Lent 2021 Open Wide Our Hearts Blog

What Next? Moving Toward Easter

Since the peaceful protests and racial riots in June the concern for those who suffer from racism continues to grow.  This Lenten Season we have explored realities, and contemplated the sin of racism in our world, in our community, in the past and in the present, and even in our own hearts.

Lent for us has been like Jesus in the desert, a time of mental and spiritual preparation.  As Jesus emerges from the desert, and we emerge from Lent, it is important to remember our time of exploration and contemplation changes us from the inside out.  Just like Jesus was strengthened by His fasting in the desert, so too are we strengthened in our commitment to love our neighbors. After the desert, Jesus went out and ministered for years to those who were on the margins of life. Jesus healed the sick and touched the lepers. His work of loving every person both became both the model of how we are called to live our lives, and it was threatening to those in power. In the end love did not win, or did it? Jesus’ death was never the end; we are an Easter people.

As we enter into the Easter season, we are called upon to reflect on all that we have gained in our Lenten experiences, how our hearts were changed, and what Jesus calls us to do for our neighbor.

During the Easter season we will be offering opportunities to contemplate further and to begin to identify what can “I” do.  Remember the disciples after Jesus ascends into heaven? At first they locked themselves in a room, but through prayer and the Holy Spirit they were strengthened to go out and share the Good News! So what is your next step on this journey?

Three ways to continue your journey:

Our local AMOS group will be offering “House Meetings” to begin to explore the question of what do we do now, the hope is that this conversation can inspire individual and group action.

Several of our Peace and Justice committee members are ready to delve deeper into study with those are ready , and desire to learn more. Books studies will be offered

Finally, we will be providing you with several resources and local groups that would welcome you in taking the next step that is right for you.

Open Wide Our Hearts - Diocese of Green Bay virtual exhibit

Closing Examen:

This is our final day of Lent. Tomorrow begins the Triduum. Thank you for  accompanying us. As we end this stage of our journey, we invite you into the practice of EXAMEN, in prayer in which you are invited to return to a previous prayer period in order to become more attentive to the movements of God in our heart. To help guide this time of examen, you are invited to revisit resources from all of Lent.

Use the following questions as a guide.  

It is common that when we read, watch, or listen to new content, we are intellectually engaged but don’t always make a heart connection. Take time to reflect on how the content you’ve explored this Lent may have moved your heart and spirit. 

 As you look back over the week, which day(s) produced a strong emotion or left you wanting to explore more? 

· Was there a resource you read or watched but didn’t have time to unpack or process? Take some time to do that today. 

· Have a conversation with God about your Lent. Where did you experience interior freedom or a lack thereof as you learned about anti-racism?

Share with God what engaged you this Lent as you continue on the journey towards anti-racism. Share any frustrations or fears with God that you’ve experienced. 

FAMILIES:  The above examen works with children, too; reword as necessary.

 Sin to Overcome Racism (USCCB)  

We ask for your help in obtaining from your Son the grace we need to overcome the evil of racism and to build a just society.

We ask for your help in following your Son, so that prejudice and animosity will no longer infect our minds or hearts but will be replaced with a love that respects the dignity of each person.   

Mary, friend and mother to all, through your Son, God has found a way to unite himself to every human being, called to be one people, sisters and brothers to each other.

We ask for your help in calling on your Son, seeking forgiveness for the times when we have failed to love   and respect one another.  

Mother of the Church, the Spirit of your Son Jesus warms our hearts: pray for us. Amen.

Today’s Topic: the Catholic Church & Racism

 Option #1:  Read & reflect: In 1965, six Catholic nuns from across the country answered MLK Jr.’s call to join the voting rights marches in Selma, AL. They only walked with the march one block before stopped by Alabama troopers and a  sheriff’s posse, but it left a lasting impression.

Ebo, the African-American nun who marched, was surrounded by people who  remembered her role in the march at the 50th anniversary. She was asked ‘Sister, how does it feel to be in this place, in this moment, 50 years later knowing that all that you did  … helped to make this country more humane, more just and more free?”  She looked at him, shook her head and responded: “We have so much more to do.”    (St. Louis Post-Dispatch article)

 What had you previously seen of Catholics standing up for racial justice?

How do you react the knowledge of our history of social activism in many areas, including anti-racism and civil liberties, anti-abortion, social justice, anti-poverty, etc.?

 Option #2:  Read & Reflect:   “You [can] come to our [Black Catholic] churches you’ll see the kente cloth, the music, the images of Joseph, Mary, Jesus, that look like the people in the pews. All this is to let us know who we are and whose we are as children of God and that we are part of the Catholic family.”                                                                                                         Dr. Ansel Augustine,

Black Faith Matters is a short film documentary  (17 min) made to help shed light on "one story" of the Black Catholic experience. An experience unknown to many in our church. An experience that, although unique, is relatable to the Black  Catholic experience throughout America. This film hopes to bring out the joy, pain and struggles that are faced in the Black Catholic community, specifically in the Treme area of New Orleans. (find the link on today’s blog)

 Families:  Create a prayer space (ex. candle, cross, etc.) then pray as a family. 

