Day One
Venerable Augustus Tolton
Learn
Venerable Fr. Augustus Tolton (1854-97) was the first publicly-acknowledged Black priest in the United States. In 1862, he and his family escaped from Missouri, where they were enslaved by a Catholic family, and they fled to Illinois. His mother passed on her devotion to Catholicism and in 1886, after years of studying in a seminary in Rome--since no American seminary would accept him--he was ordained. Fr. Tolton dedicated his life to serving the Church, even as he continued to experience the harsh racism of some white clergy and lay people.
Over the century since Fr. Tolton’s death, Black Catholics in the United States have demonstrated unwavering faith, despite receiving “second class” treatment within the Church through the closing of worship-spaces especially sacred to them, and often-chilly reception in predominantly white Catholic parishes, where some avoid receiving communion from Black eucharistic ministers, or resist hands extended in the greeting of peace. But Black Catholics are a dynamic force in the American church. They have founded many vibrant organizations--such as the Knights & Ladies of St. Peter Claver--that provide retreats, scholarships, educational, employment and social opportunities for Black Catholics and others.
Act
Make a plan to attend Mass at a parish of a different ethnic community than what you are accustomed to. Listen and watch for what you can learn and who you can meet. Ask friends for their suggestions, or contact the Office for Black Catholics or the Office for Multicultural Ministry in your diocese. Here is the link for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Consider joining thousands of Black Catholics in promoting the cause for Fr. Tolton to be canonized a saint. The Archdiocese of Chicago, where Fr. Tolton served over his last years, offers many ways to get involved. Click here to learn more!
Pray
Jesus, you showed through your ministry on earth that all of us are your beloved people. In this year of reckoning around racism, help us to see you in each others’ faces. Comfort and strengthen the Black Catholic heirs of Fr. Tolton who testify to your love through their passionate faith. Challenge and guide those Catholics, including many of us, who show by their actions or inactions that they assume God’s grace is limited to people who look like them. Grant us the courage Fr. Tolton demonstrated in his day, so that Catholics of all races— clergy and laity alike— may acknowledge the ways that racism has distorted the Gospel message, and work together to heal it. Fr. Augustus Tolton, pray for us!
Take a moment for silent reflection.
Wake me up Lord, so that the evil of racism finds no home within me.
Keep watch over my heart Lord, and remove from me any barriers to your grace, that may oppress and offend my brothers and sisters.
Fill my spirit Lord, so that I may give services of justice and peace.
Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory.
And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God."
Amen.
Venerable Augustus Tolton, pray for us.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.
St. Oscar Romero, pray for us.
St. Anna Wang, pray for us.
Servant of God, Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us.
St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, 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.
Day Two
Saint Josephine Bakhita
Learn
St. Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947) was kidnapped from her home in the Darfur region of Sudan and sold to a series of cruel masters in Italy who beat and ritually scarred her. However, it was in Italy that she first heard the Gospel proclaimed and eventually became a catechumen. When a former slave-mistress demanded that Josephine go with her, she insisted that the decision to leave or not was hers alone, and that she would go nowhere until she had been baptized. The case ultimately went to the courts, which ruled that Bakhita, and others like her, were free from the moment they set foot in Italy. In fighting for justice for herself, she helped to end slavery in Italy.
Act
The Equal Justice Initiative fights to end mass incarceration of Black people in the United States. Founded by civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, EJI educates, advocates, and defends the most vulnerable in our society in their encounters with the criminal justice system.
Learn about and donate to the Equal Justice Initiative. Consider watching or reading Bryan Stevenson’s story: Just Mercy. Discuss with family or friends.
Pray
Jesus, you blessed St. Josephine Bakhita with the resilience and strength to stand up for herself and for others. Help us to imitate her by speaking up for the rights and dignity of every person, especially those who, like Amadou Diallo, are misjudged, dehumanized and killed with impunity because of racism. Walk with us as we work to bring your love and justice to our communities, and to transform institutions that routinely dehumanize people of color. St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us!
Take a moment for silent reflection.
Wake me up Lord, so that the evil of racism finds no home within me.
Keep watch over my heart Lord, and remove from me any barriers to your grace, that may oppress and offend my brothers and sisters.
Fill my spirit Lord, so that I may give services of justice and peace.
Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory.
And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God."
Amen.
Venerable Augustus Tolton, pray for us.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.
St. Oscar Romero, pray for us.
St. Anna Wang, pray for us.
Servant of God, Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us.
St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, 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.
