Just when we think our world hasn't been shaken enough - the death of George Floyd. I know it is on your mind, as it is mine. All our unrest from quarantine, the suffering we feel from the weight of the pandemic, and the grief from losing those we love has all been brought to the surface. We desire to DO something. People are angry, and rightly so. This murder shows us that racism is still present in our country, even if we tried to brush the topic under the rug before, our country is telling us we can't do that now!
Although I am deeply saddened by the death of George Floyd, I am perhaps even more saddened by many people's responses to it. The violence. The looting. The vandalism. This isn't the answer to the problem. I know there is nothing wrong with feeling just anger, there isn't even anything wrong with acting out on that anger in appropriate ways: protesting and standing in solidarity with our brothers and sisters is good! But we also need to look at the bigger picture. How can we use our anger to fuel the fire of life, instead of a fire of death and destruction? How can we be part of the solution? Many times the Catholic Church is looked down upon because of all it's "rules", the times it does not address the hard issues (racism, homosexuality, pornography, etc) and the times it seems not to hear those who feel note heard, persecuted, or not welcome. I say this because oftentimes we leave these things up to "someone else" to figure out or address. We (myself included) often think that "The Church" applies to a building, or the Pope, or the staff of our parish, etc. YOU are the Catholic Church WE are the Catholic Church - the Body of Christ, His hands and feet! This issue cannot be solved by "someone else". It must be solved through US. It starts HERE and NOW. If there is something that this pandemic and the past 3 months have taught us, it should be that God can bring goodness out of chaos - if we let Him. Let's turn to God in prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to open our minds and our hearts, and listen to what He tells us. Let us pray for all those who give us a reason to feel anger, and pray for those who are the victims of others angry actions. Another way we can be part of the solution, is that we CANNOT ignore this and pass through this time trying to block it out or ignore it. When we ignore it, we become part of the problem. We need to be open and have conversations with our family, our friends, our children. Talk about racism, talk about what happened and how you feel about it. Talk about what responses we do feel inside, and what a response might be as a Christian people. "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." ~Galatians 3:28 Pray. Converse. Be part of the solution. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has many resources for us to learn more about the evil of racism. They give us many resources and call us to DIALOGUE. (This link below will take you to the many resources offered by the USCCB) http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/racism/ "But the violence of recent nights is self-destructive and self-defeating. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost. Let us keep our eyes on the prize of true and lasting change. Legitimate protests should not be exploited by persons who have different values and agendas. Burning and looting communities, ruining the livelihoods of our neighbors, does not advance the cause of racial equality and human dignity. We should not let it be said that George Floyd died for no reason. We should honor the sacrifice of his life by removing racism and hate from our hearts and renewing our commitment to fulfill our nation’s sacred promise — to be a beloved community of life, liberty, and equality for all." ~Archbishop Gomez
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