Loving Father,

Thank you for creating all the children of the world, who live in many lands, have many traditions, and speak many languages.

Help me know that you made each of your children unique and you love each of them. Help me to be a friend to children who are different from me, for we are all part of your family! Amen

Additional Resources:

Remembering a 'Sister of Selma:' by Erin Heffernen, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Black Catholics: Words are not enough by VOA News

Bishop Wilton Gregory (America’s first black bishop) opens up about racism (video) by Today show

Asian Bishop is a first for San Francisco and the nation (from 2002) by SFGate

The only active Vietnamese-American Bishop wants to help bring diversity to the Church (from 2017) by NBC News

Archbishop Patrick Flores, first Hispanic bishop in US, dies (from 2017) by National Catholic Reporter

Today’s Topic: The Catholic Church & Slavery

 Although papal bulls and documents dating back to the 1500s exist officially condemning slavery, many Catholic individuals and organizations (including the Jesuits who founded and ran Georgetown University) owned slaves. This does not mean the Catholic Church condoned slavery, but it does mean we, like the rest of the human race, have a troubled past of which we need to be aware and strive to do and be better.

 Option #1:  Read this quote & reflect: “An increasing number of Catholic orders with roots in the pre–Civil War United States have begun to take concrete steps to confront and atone for their complicity and agency in the history of chattel slavery. “   Dr. Shannen Dee Williams

Were you aware of the history of slave-owning by Catholic institutions and families in the US before this?

How does this knowledge affect you?

Option #2:  Read the following excerpt from the article ‘Let My People Go: The Catholic Church and Slavery’ (full article link here)

“Pope Paul III applied the same principle to the newly encountered inhabitants of the West and South Indies in the bull Sublimis Deus (1537). Therein he described the enslavers as allies of the devil and declared attempts to justify such slavery null and void. Accompanying the bull was another document, Pastorale Officium, which attached an excommunication remittable only by the pope himself for those who attempted to enslave the Indians or steal their goods. “  

We all know Catholics (looking in the mirror at myself) who do not follow all teachings of Scripture and the Catholic Church. But that does not mean the official stance of the Catholic Church changes or endorses my behavior. I need to look inside myself and pray for conversion of heart accordingly.

• Racism, negative implicit bias, prejudice, & stereotypes are all things that cause us to make judgements about people that aren’t based in fact. Where is an area in yourself you can identify might need a little further examination and “work”?

 Families:  Have you ever seen a picture of Jesus or Mary where they looked Middle Eastern? There are images of Jesus appearing Korean or Japanese and Mother Mary appearing black or Mexican.  These images help Catholics around the world see ourselves in Jesus and to see Mary as our mother, too. 

Jesus Around the World (pinterest board) collection by Yvonne Prignon

International Images of the Blessed Mother (pinterest board) collection by Theresa Squire

  Which images stood out to you?  Why?

. Additional Resources:

Religious Orders owning slaves isn’t new - black Catholics have emphasized this for years by Shannen Dee Williams

 The History of Black Catholics in America by Smithsonian Magazine. The Black Catholic Movement reinvigorated the church, with liturgical innovation, new preaching styles and activist scholarship

What can Catholics do to overcome racism? by Ascension Presents. Fr. Mark-Mary asks Fr. Pierre Toussaint about his experience of racism and division in the Church. And Fr. Mark-Mary listens.

How should we talk with children about slavery? by Rebekah Gienapp

Sixth Sunday of Lent -- Palm Sunday

In our Church’s, and even in our nation’s, recent reflections on racism, there’s so many chances to look at those around us, to scream and shout, to point fingers, to judge who must be ostracized or crucified, or to utter that ultimate condemnation of “racist.”

For a society that often looks back upon the medieval Church with scorn for its willingness to judge someone as excommunicate, it sure isn’t shy of doing it itself. After all, why work to reconcile, to reform our hearts and to draw and invite others to do the same, when its so much easier to take this group of people and label them “good” and take this other group of people and label them “bad”? Who are the elect, who need no saving, and who are the damned, beyond power of redemption? But are there “bad people” who can accidentally stumble into some area of moral rectitude? Or are there “good people” who are strong on all counts…except one or two?

As a thought experiment, I offer you what we encounter in today’s readings: The people of Jerusalem, the crowd who, without discourse or reason, only screaming, shouted again and again, “Crucify him!” is undistinguished from crowd who days earlier shouted of the same Man, “Hosanna! Blessed is He!” It was the same populous, whom the chief priests feared would rise up in civil unrest if they moved to arrest Jesus, that Pilot also feared would rise up in revolt if he did not condemn the same Man to a horrific death.

Was it the authorities or government, rather than the common man, more guilty or responsible for this injustice? By the crowd’s shouting, clearly not and yet the ones entrusted with the ordering of society failed just as much in their condemnation of the only truly innocent Man to ever be.

Perhaps we can lay our moral distinction of “good people” and “bad people” between the poor of the city and the wealthy? Sorry to disappoint any large-bearded German political theorists, but no such distinction is tenable: some of the most destitute, with nothing to left to lose, those poor criminals crucified at Christ’s sides, hardly had a moral high ground as they continually abused the one who loved them most, while it was a wealthy man of the city, who gave much and risked all to insure that an innocent Man might at least have a decent burial.