The on-going fight for justice: Born in the West African nation of Guinea, Amadou Diallo was an immigrant to the US when he was accosted by 4 law enforcement officers in the Bronx in 1999. These officers racially profiled Diallo and killed him with unnecessary force. They were later acquitted of all charges when the case went to trial.
Day Three
Saint Oscar Romero
Learn
St. Oscar Romero (1917- 80) was considered a “safe choice” when he was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977, since he had been quiet about politics. However, as he spent time with campesinos (peasant farmers) and watched priest friends murdered for their support of the poor, he began to speak out against government-sanctioned death squads targeting farmworkers and organizers.
Increasingly viewed by officials as an enemy of the state, he was shot and killed while saying Mass. But Romero’s legacy of defending the poor and marginalized--Jesus’ own legacy-- lives on. “If they kill me,” he famously said shortly before his death, “I will rise again in my people.” Still, thousands of impoverished Salvadorans continue to flee to the United States to this day, due to economic pressures brought by the dominance of international agribusiness and the prevalence of organized crime that has taken hold there.
Separated Families at the southern border - Today, 41 years after Romero’s death, hundreds of Central American families remain separated from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border. While the Trump administration is widely criticized for these separations, this is also the result of an immigration system that has been broken for decades. One especially courageous Honduran immigrant who has transformed her family’s suffering into tireless organizing on behalf of other immigrants is Maria Turcios, on staff at the New Sanctuary Movement and active in her parish as a catechist: Raided by ICE three times, Philly migrant works to help others who could face deportation
Act
Urge your senators & representatives to support the US Citizenship Act of 2021, which seeks to reform and humanize our immigration system: US Citizenship Act of 2021 Bill Summary Text the word RESIST to 50409 and follow the directions. Resistbot will turn your texts into a letter, and deliver it to your elected officials.
Locally: connect with the New Sanctuary Movement, an immigrant-led interfaith organization that fights for immigrant rights. Join their campaign to press for drivers licenses for undocumented people. https://www.sanctuaryphiladelphia.org/
Pray
Loving Creator, help us to listen to people who are closest to the pain caused by unjust public policies-- as Romero did-- even if this puts us in uncomfortable conversations with our peers or other Catholics. We pray for parents and children who are in forced separation now, due to broken immigration policies that especially hurt Latin Americans who seek refuge in the United States. St. Oscar Romero, pray for us.
Take a moment for silent reflection.
Wake me up Lord, so that the evil of racism finds no home within me.
Keep watch over my heart Lord, and remove from me any barriers to your grace, that may oppress and offend my brothers and sisters.
Fill my spirit Lord, so that I may give services of justice and peace.
Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory.
And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God."
Amen.
Venerable Augustus Tolton, pray for us.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.
St. Oscar Romero, pray for us.
St. Anna Wang, pray for us.
Servant of God, Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us.
St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, 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.
Day Four
Saint Anna Wang
Learn
Saint Anna Wang (1886-1900) Born into a Catholic family in the Xingtai-Hebei (pronounced Shing-tai Hai-bey) Province of China, Anna became devoted to her faith at a very young age. When she was fourteen, her village was attacked by members of the Boxers, a religious and political group that sought to eradicate foreign influences in China, including Christianity. When her captors demanded that she renounce her faith, St. Anna Wang refused and was martyred along with many members of her community and family.
Victims of Atlanta Spa Shootings - On March 16th, 2021, eight people, 6 of Asian descent, were murdered at an Atlanta spa. Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Paul Andre Michaels, Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, and Yong Ae Yue (click here for pronunciation of the victims’ names) were at Gold Spa as customers and employees when a gunman entered the building and killed them. While some tried to claim that the attack was not racially motivated, many recognize this as part of a recurring pattern in the United States, of harassment and violence against people of Asian descent that has surged since the start of the pandemic.
Act
Support Stop AAPI Hate, one of the leading organizations working to stop hate crimes against people who are of Asian-American and Pacific Island descent, and hold perpetrators accountable, visit their website.
Pray
Loving Creator, we thank you for showing us through the witness of St. Anna Wang that when we stand up for who we are--and Whose we are--you are there with us. We pray for the families, friends and community of those killed on March 16th. Walk with us as we acknowledge the history of anti-Asian hate crimes in our country, and honor the full human dignity of all your people. Saint Anna Wang, pray for us.
Take a moment for silent reflection.
Wake me up Lord, so that the evil of racism finds no home within me.
Keep watch over my heart Lord, and remove from me any barriers to your grace, that may oppress and offend my brothers and sisters.
Fill my spirit Lord, so that I may give services of justice and peace.
Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory.
And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God."
Amen.
