel reading from Matthew 23:1-12 for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, which includes Jesus’ admonition, “Call no one on earth your father.” “Today’s Gospel passage reminds us that a title, any religious title, is less important than the example of the one who may carry it in public,” he said.
“Jesus was particularly stern in demanding that people in leadership not only possess the trappings of position, but we must also live in such a way that is consistent with our authority. He was not merely speaking about Jewish leadership two millennia ago. Jesus speaks to all of his disciples in each age and in every land,” the cardinal said.
Cardinal Gregory continued, “His stern warning is not limited to the example of Scribes and Pharisees of first-century Palestine,” but to all who may be tempted to Pharisee-like behavior today.
There is a “dearth” of role models, “especially for young African American people who have too many social obstacles to overcome,” he added. “It is a sad commentary on our society when vulgar rap artists, violent domestic abusers, drug-addicted sports figures, corrupt politicians, and our own clergy accused of scandalous behavior are the public figures that have so captured public attention.”
“It’s sadder still,” he added, “to think that some of our young people are tempted to believe that such conduct ought to be emulated.”