In our attempts to determine who is “good” and who is “bad,” we can sit around, echoing the apostles at the Last Supper, asking or stating, “Surely, it is not I?” as if Jesus had said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you is a racist,” instead of “one of you will betray me.” Yes, one of them would indeed betray Him, but who of those apostles had remained by their master’s side by the time that night was through?

In these Scriptures, we can see how our modern, moral categories fall short of reality. There were no “good people” and “bad people,” by our unforgiving standards, in Jerusalem on that original Holy Week, but every single person in that city (except Mary, of course) was a sinner who had failed to love their God and their fellow man and was deeply in need of salvation.

None of their sins were so innocuous as to not require redemption through Christ and none were so grave as to be beyond His power to redeem.  So the same for us. That is the message of Palm Sunday: that all of mankind, from the greatest to the least, are in desperate need of repentance, in need of forgiveness, in need of conversion, and in need of the grace of God by which their hearts might be opened wide to the love of their God and their neighbor without condition, hesitation, or reservation.

 Families:

Pick one reading from this weekend (available here) and read through it together (before or after Mass)

Ask your children if they have any vocabulary questions. If there is a place name mentioned consider looking it up on a map (google maps is great!) and ask older children to briefly re-tell the story to see if they understood the basics of the message/reading.

As a family do the “thought experiment” Fr. James suggests. Or place yourself as a refugee at the US border. Or as someone who has a racist slur hurled at them by a stranger out in public. Or as someone who cannot afford groceries for the week. What are some of the reactions you or your children feel? What can we do, as ‘everyday Catholics’ to seek the end of injustices against the dignity of every human?

We had been granted permission by use images from the Saint John’s Illustrated Bible during Lent 2021. Now that Lent is over these images are no longer available for viewing. We encourage you to find your own images (try a google search) using the Gospel readings listed below or to turn this Visio Divina into a Lectio Divina opportunity. We are grateful to the Saint John’s Illustrated Bible for their cooperation with our project.

Raising of Lazarus John 11:1-44

VISIO DIVINA: Praying through Art

Visio divina, ‘divine seeing’, is a form of prayer where we  invite God to speak to our hearts as we look at an image. As you gaze at this artwork, you will be offered some questions for silent reflection, some of which may speak to you, while others you may choose to ignore. This is a wonderful form of prayer for the entire family to take part in together.

Spend about one minute in quiet (or with gentle music) gazing at this artwork. Simply be present to the image and allow it to speak to your heart, without any particular agenda. It might speak to you in words or wordlessly.

How do you feel looking at the image? 

Who is bound, in the tomb?  Jesus says, unbind him and set him free!

What seems dead or in the tomb when we think about racism?

Are we in the tomb and being called to new life?

Are we courageous to hear and answer His call to come out? 

Now, offer your prayers to God in a final moment of silence.

Venerable Pierre Toussaint

Pierre Toussaint was born a slave in 1766 in the French colony of Saint Domingue, modern-day Haiti. Pierre worked as a house slave inside a plantation owned by Jean Berard. He was educated by the  family’s tutors, which was unusual for the time.

When political unrest came to the island, Pierre, his sister, Rosalie, and the wife of his master were sent to New York.  There Pierre was allowed to train as a hairdresser. He earned his own money, and when his owner’s family fell on hard times, he used that money to take care of them. Madame Berard promised to free him when she died, which she did in 1807.

Pierre did well as a hairdresser among the wealthy of New York. He purchased the freedom of another slave, Juliette Noel. From early on, the couple were very conscious of the needs of the poor. They opened their home to orphans and as a refuge to those in need.

Pierre lived in an era when not only was he looked down upon as a freed slave, but anti-Catholicism was strong in New York at the time. He attended Mass every day for more than 60 years and was devoted to the Rosary. He was also a teacher of the faith and could explain the church’s teachings well and simply.

In addition to helping others with the money he made, he gave a great deal of money to help  finance the construction of the original St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Pierre went to the dedication of the cathedral and was initially denied entrance because he was black. But another usher recognized him and immediately brought him to a seat of honor.

When Pierre died in 1853, he was buried in the cemetery of the cathedral. But  in 1990, the cardinal in New York had his remains moved to the crypt in St. Patrick’s Cathedral where only cardinals and archbishops are buried. Pierre  is the only layperson to be so honored.

What struck you most from his story? Why?

Additional Resources:

Pierre Toussaint by Teaching Catholic Kids

Pierre Toussaint bio video by Star Quest Production Network

Studying the Open Wide Our Hearts Letter

 Every Thursday in Lent we will offer a chance to read & reflect on an excerpt from the pastoral letter from the US Catholic Bishops.  There will be additional excerpts available on the website for those interested. If you would like to see the letter in its entirety, please click here.

Read the following excerpt from the bishop’s letter. Then reflect using the questions below.

