Sharing Our Gifts in Catholic Worship: 'Black and Catholic'

Editorial Note: This is the first of a two-part series of reflections on the gifts of Black Catholics by Deacon Alfred Adams, Director of the Office of Black Catholics of the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Members of the African American Catholic Community of the Diocese of Baton Rouge have expressed their concern of not being able share their gift of Blackness in their African American parishes. Because of our commitment as the Office of Black Catholics and living out our baptismal call, we are voicing their concerns so as to feel like the Catholic Church is a homeland for all people.

Pope Paul VI expressed many years ago that we as African Americans are to share our gift of Blackness with the Church. He said we will be capable of bringing to the Catholic Church the precious and original contribution of Blackness, which the church particularly needs in this historic hour. The gift of Blackness, is so intensely expressive and so alive that it come from the very depths of the Black soul, a gift not just to improve the work of evangelization but to further the very Catholic nature that is the Church’s.

There are some of our brothers and sisters in this Holy Catholic Church who seem to be afraid of us being “Black and Catholic." On June 17, 1989 at Seton University, Sister Thea Bowman addressed the U.S. Bishops asking for empowerment for her people. She called for a church that would be truly catholic, a church in which the gifts of all people would be welcome. She began by singing “Sometime I feel like a motherless child, a long way from home,” and she asked; “Can you hear me church, will you help me church? I’m a pilgrim on the journey looking for a home, and Jesus told me that heaven is my home and I have here no lasting city. Cardinals, archbishops, bishops, my brothers or church, please help me to get home.”

Some may ask or wonder “What does it mean to be Black and Catholic?” There are probably many meanings but I like the meaning Sister Thea gives, “It means that I come to my church fully functioning. That doesn’t frighten you, does it? I come to my church fully functioning. I bring myself, my black self, all that I am, all that I have, all that I hope to become, I bring my whole history, my traditions, my experience, my culture, my African American song and dance and gesture and movement and teaching and preaching and healing and responsibility as gift to the church.” 

One of our gifts that we bring and try to share with the church is Sacred Music. African American sacred music and in particular, gospel music, has transformed the way many Black Catholics and other Catholic believers worship God in the Holy Mass and in our everyday lives. Vatican II documents clearly stated, “There are people who have their own musical tradition, and this plays a great part in their religion and social life. For this reason their music should be held in proper esteem and a suitable place to be given to it, not only in forming their religious sense but also in adapting worship to their native genius.” 

“Sing to the Lord; Music in Divine Worship,” developed by the Music Subcommittee of the Committee on Divine Worship of the USCCB, tells us that there are different kind of music for the Liturgy. Sacred Music in the Liturgy involves ritual and spiritual dimension, both of which must be considered within cultural context. Ritual dimension refer to those ways in which it is connected with the liturgical action so that it accords with the structure of the Liturgy and expresses the shape of the rite. Spiritual dimension refer to its inner qualities that enable it to add greater depth to prayer, unity to the assembly, or dignity to the ritual. Cultural dimension refer to the setting in which the ritual and spiritual dimension come into play. In this diocese, we have a diverse and multicultural heritage which needs to be looked at and study so that all may feel at home in this Holy Catholic Church. Liturgical music must always be chosen and sung with due consideration for the culture of the people and abilities of each liturgical assembly. 

The African American Catholic worship experience must be looked it and study especially in the African American parishes. It should be the catalyst for dynamic church growth and a primary tool for evangelization. September 9, 1984, on the feast of St. Peter Claver, ten Black Bishops published the document; “What We Have Seen and Heard; A Pastoral Letter on Evangelization” as a witness to the Black community. They sought to explain that evangelization is both a call and a response; it means not only preaching but also witnessing. We believe that people in leadership position and working in African American parishes should and must look at and study this document, which is our history, so as to understand how we worship the God who has brought us this far by faith..

We will share a brief summary of the document in two parts. The first part the bishops talked about the shared gifts rooted in our African heritage and the second part they discussed the obstacles to evangelization that we must overcome.

Part One – The Gifts We Share
We have many gifts from our African past that we must share. Our Blackness is a gift as well our Catholic faith. By sharing we will enrich our community, our Church and ourselves.

· Scripture: African American spirituality is based on Sacred Scripture. From the dark days of slavery we heard Bible stories repeated in sermons, spirituals and shouts. God will protect his people and preserve his children. For us this Bible promise is a message of liberation and hope. “You will know the truth” Jesus said, “and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). For us people freedom is a cherished gift from God, never to be abused or taken for granted, but freedom brings responsibility too. We oppose oppression for unless all are free, none are free. We must teach others to value freedom and work to see that none are denied its benefits.

· The Gift of Reconciliation: The Gospel message calls us to forgiveness and reconciliation. This value comes from our Black heritage. True reconciliation arises only where there is equality. This is justice and justice safeguards the rights of all. People must respect the culture values of others, which will result in an authentic Christian love.

· Our Spirituality and Its Gifts: Black Spirituality has four major characteristics:

1) Black Spirituality is contemplative. Prayer is spontaneous and pervasive in our tradition. Our ancestors taught that we cannot run from God, we must lean on him and surrender to his love.

2) Black Spirituality is holistic. The religious experience is one of the whole human being, feeling, intellect, heart, and head.

3) Black Spirituality is joyful. A celebration of movement, song, rhythm, feeling and thanksgiving. This joy is a sign of our faith.

4) Black Spirituality is communal. In African culture individual identity is found within the context of the community. The good of the community must come before personal profit and advancement. In the same way worship is a celebration of the community with no one being left out or forgotten. Community also means social concern and social justice. Our spiritual heritage always embraces the total human person.

· The Family: The heart of the human community is the family, and the Black family has been assailed. In the African tradition, family has always meant the extended family; grandparents, uncles, aunts, godparents, all related kin and close friends. Circumstances often required childcare to be the responsibility of many. Despite the erosion of our family life we as a people still have a strong sense of family bonds. This carries over to our Church where we see people as brothers and sisters to one another. For historical reasons the Black man was the object of racial hate, stripping him of his dignity. We must reevaluate the vocation of fatherhood and the importance of the Black man in the context of the black family. We challenge Black men to assert their spiritual strength and sense of responsibility. They must be models of virtue for their children and loving partners for their wives. Without a father no family life is complete.

In Black history women have been sources of strength and examples of courage and resolution. They have had to assume responsibilities within the family and community. Black women have not been subordinates to Black men, but they have served a complementary role. Black women have always been influential within our tradition.

· Abortion and Black Values: Black cultural tradition has always valued life. Children conceived outside of marriage became part of the extended family. Children have always been a sign of hope, but this perspective has been lost and is a cultural and spiritual impoverishment for us as a people. As a people of faith we must fight for the right to life of all our children.

· Ecumenism: There exists a reality called “The Black Church”. It has no denomination, no formal structure. Black Christians feel at ease joining in prayer with one another. The Black Church is a result of our common experience and history, it allows us to understand and appreciate each other, but we are loyal to all that is Catholic.

Deacon Alfred Adams is the Director of the Office of Black Catholics for the Diocese of Baton Rouge.