Martin Luther King, Jr., St. Martin de Porres and St. Francis: Practicing the ways of nonviolence
Posted by Kelly Moltzen on Monday, January 20, 2014
It felt so good today to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with the St. Martin de Porres League at Immaculate Conception Church, a Capuchin Franciscan parish in the Bronx. St. Martin de Porres is the patron saint of racial justice, connecting the goal of racial justice back to Catholic social justice teaching and the Franciscan understanding of all humans as equal and deserving of equitable treatment.
We started off singing the National Black Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," followed by a medley of scripture, music, poetry, girls doing liturgical dance, and boys reciting from memory powerful words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
We then heard words from guest speaker Tiffani Blake from The College of New Rochelle, who "refused to let the 'hood define or determine [her] outcome." Tiffani spoke of the strides which have been made in fulfilling Dr. King's dream, but there is still a need to begin again. People of color still suffer from issues like stop & frisk, "driving while black," being followed in stores, having methods of payments questioned, inadequate healthcare, and unaffordable tuition. Tiffani reminded everyone that Pope Francis has called us to "faith and love in action." I am hopeful that we can continue to put our faith into action to make Dr. King's dream a reality. And if we don't know what to do next, let us be reminded that Dr. King once said "faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
I think my favorite part of the event was the "City Angels" youth singing "I need you to survive":
I need you, you need me.
We're all a part of God's body.
Stand with me, agree with me.
We're all a part of God's body.
It is his will, that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
...
I pray for you, You pray for me.
I love you, I need you to survive.
I won't harm you with words from my mouth.
I love you, I need you to survive.
...
It is his will, that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive
What a Franciscan song! How true, we all need each other, and we need to work together without harmful words or actions. And so good to hear the words coming from the youth - our future generation.
Martin Luther King Jr. was 39 when he died - only a few years younger than St. Francis of Assisi, who died when he was only 44. (Not to mention Jesus who died when he was ~33!) While these men died relatively young, they all led immensely purposeful lives and are known as stewards of nonviolence all over the world. When Martin Luther King Jr. was locked up, he said "I'm in jail because I believe that the law of God is higher than the law of men." We are never too young to cultivate peace in our community. And our generation of youth has so much potential to do so.
Fr. John LoSasso OFM Cap closed by saying, "You've got to speak the truth - not only speak the truth but be the truth that you speak." Sounds familiar to the words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words."
We started off singing the National Black Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," followed by a medley of scripture, music, poetry, girls doing liturgical dance, and boys reciting from memory powerful words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
We then heard words from guest speaker Tiffani Blake from The College of New Rochelle, who "refused to let the 'hood define or determine [her] outcome." Tiffani spoke of the strides which have been made in fulfilling Dr. King's dream, but there is still a need to begin again. People of color still suffer from issues like stop & frisk, "driving while black," being followed in stores, having methods of payments questioned, inadequate healthcare, and unaffordable tuition. Tiffani reminded everyone that Pope Francis has called us to "faith and love in action." I am hopeful that we can continue to put our faith into action to make Dr. King's dream a reality. And if we don't know what to do next, let us be reminded that Dr. King once said "faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
I think my favorite part of the event was the "City Angels" youth singing "I need you to survive":
I need you, you need me.
We're all a part of God's body.
Stand with me, agree with me.
We're all a part of God's body.
It is his will, that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
...
I pray for you, You pray for me.
I love you, I need you to survive.
I won't harm you with words from my mouth.
I love you, I need you to survive.
...
It is his will, that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive
What a Franciscan song! How true, we all need each other, and we need to work together without harmful words or actions. And so good to hear the words coming from the youth - our future generation.
Martin Luther King Jr. was 39 when he died - only a few years younger than St. Francis of Assisi, who died when he was only 44. (Not to mention Jesus who died when he was ~33!) While these men died relatively young, they all led immensely purposeful lives and are known as stewards of nonviolence all over the world. When Martin Luther King Jr. was locked up, he said "I'm in jail because I believe that the law of God is higher than the law of men." We are never too young to cultivate peace in our community. And our generation of youth has so much potential to do so.
Fr. John LoSasso OFM Cap closed by saying, "You've got to speak the truth - not only speak the truth but be the truth that you speak." Sounds familiar to the words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words."