Love compels each of us to resist racism courageously. It requires us to reach out generously to the victims of this evil, to assist the conversion needed in those who still harbor racism, and to begin to change policies and structures that allow racism to persist. Overcoming racism is a demand of justice, but because Christian love transcends justice, the end of racism will mean that our community will bear fruit beyond simply the fair treatment of all. After all, “Within [the human] family,” as St. John Paul II said, “each people preserves and expresses its own identity and enriches others with its gifts of culture.”

— Open Wide Our Hearts, Pgs 18-19 USCCB

Questions for reflection

• What is my immediate response to the paragraph? What stood out to me?

•  In what ways have I worked to overcome bias or racism in myself? In others?

• What has been easy about the process? Difficult?

• How do I struggle to love those who are difference than me? How do I succeed?

• Why is it important/what benefits are there to overcome racism in our country, city, parish?

   

Families:  The next time you or your family are watching your favorite TV show or movie, identify and discuss any racial stereotypes you notice.

• How are people of different racial backgrounds portrayed?                      

• How might these stereotypes contribute to our biases?

Additional Resources:

Open Wide Our Hearts Study Guide by USCCB This study guide covers the entire document with further insight, discussion/reflection questions, and links to additional resources, including links for the Native American experience as well.

Additional paragraph to ponder:

But Christ heals all divisions, including those that are at the core of racism. It is through his Cross that we learn the greatest lesson about love. On the Cross, Jesus died for the human race (see 2 Cor 5:15). “He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world” (1 Jn 2:2). Here is our hope! Here is the grace given to us to be healed of this sin of division! Here is the lesson of love.

— Open Wide Our Hearts, Pg 17-18 USCCB

• As we read above, Christ heals all division. Does this mean we do not need to the work of overcoming the sin of racism (and/or other sins that cause division) here on earth? Why or why not?

A Litany of Saints

The in-person prayer service for today is inspired ’40 Days of Prayer: For the liberation of American descendants of slavery’ compiled by Cheri L Mills. Join us in-person in the church sanctuary or livestream on our youtube channel 6:35-7:00pm.

Below is a Litany of Saints to ask for intercession in our ongoing journey and education on the sin of racism. We ask for the grace to be able to share in God’s vision for a world in which the dignity of all people is upheld, and for the strength to do the work to move closer to that vision. 

One of the simplest and most beautiful facets of Catholicism is repetition. We repeat the same prayers in our daily lives morning and night, repeat the Mass every time we attend, repeat the words involved in the mystery of the Sacraments each time they are administered to us, and repeat the same grace before each meal.  It’s awe-inspiring to think that we ourselves are saying and doing the same things that Catholics have said and done for hundreds or even thousands of years. 

We involve repetition in our practice of Catholicism whenever we pray a litany.  In the litany, we repeat a simple response to a series of petitions or other prayers. 

If praying this as a family have one person act as leader to read the opening prayer and name the saints. Everyone else will join in the response (pray for us)

Sign of the Cross

Leader: Good and gracious God, who loved us into creation, thank you for the gift of life and community. Thank you for the gift of the ability to recognize injustice and for the desire to work for racial justice, so that all people may equally share in that gift of life.

Take, Lord, and receive, all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will. Show me the parts of my heart, mind, and soul that You desire for me to transform or strengthen to better love Your people.  

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, intercede and obtain for us from God the grace of discerning ways that we are called to change our hearts, minds, and souls in order to build a more just world.

St. Katharine Drexel, Pray for us. 

St. Martin de Porres, Pray for us. 

St. Peter Claver, S.J., Pray for us.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Pray for us.

St. Junipero Serra, Pray for us.

Venerable Teresa Chikaba, Pray for us.

Venerable Zeinab Alif, Pray for us.

Venerable Henriette DeLille, Pray for us.

Venerable Augustus Tolton, Pray for us. 

Servant of God Mary Lange, Pray for us.

Servant of God, Thea Bowman, Pray for us. 

Pray for us holy men and women, that we might be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Today’s Topic: Redlining

Redlining is the (now) illegal practice of refusing to provide financial services to consumers  based on the area where they live, a form of lending discrimination. This results in persons of color not being able to receive mortgages for homes in certain areas or neighborhoods. Neighborhoods which were deemed the most worthy of loans, were usually outlined in blue or green, or occasionally yellow, on the maps.

Option #1:  Read & Reflect: The practice of redlining began in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression in an attempt to revive the mortgage       industry. Redlining maps existed for 239 cities across the US, including Des Moines. Although now illegal, the effects still exist. Black homeowners are nearly five times more likely to own a home in a formerly redlined area, which results in diminished home equity and overall economic inequality for Black families. Today, for every $100 of wealth a white family has, a black family has $5.04.    (United Way 21 Day Challenge - Day 7)

 Is your neighborhood racially integrated or segregated? Hometown?

Reflect on your own experiences of home. Have you or your family been affected by redlining policies directly or indirectly?

 Option #2: Read & Reflect: “The City of Des Moines had a predominantly black-owned  business district-bustling [on Center Street] with hotels, grocery stores, barber shops, jazz clubs, and other storefronts—before I-235 was built through the Neighborhood.”

Were you aware of Center Street in Des Moines? What is your reaction?

