SICKLERVILLE – Prophetic. Vision. Thrive.
These are key words in the theme of the upcoming National Black Catholic Congress – the 13th to be convened since 1889. They were also words Sister Cora Marie Billings asked the 50 men and women gathered before her to reflect upon during the diocesan Black Catholic Ministry Commission’s annual Day of Reflection.
“A prophetic voice points people toward God, and having a prophetic voice is more than being insightful. It’s the ability to tune into what the Holy Spirit is saying and then being able to communicate what we have gotten from the spirit,” she said. “Communication is really hard, and it takes intentional work.”
Intentional work was what brought Black Catholics and others from across the Diocese – including a number of young people – together Nov. 5 in the lower level of Saint Charles Borromeo Church. There, the faithful spent the day in prayer, reflection and honest discussion in preparation for the National Black Catholic Congress XIII, which has as its theme, “Write the Vision: A Prophetic Call to Thrive.”
The topics that were discussed will be discerned upon and gathered in a report for the Diocese of Camden and presented during the July 2023 national gathering in Maryland. The Congress aims to foster freedom, evangelization and the spiritual well-being of Black Catholics within and outside the Church.
“Let today be a beginning of an awakening, and a call to justice and vision, to increase the love of our Catholic faith and to spread that joy of the Gospel in our various communities and parishes across South Jersey,” said Father Vincent Guest, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Camden, and coordinator of the Black Catholic Ministry Commission and the diocesan Racial Justice Commission.
He also called for an increased awareness of the number of Black Catholics being lifted up as candidates for sainthood: Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Servant of God Thea Bowman, Venerable Augustus Tolton, Servant of God Mary Lange, Servant of God Julia Greeley and Venerable Henriette DeLille.
“Let today be the beginning of a productive, honest and prayerful conversation of how we can welcome back those who have left the fold … and how we can encourage our young people to rise up and be saints one day,” Father Guest said.
Retired Deacon Bill Johnson, who led the faithful in prayer, and Msgr. Leonard G. Scott, a retired priest of the Diocese and member of the Canon Law Society of America, were among the clergy in attendance at the retreat held during the first week of Black Catholic History Month.
Facilitating the day, Sister Cora Marie – the first Black member of the Sisters of Mercy in Merion, Pa.; the first Black sister to teach in a Catholic high school in Philadelphia, and a friend of Sister Thea Bowman – challenged the group to be honest in preparing for the 2023 congress.
“Vision sometimes has to go beyond the imaginable. We have to have the commitment to go beyond what we think we are able to do. With God, all things are possible,” she said.
She continued. “Another important word in the congress’ theme is thrive. We have to get to the point where we are thriving in our lives, not just surviving. A point where we’re not just dealing with a crisis and all the things that are going wrong in our world. To thrive means you are living and you are trying. You are depending on your faith, you trust and you’re living the life of God.
“Sometimes, I’ll ask somebody, ‘How are you?’ And they say, ‘I’m hanging on.’ And I say, ‘Are you hanging with your fingernail, or are you hanging on with your whole hand?’”
“So be truthful with yourself,” she said, urging all to listen to what is within one’s heart as well as to others. “In your discussions, put out the truth. Not what you think others want to hear.”
Though the faithful’s discussions must still be compiled into an official report, Cheryl Wright, chairwoman for the Diocese’s Black Catholic Ministry Commission and a member of Sacred Heart Parish, shared some general themes from the day. Among them were the need to promote vocations from local parish communities and support current Black seminarians and religious sisters; attend Mass with one’s family; read and study Scripture, and to be active participants in the parish as pastoral council members, lectors, catechists and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion – as well as “in our Diocese – to be at the table where decisions are being made.”
Karen Johnson, secretary for the Black Catholic Ministry Commission, said the Day of Reflection “gave Black Catholic lay persons and religious an opportunity to voice concerns on issues regarding the gifts we have to offer now and in the future to assure that the Catholic Church acknowledges that we are all children of God.”
To learn more about the National Black Catholic Congress, visit nbccongress.org.
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