Venerable Augustus Tolton, pray for us.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.
St. Oscar Romero, pray for us.
St. Anna Wang, pray for us.
Servant of God, Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us.
St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, 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.
Day Five
Servant of God,
Nicholas Black Elk
Learn
Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) was born into the Oglala Lakota people and grew up hunting buffalo on the Northern Plains. As a young man, he was a medicine man, using the power of song and ritual to heal the sick. Black Elk lived in a time when the federal government contracted with churches to operate boarding schools designed to "kill the Indian” in each child, and “save the man," by pressuring students to renounce indigenous language, dress, and other aspects of their heritage.
But after he was baptized, Black Elk practiced his Lakota ways as well as his Catholic faith. The Church’s recognition of him as a Servant of God is a hopeful sign that the Church is moving away from misguided and harmful forms of evangelization, and toward the full embrace of other cultures that Christ modeled for us.
Native women experience physical and sexual violence and abduction at a high rate across the United States. With challenges in under-reporting, jurisdictional issues and failure of law enforcement to act, many Native communities must search for missing relatives on their own. Violence against Native women is also a symptom of racism, since the majority of perpetrators are non-Native and protected by current systems. Today, we recognize the women and girls who are currently missing and the souls of the women recently found deceased: Miranda “Rosie” Kenmille, Jerilyn Nicholson, and Beth Carey.
Act
Consider donating to Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women to help the organization purchase facial recognition software to aid in locating trafficked women and children, and to help return them to their families. Follow the organization on Facebook to stay connected to the movement.
Pray
God our Creator, help us to see your servant Nicholas Black Elk as a model for decolonizing the ways we teach our Catholic faith, for celebrating every culture as a revelation of your creativity rather than forcing assimilation to a single culture. Watch over Native women who are missing or in danger, and allow them to be brought home safely. Bring justice to their assailants and healing to their families. Help us to act so that they are treated with the dignity of your great love. Servant of God, Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us.
Take a moment for silent reflection.
Wake me up Lord, so that the evil of racism finds no home within me.
Keep watch over my heart Lord, and remove from me any barriers to your grace, that may oppress and offend my brothers and sisters.
Fill my spirit Lord, so that I may give services of justice and peace.
Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory.
And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God."
Amen.
Venerable Augustus Tolton, pray for us.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.
St. Oscar Romero, pray for us.
St. Anna Wang, pray for us.
Servant of God, Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us.
St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, 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.
Day Six
Saint Katharine Drexel
Learn
Saint Katharine Drexel (1858-1950) Born into great wealth in Philadelphia, Katharine responded to Pope Leo XIII’s call to become a missionary by founding the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, with whom she built many schools for Native- and African-Americans, including Xavier University in New Orleans, the only Catholic Historically Black College/ University in the United States. She often had to go to great lengths to overcome the racism of white-dominated banks, businesses and communities who tried to thwart her plans. Mother Katharine, as she was called, spent her entire inheritance supporting those schools and her religious order.
During her life, St. Katharine Drexel saw a racial gap in the education system and rushed to fill it, pushing back against the norms of her day and using her privilege as a white woman of wealth and access to serve Native and African-Americans. In 2020, Dr. Ala Stanford, a Black surgeon, saw the racial gap in the healthcare system that had been present for generations grow even wider and more deadly when the pandemic hit. Black people in the Philadelphia area were falling sick and dying of COVID-19 at a rate far disproportionate to their numbers. Dr. Stanford responded by founding the Black Doctors COVID 19 Consortium. BDCC has administered thousands of tests and vaccinations over the past year in Black neighborhoods across Philadelphia.
Act
Consider making a contribution to the work of the Black Doctors COVID 19 Consortium. Contact local Black churches or civic organizations to offer help in distributing flyers or providing rides to/ from vaccination/ testing sites or other health-related appointments for community members who lack access to internet and/or transportation.
Pray
Lord, it is so easy for many of us--including people who claim to follow your Son-- to see the status quo as “normal,” inevitable. Help us to follow the example of St. Katharine Drexel and Dr. Ala Stanford by opening our eyes to the truth that the myth of “normal” in our white-dominated society ignores the reality for people of color. Give us the wisdom to leave behind what is comfortable for what is just. Walk with each of us as we work to make change in our society, especially those of us with privilege we need to recognize and use. St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
Take a moment for silent reflection.
Wake me up Lord, so that the evil of racism finds no home within me.
Keep watch over my heart Lord, and remove from me any barriers to your grace, that may oppress and offend my brothers and sisters.
Fill my spirit Lord, so that I may give services of justice and peace.
Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory.