 Families: Using paper or white board make a list of “needs” and “wants” in two   columns. The Church teachers every person is entitled to human rights/needs (safe place to live, food, drink, ability to learn, chance to be healthy, work that is safe & makes us feel useful).

People have a hard time getting what they need when they aren’t treated fairly because of their skin color, background, or education. We know this is wrong because God loves us all. We, as a country and church, should work together to ensure all have access to human needs. What are some needs that can be made more difficult by discrimination?

Explore ‘Redlining Facts for Kids’ website

 Additional Resources:

Struggles for black & Latino mortgage applicants suggests modern-day redlining by PBS Newshour

 How Housing Redlining Contributed to the Racial Wealth Gap & Segregation by NowThisNews

 Redlining in Des Moines video series by Polk County Housing Trust Fund

Today’s Topic: Housing

In Des Moines, the consequences of redlining (tomorrow’s topic) and the wealth gap created by it are still being felt today in regards to housing.

 Option #1: Read & Reflect: Home ownership is the traditional means of building economic wealth. However, disparities in home ownership and rental statistics suggest systemic obstacles are in place for Black home ownership in Polk County. While more than two-thirds of all Polk County residents are homeowners, less than one-third of the Black population in Polk County own their homes.

• The median value of single-family homes in minority census tracts is $95,600, while the median value of homes in all of Polk County is $165,500.

• 53.3 percent of African Americans are cost-burdened renters in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area. These are renters who pay more than 30 percent of their income towards rent.

• Average rent for a 967 ft. apartment in Ankeny is $1074.

In Ankeny, the number of people of color is slowly increasing. How do you feel about this?

Does it concern you? Why or why not?

Option #2: 

Sit quietly with this quote for a minute or two.  What thoughts are stirred up by it? 

Do you agree or disagree with this quote?  Why?

 Families: Discuss the questions below.

• What does Jesus mean when he said to love your neighbor as yourself?

• Who are our neighbors?

•  How do you love your neighbor as yourself?

• Why should we love our neighbors?

• Should the color of our skin or where we were born affect where we live?

 Additional Resources:

‘The First’, or ‘The Only’ Being Black in Small-Town Iowa by Iowa Public Radio

Unequal Access to Banking and Loans Works Against Black Business Owners by Iowa Public Radio

Report: Latinos in Iowa City are four times more likely to be rejected for home loans than whites by Little Village.com

Fifth Sunday of Lent

This description of the day when a new covenant would be fulfilled, which we’re given by the prophet Jeremiah, is something we are in the midst of right now.  Its something we see and have seen, something we’ve already received and something we can share with others.

The law of God has been written upon our hearts, we are His people, and even now, we can enjoy the great gift of God’s forgiveness without price, all through Christ, our Lord. And yet, that day is also something not here yet, something we have yet to enter into. The law on our hearts might be obscured, because we’ve sought and served other gods.

There is much to be taught and much to be learned if all, from the least to the greatest, are to know the Lord and His love for us. And much of man’s sin has yet to be offered to the forgiveness won for us by Christ’s sacrifice, even those of who are only as far away from forgiveness as they are from the confessional.

Clearly, we are not yet there at the temporal completion of God’s work of salvation. We should be neither panicked at the thought of the day of fulfillment, Christ’s glorious return and the universal judgment, nor should we kick back and think, “I’ve got plenty of time to iron out those pesky habit and vices.” We’ve each been given the time we have right now, no more and no less, to learn, to grow, to reform, to turn and re-turn our hearts to God.

Pope Francis, in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, reiterates this urgent call to “all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her” (EG 3). In this encounter with Christ, we will meet both the God who loves us and the Man who would not hold Himself from the suffering and even death it would cost Him to win each and every one of His lost sheep back.

In the Gospel, it was the arrival of a foreigner, Greeks seeking to meet a Jew, that prompted Christ to remind His apostles of the depths and lengths of divine love and the scope of the salvation His suffering would merit. The glory of God’s plan was accomplished in Christ’s human will and divine will being united perfectly with the will of the Father in filial obedience and through our obedience, our wills united to God’s, we share in that same glorious, divine plan. It is a plan by which one finds eternal life by considering their own life as lost in the service of another.

St. Katherine Drexel, an American example of a life poured out in service of others, give the USCCB’s document on racism its title when she said: “If we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them. Let us open wide our hearts. It is joy which invites us. Press forward and fear nothing” (Open Wide Our Hearts, p 20).

Families:

Pick one reading from this weekend (available here) and read through it together (before or after Mass)

Ask your children if they have any vocabulary questions. If there is a place name mentioned consider looking it up on a map (google maps is great!) and ask older children to briefly re-tell the story to see if they understood the basics of the message/reading.

Consider learning more about St. Katherine Drexel by watching a video biography. Talk about what you all learned from the video.

We had been granted permission by use images from the Saint John’s Illustrated Bible during Lent 2021. Now that Lent is over these images are no longer available for viewing. We encourage you to find your own images (try a google search) using the Gospel readings listed below or to turn this Visio Divina into a Lectio Divina opportunity. We are grateful to the Saint John’s Illustrated Bible for their cooperation with our project.

