Under the Acacia Tree

November has traditionally been celebrated as Black Catholic History Month.   One of the historic moments that we might well forget is the document, What We Have Seen and Heard.

What We Have Seen and Heard was written by the African American Bishops of the United States in 1984.  It was their first joint pastoral letter and detailed the need for evangelization in the African American community.  Bishop Steib is one of the original signers of the document.

One of the features of What We Have Seen and Heard which caught my eye is the way in which the Bishop’s defined a Black spirituality.  The Bishops noted four major qualities to black spirituality.  They said that Black spirituality is contemplative. Prayer is spontaneous and pervasive in the Black tradition. They also noted that the ancestors taught that African Americans cannot run from God.  They must, instead, lean on him and surrender to his love.

For a black person, the religious experience is one of the whole human being - feelings, intellect, heart and head.  In other words, Black spirituality is holistic.

The Bishops also noted that Black Spirituality is joyful.  It is a celebration in movement, song, rhythm, feeling and thanksgiving. The  joy is a sign of the people’s  faith.

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 community with no one being left out or forgotten. Community also means social concern and social justice. So, the fourth quality of Black Spirituality according to the Bishops is that Black spirituality is communal.

This year the African American Bishops are celebrating the silver anniversary of the document What We Have Seen and Heard, by putting together a digital statement that will soon be available on the web.   There were ten African American Bishops in 1984.  Today there are sixteen, although six are retired.  Many changes have occurred in the history of the United States since the African American Bishops put together What We Have Seen and Heard in 1984.  All of us are grateful for those changes.  But we must continue, people of every race, to pursue the goals that will bring us to the Promised Land together putting aside the divisive moments and even strategies that too many foster to try and destroy the good will that has been built up over time.  

Rev. John Geaney, CSP

Pastor

November 1, 2009