And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God."
Amen.
Venerable Augustus Tolton, pray for us.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.
St. Oscar Romero, pray for us.
St. Anna Wang, pray for us.
Servant of God, Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us.
St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, 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.
Day Seven
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz
Learn
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz (1594-1637) was born in Manila to a Chinese father and Filipina mother, both Catholic. He became a loving husband and father. However, in 1636, Ruiz was accused of murdering a Spaniard. Given his race, he was blamed for the crime. Fearing for his life, he fled with three Dominican priests. They made their way to Japan where, at that time, Christians were persecuted by the Tokuagawa Shogunate and executed if they refused to renounce their faith. Ruiz and the priests were captured and subjected to painful torture in Nagasaki. They remained resolute in their faith, and eventually died as a result of torture.
In our own country, this type of torture and murder happens routinely to people of color who encounter law enforcement officers or those who self-appoint as “enforcers” of unwritten codes about who belongs where. On February 23, 2020, 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery was jogging in a white area of his own Atlanta-area neighborhood when two men decided that a Black man running there must be a criminal. They chased and shot him. Charges were not brought against Ahmaud’s killers until 2 months later, after the release of video footage of his death caused public outcry.
Act
Check out Live Free, a network of faith communities who hold public officials and institutions accountable for the violence and mass incarceration that plague Black and Brown communities. Live Free is affiliated with the Fund Peace Now coalition that supports funding for community-based anti-violence work as part of the American Jobs Plan Congress will soon consider.
Locally, you can join POWER Interfaith’s Live Free team to support civilian oversight for police disciplinary procedures and other measures.
Pray
Loving Creator, you bless us with the power to make decisions including some that have life-or-death consequences. The zeal to judge without compassion or reason ended the life of your servant Lorenzo Ruiz centuries ago in Japan, and it killed Ahmaud Arbery just last year on an Atlanta street. Help us to name and speak out against this lack of compassion in those we know and to fight systemic racism. St. Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us.
Take a moment for silent reflection.
Wake me up Lord, so that the evil of racism finds no home within me.
Keep watch over my heart Lord, and remove from me any barriers to your grace, that may oppress and offend my brothers and sisters.
Fill my spirit Lord, so that I may give services of justice and peace.
Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory.
And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God."
Amen.
Venerable Augustus Tolton, pray for us.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.
St. Oscar Romero, pray for us.
St. Anna Wang, pray for us.
Servant of God, Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us.
St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, 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.
Day Eight
Sister Thea Bowman
Learn
Servant of God, Sister Thea Bowman (1937-90) grew up in Mississippi, converted to Catholicism as a child, and became the first Black member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. A gifted singer and story-teller, as well as an accomplished academic, Sr. Thea was in great demand as a presenter. Her most celebrated audience was probably the conference of Catholic bishops in 1989, a primarily white audience.
Sr. Thea told the bishops that they needed to understand that Black Catholics come to the Church “fully formed” both in their rich Black culture and in their deep faith. In addition, she named that clergy need to come down from the pulpit and actually get to know the people they serve. After a battle with breast cancer, Sr. Thea Bowman died at age 52, leaving thousands of Catholics and others eager to continue on the path she paved, breaking down cultural and racial boundaries between Jesus’ followers of every race.
Sr. Thea was not afraid to combine a deep personal spiritual life with a very public life coaxing her sister/ brother Catholics to embrace the diversity that enriches the Church and animates our country. Today, Reverend -- now Senator--Raphael Warnock is building a similar legacy. The pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta--the pulpit Martin Luther King Jr. had held--Warnock stepped into the public arena to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. He then ran for and won a Senate seat in 2020, becoming the first Black Senator to represent the state of Georgia. He continues to pastor his church on Sundays, and serve his constituents during the week, in both places living out his deep commitment to the beloved community Jesus invites us to build.
Act
One of the most serious ways people of color are held back from participating fully in public life is through voter suppression. For Catholics committed to supporting life in all its forms, this is serious. And it is a growing movement. Check out the many organizations that educate and mobilize people on this critical issue. Choose one to support in some way.
Here are 3 of many-- all non-partisan:
Fair Fight, founded by Stacy Abrams: https://fairfight.com/
League of Women Voters: https://www.lwv.org/voting-rights/fighting-voter-suppression
Brennan Center for Justice: https://www.brennancenter.org/
Pray
Jesus, we know you are just as present and alive to us in a convention hall as in a church, a government office as a convent, a speech as a hymn. Help us to learn from your servant, Sr. Thea Bowman, that when we speak the full truth of how you live in us, walls can come down and we can loosen the grip of racism as Sr. Thea hoped to in the bishops who heard her speak. We thank you for the witness of Reverend Warnock, another disciple who is walking your walk in both church and public life, and whose commitment to untie the knots of racism in his state and nation is deep. Servant of God, Sr. Thea Bowman, pray for us!