The Crucifixion Luke 23:33-43

VISIO DIVINA: Praying through Art

Visio divina, ‘divine seeing’, is a form of prayer where we  invite God to speak to our hearts as we look at an image. As you gaze at this artwork, you will be offered some questions for silent reflection, some of which may speak to you, while others you may choose to ignore. This is a wonderful form of prayer for the entire family to take part in together.

Spend about one minute in quiet (or with gentle music) gazing at this artwork. Simply be present to the image and allow it to speak to your heart, without any particular agenda. It might speak to you in words or wordlessly.

How do you feel looking at the image? 

From Luke 23: Jesus in divine light/gold -all the nations / all the people / all of creation is changed.

What awaits us at the foot of His Cross?

What dies with Him and what does the imminent resurrection promise?

Now, offer your prayers to God in a final moment of silence.

Servant of God Mother Mary Lange

 Elizabeth Lange was possibly born in Haiti around 1784 and would later move with her family to Cuba.  She fled Cuba with her family during a revolution and eventually ended up in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Around 1818 while in Baltimore, Elizabeth realized that there were many black children, often fellow refugees, in need of education (public school was not available for any children of color in Baltimore until 1866).  She used her own money and home to educate these children of color. For ten years Elizabeth, along with a friend, Marie Magdaleine Balas, offered free education.

The local Catholic leaders took note of Elizabeth and her friend’s education service to the black children in Baltimore and took steps to further empower and support her cause.  In 1828 they helped start the first Black Catholic School in America, St. Francis Academy (still in operation today).  A year later, in 1829, Elizabeth and three friends took vows to create the first order of women of African descent, the Oblate Sisters of Providence.

Lange took the name of "Sister Mary" and  became the first superior general of the new community. They started in a rented house with four sisters and twenty students.  Today they have 85 sisters, 20 associates, and 16 guild members.

While experiencing poverty, racism, brief but drastic decline in enrollment,    untold hardships, and a cholera outbreak in 1832, the Oblate Sisters sought to evangelize the Black community through Catholic education. In addition to schools, the sisters conducted night classes for women, vocational and career training, and established homes for widows and orphans.  Lange died on  February 3, 1882, after a life of service to the black community of Baltimore.

What struck you most from her story? Why?

Additional Resources:

Mother Mary Lange by Cause for Canonization for Mother Mary Lange

Hidden Figures: Mother Mary Lange (video) by BESE

Studying the Open Wide Our Hearts Letter

Every Thursday in Lent we will offer a chance to read & reflect on an excerpt from the pastoral letter from the US Catholic Bishops.  There will be additional excerpts available on the website for those interested. If you would like to see the letter in its entirety, please click here.

Read the following excerpt from the bishop’s letter. Then reflect using the questions below.

Pope Benedict XVI noted, “As a spiritual being, the human creature is defined through interpersonal relations. The more authentically he or she lives these relations, the more his or her own personal identity matures. It is not by isolation that man establishes his worth, but by placing himself in relation with others and with God.” We are meant to love God with our whole being, which then overflows into love for our   neighbor. “Whoever loves God must love his brother” (1 Jn 4:21). 

— Open Wide Our Hearts, Pg 9 USCCB

Questions for reflection

• What is my immediate response to the paragraph? What stood out to me?

• Who are some people whose friendships/relationships help me grow in my faith?  Why?

• Have I struggled in my friendships/relationships this past year due to social distancing? Has this affected  my friendship with God?

• Are there people I distance myself from, not because of their sin, but because of my own sin/struggles?  How can I grow in love?

Families: Discuss the questions. If possible, broaden the discussion to include neighbors, community, etc.  

• What’s one important characteristic of your family?         

• What do you love about how your family does things?

• How can you celebrate or learn about a culture different from your own?

• What can you do to let someone know you know how special he or she is?

Additional Resources:

Open Wide Our Hearts Study Guide by USCCB This study guide covers the entire document with further insight, discussion/reflection questions, and links to additional resources, including links for the Native American experience as well.

Additional paragraph to ponder:

As Christians, we are called to listen and know the stories of our brothers and sisters. We must create opportunities to hear, with open hearts, the tragic stories that are deeply imprinted on the lives of our brothers and sisters, if we are to be moved with empathy to promote justice

— Open Wide Our Hearts, Pg 10 USCCB

• How can you listen to the stories of those whose inherent dignity has been ignored?

Taize prayer

Taizé Prayer is a simple, meditative form of worship, calling us to dwell deeply on Christ's presence around and within us. Mantra songs (like "Jesus, Remember Me"), prayerful silence, and short readings guide the focus of the prayer in a quiet environment.  Taizé Prayer is named for the ecumenical Christian community formed in Taizé, France  during World War II.

Join us in-person in the church sanctuary or livestream on our youtube channel 6:35-7:00pm, or pray this Taizé on your own when your schedule permits.

Praying with Taizé with your family or by yourself.
Praying with Taizé music in community is also a simple and fruitful practice, but it takes a little more effort to prepare and organize. Some things to keep in mind as you set up Taizé prayer in common:

• Prepare the space
  The prayer space is important for any form of prayer. If you do not have a dedicated prayer space, consider creating one with a crucifix, an open Bible, some candles, icons, flowers or other objects that will help to set the place apart from its normal use.

