Monsignor Daniel Trapp & Kathleen Trice
One of the more well-known African American spirituals of the journey song genre is entitled ,
“ I Want Jesus to Walk with Me .” Sung in the nineteenth century by the Fisk Jubilee Singers and scores of other choirs since , the song calls out “ All along my pilgrim ’ s journey , I want Jesus to walk with me .” Jesus , as he has walked with us , has allowed us as a people to both see the sin of racism more clearly and to confront it with hope . As Christians we have seen that in order for there to be justice and peace among us , Jesus has had to walk with us . In this article , we will examine what happens when Jesus walks with us and talks with us .
For three weeks this summer members of Archdiocesan parishes took part in the protests against racism in front of the Detroit police headquarters . The Catholic group , gathered around a large crucifix , was there to pray for justice and peace . In addition to praying , the group members spoke with police officers , protesters , and observers . Several people thanked the group members for being there and for the silent prayer being offered .
There are moments when Jesus leads us in silent prayer and accompaniment , moments when he leads us to hear the word of God in church and moments when he stirs us to action .
What does Jesus in the Church teach us about the sin of racism ? The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches : The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it : “ Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex , race , color , social conditions , language , or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God ’ s design .” 1
Developing the teaching on discrimination from the Second Vatican Council , the American Bishops specify that “ racism is not merely one sin among many , it is a radical evil dividing the human family ….” 2
The radical evil of racism is an affront to God ’ s design , is incompatible with God ’ s design , and is a sin against justice . The catechism defines justice as “ the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor .” 3
As Jesus walked with the Church , we saw the enslaving of Blacks in chattel slavery condemned as an injustice by the sovereign pontiffs . Pope Eugene IV in 1435 exhorted all Christians “ through the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ shed for their sins , one and all ,” to desist from the slave trade then being practiced in the Canary Islands , and which soon spread to the New World . 4 Similarly , in 1537 Pope Paul III in Sublimi Dei wrote of the enslavement of Indigenous peoples as a work of the devil , as something “ unheard of before now ” reducing them to slavery and “ treating them with afflictions they would scarcely use with brute animals .” 5
To work for justice , the Lord gives us the spirit of piety . Piety , as described by Fr . Reginald Garrigou-LaGrange , “ fills us with a filial affection for God our Father and makes us worship with our whole hearts .” 6 That filial affection , in turn , bestows on us the ability to see others as God sees them , allowing us to give what is due to God and neighbor . When Jesus walks with us , seeing others as God sees them , temptations to racism lose their potency .
The sin of racism , rooted in the work of the devil that was the transatlantic slave trade , has tempted and seduced people for generations in our lands . How can we have hope ?
“ The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man ,” the catechism teaches us . 7 Hope is possible for us when we live in Jesus , “ placing our trust in Christ ’ s promises and relying not on our own strength , but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit .” 8
When we see so much evil in the world ; when people are stomped on , choked , shot , and abused for so long , how can we hope ? How can we nurture aspirations of happiness ? The brutality made public these past months is not new , it has been endured for generations , and hope rises against it .
The gift of the Holy Spirit that is poured out on us when we implore God ’ s help and are tempted to despair is the gift of knowledge ; it corresponds to the virtue of hope . In his Three Ages of the Interior Life , Father Garrigou-LaGrange writes : The gift of knowledge corresponds to hope in this sense , that it makes us see the emptiness of created things and of human help , and consequently the necessity of
shms . edu 7