Take a moment for silent reflection.
Wake me up Lord, so that the evil of racism finds no home within me.
Keep watch over my heart Lord, and remove from me any barriers to your grace, that may oppress and offend my brothers and sisters.
Fill my spirit Lord, so that I may give services of justice and peace.
Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory.
And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God."
Amen.
Venerable Augustus Tolton, pray for us.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.
St. Oscar Romero, pray for us.
St. Anna Wang, pray for us.
Servant of God, Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us.
St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, 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.
Day Nine
Saint Juan Diego
Learn
Saint Juan Diego (1474-1548) was born into an Chichimec family who named him Cuauhtlatohuac (“The eagle who speaks”). Inspired by Franciscan missionaries, he was baptized as an adult and became a devout Catholic. On Dec 9, 1531, the Blessed Mother appeared to him, speaking in his native language of Nahuatl. She asked him to appeal to the bishop to build a shrine there. When the bishop responded with skepticism, Juan told the Blessed Mother about his experience. She instructed him to pick the flowers he would find on the hill and place them in his tilmàtli (cloak).
When he unfolded his garment in front of the bishop, there were the fresh roses, and a beautiful image of Mary as an indigenous maiden was imprinted on the garment. The bishop built the shrine as instructed, and Our Lady of Guadalupe became a powerful testimony to the dignity and faith of indigenous peoples in the Americas. In his willingness to swallow his fears, speak truth to power, and trust in God’s grace, Juan Diego is a witness to God’s preferential option for poor and marginalized people around the world.
Almost 500 years after St. Juan Diego’s encounter with the Mother of Jesus, Indigenous, Black and other people of color are routinely not heard or believed when they are in the presence of authority figures, both secular and religious. Looking ahead to Tuesday, when we mark the 1-year commemoration of the death of George Floyd, we mourn those officers’ failure to respond with compassion when he cried out, “I can’t breathe.”
Act
Police brutality is an attack on the dignity and sanctity of human life, and it disproportionately affects Black, Latinx, and other people of color. Learn about the history of your local law enforcement as it relates to their interactions with communities of color. Here is an interactive overview of the Philadelphia Police Department’s history with police brutality against the Black community.
Then, check out and support organizations in your area working to reform the criminal justice system and who offer aid to those who have been harmed by it.
In Philadelphia, Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity provides free legal advice and representation to low-income Philadelphia residents whose criminal records are holding them back from achieving their social and career potentials. Check out their “How to Help” page to learn how you can get involved as a community member.
Pray
Loving Creator, we thank you for the vastness, diversity, and beauty of humanity. In Our Lady’s apparition to St. Juan Diego, we see affirmed your love for us all and your desire to meet us as you made us. Knowing that we often fail follow your example, we ask you to help us to remain attuned, humble and responsive to the dignity of every human person. Grant us the courage to hear and respond to the cries of people who are denied respect, compassion and justice--especially people of color. St. Juan Diego, pray for us.
Take a moment for silent reflection.
Wake me up Lord, so that the evil of racism finds no home within me.
Keep watch over my heart Lord, and remove from me any barriers to your grace, that may oppress and offend my brothers and sisters.
Fill my spirit Lord, so that I may give services of justice and peace.
Clear my mind Lord, and use it for your glory.
And finally, remind us Lord that you said, "blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God."
Amen.
Venerable Augustus Tolton, pray for us.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.
St. Oscar Romero, pray for us.
St. Anna Wang, pray for us.
Servant of God, Nicholas Black Elk, pray for us.
St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
St. Lorenzo Ruiz, 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.
Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful,
and enkindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Amen.
Parts of our novena are inspired by and borrowed (with permission) from the Ignatian Solidarity Network’s Novena for Racial Justice.
“Wake me up Lord” prayer is from For The Love of One Another (1989), a special message from the Bishops' Committee on Black Catholics of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops on the Occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the Pastoral Letter, Brothers and Sisters to Us, the U.S. Catholic bishops' Pastoral Letter on Racism (1979). Copyright © 2018, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. All rights reserved. This text may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration for nonprofit educational use, provided such reprints are not sold and include this notice.
Copyright (C) 2023 New Encounters: Catholics Confronting Racism. All rights reserved. If you would like to share/use this novena, please be sure to credit us!