• Curate the music
  Taizé music is best prayed live, however, that isn’t always possible! Play soft, repetitive music (here’s a good option, or on Spotify search for Taize playlists for several options) You want the sound to fill the space without overwhelming it. Fumbling with technology will quickly break the contemplative spirit of the prayer.

• Allow for silence
  Whether you have live or recorded music, make sure to leave space for silence. Silence is essential to all prayer forms, but it is especially important when praying with music. People will need silence to speak their own words to God and to listen for God in return

  Use the reading below, similarly to Lectio Divina, reading slowly and allowing silence after.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan   (Luke 10:25-37, NRSV)

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”  And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” 

· Who is my neighbor?

· When have I been the priest? The Levite? The Samaritan?

Today’s Topic: Policing & Mass Incarceration, Part II

Des Moines has significantly more traffic stops for Black people who represent 11 percent of the population than White people who represent 75% of the population.  Because Iowa has no ban on racial profiling or pretextual stops,  racial bias in policing is a key factor in higher rates of traffic stops, citations, and arrests among people of color.

 Option #1:  Read & Reflect:  Des Moines population is 75% white, 11% black, and 14% other. But in Des Moines, Blacks are  2.2 times more likely to be issued a citation for speeding. Once ticketed, Blacks are 4.5 times more likely to be arrested.  Once ticketed for speeding, Black people are 9.5 times more likely to be arrested for interference with official acts.  For marijuana arrests from 2014 - 2019, Blacks were arrested at a disproportionate rate.  Although they represent 11% of the population, over the years, they makeup, on average over 30% of the marijuana arrests.  This is true even when marijuana arrests dropped dramatically as they did in 2018 and 2019.  Source:  Just Voices

 What is your reaction to what you just read?

Option #2:  Read & Reflect: This past summer, State of Iowa lawmakers fast-tracked a package of police reforms.  Both the Iowa House and Senate unanimously approved the bills and sent them to Governor Reynolds who signed it. Among provisions in the bill:  officers cannot use choke holds, with exceptions if a person cannot be captured any other way and the person has threatened or used deadly force. 

Also, an officer cannot be hired if he or she has been fired or quit another department while being investigated for serious misconduct, including use of excessive force, or convicted of a felony.  The Iowa Attorney General’s Office may prosecute an officer if the officer’s actions result in the death of another.

 Do you agree with the reforms that passed?  Why or why not?

Are there any reforms you would suggest as well?

 Families:  Do this imagining as a family:  Close your eyes and envision your ideal community: What does it look like? What do you see? What can you touch? How do you feel? In your vision for an ideal community, did you see prisons? People getting arrested and incarcerated? If not, how can we get our society to the vision that you had?

Additional Resources:

 From Slave Patrols to Today: What the History of Policing Teaches Us About Today by NBCLX

I’m a Cop. Ask Me Anything by Jubilee A black cop answers questions from strangers on a range of topics and gives a good perspective of policing and his life. (warning: explicit language)

Today’s Topic: Policing & Mass Incarceration, Part I

Mass incarceration is the current American experiment in incarceration, which is defined by comparatively and historically extreme rates of imprisonment.

Option #1: Read & Reflect: The United States is the world’s leader in incarceration. There are 2.2 million people in the nation’s prisons and jails—a 500% increase over the last 40 years. Changes in law and policy, not changes in crime rates, explain most of this increase. The results are overcrowding in prisons and fiscal burdens on states, despite increasing evidence that large-scale incarceration is not an effective means of achieving public safety.       (Source:  The Sentencing Project)

What struck you most about what you just read?

 How does your experience, and those of your family & friends, compare to what you read?

Option #2:  Read & Reflect:  People of color make up 37% of the U.S. population but 67% of the prison population. Overall, African Americans are more likely than white Americans to be arrested; once arrested, they are more likely to be convicted; and once convicted, they are more likely to face stiff sentences. Black men are six times as likely to be incarcerated as white men and Hispanic men are more than twice as likely to be incarcerated as non-Hispanic white men.                    (Source:  The Sentencing Project)

What are ways we can support reform within the prison system while still ensuring justice?

 Families:  Write short prayer intentions for each the following and then pray them together as a family.

-The spiritual needs of the prisoner

-Emotional needs of children who have a loved one in prison

-The children’s caregivers

-Relationships within families who have a loved one in prison

-Protection of the rights of prisoners and their families

Additional Resources:

Mass Incarceration, Visualized by the Atlantic. In this animated interview, the sociologist Bruce Western explains the current inevitability of prison for certain demographics of young black men and how it's become a normal life event

13th Documentary on Netflix In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom.

Criminal Justice Reform by Southern Poverty Law

Fourth Sunday of Lent

In this weekend’s first reading, we recount the people of Israel reaping the harvest of their iniquity. Before Jerusalem’s fall to the armies of Babylon, they gave themselves and their nation to sin: “infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations […] they mocked the messengers of God, despised His warnings and scoffed at His prophets.” The people had hardened their hearts to the Law of God and turned away from their relationship with Him.

