One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter./0Una de las cosas más difíciles de la vida es tener palabras en el corazón que no puedes pronunciar.- James Earl Jones
This month is Black History Month, and additionally this week we had Valentine’s Day, a day that celebrates how we are rooted and grounded in love. First and foremost we are rooted and grounded in God’s love and that is how we can describe the six Black Americans on the road to canonization.
If we really want to love God, Pope Francis said in a homily in November 2021, we must be “passionate about humanity, about all humanity,” especially those who know too well pain, abandonment, and rejection, I will add. There are not any canonized Black American saints yet, but these four women and two men (Thea Bowman, Henriette Delille, Julia Greeley, Mary Lange, Augustus Tolton, and Pierre Toussaint), who have been declared Venerable or Servant of God, are on the path to sainthood.
Our six saints to be “were either born into enslavement or educated the enslaved at personal risks to themselves,” Alejandra Molina pointed out in a 15 December 2021 Religion News Service article. These six holy Americans understood pain, abandonment, and rejection, but even still reached out to bring healing, equality, and joy to others. They demonstrated how their lives were grounded in God’s love.
Space limits us from going into to detail about the lives of these Black Catholics but this Aleteia article gives a short biography on each of these strong, dedicated Black women and men. Click here for link: https://aleteia.org/2020/02/01/6-saints-for-black-history-month/.
Black History Month is celebrated throughout our diocese. Bishop Rojas will be celebrating two masses—first on Saturday, 19 February 2022, 5p at St. Christopher Parish, Moreno Valley, and also on Sunday, 27 February 2022, 10:15a at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, San Bernardino.
Showcasing SHA talent: Mayly in 7th created an amazing heart that shows the great love these Black Americans had on the road to sainthood lived.
God bless,
Mrs. Alhadef
Campus Minister
4th Grade Aide
Jr. High ELA Aide