It is only fitting and natural that when you close yourself off from He from Whom all blessings flow, only calamity and a broken society rife with sin and injustice ensue. In the gospel, John makes clear that this rejection of God and His grace can apply just as much to us as to the Israelites: “the light came into the world, but people preferred the darkness to light.”

He doesn’t say why people chose to live in the darkness rather than the light and there could be any number of reasons: Pride, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Vanity, and certainly Fear.  Sin is a “personal act,” and each person might find themselves more moved by a few of these more the others (Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 1868).

Regardless, in each of these sins and temptations, the human heart does a wonderful job of turning itself inside-out, turning itself away from God and its neighbor and pointing it inward towards itself. In sin, the heart closes itself off, sacrificing all, to protect itself from any danger or harm, from being challenged or used, from hearing the command to place concern for another above concern for oneself.

Such is sin and none of us are wholly free of its effects. Even worse though is that “sin creates a proclivity to sin […] which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself” (CCC., para. 1865). So, if we “make peace with sin” (“Oh, doing               can’t be so bad.”) and allow it to have any hold in our lives, we are also allowing for its growth in our lives.

This dynamic of sin, as seen in the example of the people of Israel, can go far beyond just the scope and scale of the individual. We are not only responsible for our own personal actions, but “we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them […] by participating directly and voluntarily in them […] by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them,” by not obstructing them when we are called to, or by protecting those in their sin (CCC., para. 1868).

Sin goes even further, not only in our own personal actions or in our cooperation with the sins of others, but in how just an individual’s sin begin to shape the world and society around them. For example, in the context of the Church, there is no such thing as private sin: the Church is the Body of Christ and a sickness in one of its members is a sickness in the Body, a sickness which tends to spread.

Looking upon the fruits of personal sin in society as a whole, we can see how, “Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. "Structures of sin" are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a ‘social sin’” (CCC., para. 1869).

St. John Paul II spoke many times about structures of sin, having witnessed and survived a number of cultures and societies fitting the description. He understood these as cultures, laws, or institutions which, through their disposition, made it easier for man to sin and requiring perhaps even heroic virtue to accomplish even a simple upright act. Individual sins are the seed and as the “systemic” harvest, they praise what is evil in the eyes of God and condemn what is good; they teach what is false and they ignore or silence Truth.

Among many such examples, we can recognize such a structure as a society which would claim the right to another man’s life and freedom, not because of any crime he committed, but solely because he looks different, he’s not from here, and he’s not one of us. A society that has made peace with its sin can have a lot of momentum, which makes changing things to the right direction a slow process, but it starts on the level of me and you and whether we’ll harden our hearts against each other.

Families:

Pick one reading from this weekend (available here) and read through it together (before or after Mass)

Ask your children if they have any vocabulary questions. If there is a place name mentioned consider looking it up on a map (google maps is great!) and ask older children to briefly re-tell the story to see if they understood the basics of the message/reading.

As a parent whose youngest child is afraid of the dark I am struck by John’s observation that darkness is preferred to light. God made us to live in the light of his love. But this original friendship with God was corrupted by sin.

During the season of Lent, we try to fight this tendency by remembering God’s great mercy and the salvation that we have received through Jesus. We do not fear confessing our sins, knowing that God forgives us, and so, during Lent, we seek out opportunities to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

After your family gathers, sit for a time in darkness, then light a candle. Invite everyone to take turns talking about what it felt like to be in the darkness and to compare that to their feelings when the candle was lit. What are we able to see by the limited glow of the candlelight that we couldn’t see when we were sitting in darkness?

When a sin affects one person in our family, whether it’s anger, or racism, or lying, it affects the entire family. It’s the same with the world-wide Catholic Church and the United States of America. What affects one of us, affects all of us somehow. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Conclude in prayer together, thanking God for the great gift of forgiveness we have received through Jesus.

Pray together the Act of Contrition.

(adapted from Loyola Press, Sunday Connection)

We had been granted permission by use images from the Saint John’s Illustrated Bible during Lent 2021. Now that Lent is over these images are no longer available for viewing. We encourage you to find your own images (try a google search) using the Gospel readings listed below or to turn this Visio Divina into a Lectio Divina opportunity. We are grateful to the Saint John’s Illustrated Bible for their cooperation with our project.

Acts of the Apostles 2:1-13

VISIO DIVINA: Praying through Art

Visio divina, ‘divine seeing’, is a form of prayer where we  invite God to speak to our hearts as we look at an image. As you gaze at this artwork, you will be offered some questions for silent reflection, some of which may speak to you, while others you may choose to ignore. This is a wonderful form of prayer for the entire family to take part in together.

Spend about one minute in quiet (or with gentle music) gazing at this artwork. Simply be present to the image and allow it to speak to your heart, without any particular agenda. It might speak to you in words or wordlessly.

Pentecost:

How do you feel looking at the image? 

How do we enter deeper this Lent into the theme of Open Wide Our Hearts “in the name of Jesus Christ”?

At Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. How am I allowing the Holy Spirit to fill me and do the work of Christ?

Now, offer your prayers to God in a final moment of silence.