Pat Amato, Mary Finch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,  
 
The deacons and I have taken the time to write on the 7 deadly sins, and also these past 4 weeks we have written on the 4 cardinal virtues. Our desire in doing so was to bring to light how these deadly sins manifest and what undergirds them, also to
understand the beauty and goodness that comes with living the cardinal virtues.  
 
When we are invited to live the Christian life, these virtues coupled with grace are powerful. We grow in holiness and allow for opportunities to show others the joy that comes from living as a disciple of Jesus.  
 
Our Gospel reading today illustrates for us the need to not seek honors but by taking the lowest place we can live humbly and trust in God’s grace and providence. 

Being humble, C.S. Lewis states is “not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” Turning our attention to others is a selfless and loving action. Being humble in this respect allows us to see what the Lord would like us to see and not be preoccupied in our own ego, or perception.
   
Another aspect to notice in the gospel is giving without counting the cost. To be selfless in this way means we do not expect to be repaid when helping another out, we do so simply because we have been given such great goods, and as a result ought to be donating in similar fashion. Being a steward of our goods reminds us that in the end not one thing is our own, we are custodians of goods.  Our true
reward as Jesus mentions comes in resurrection, this gift of divine grace that we could never earn we receive by living the invitation that comes from him.  
 
May we all receive the grace to live humbly and trust in the Lord’s invitation to be good selfless stewards.  
 
Peace in Christ,

 
Fr joe  

Saint Monica, you were persevering in your efforts to straighten the crooked paths of your son’s life. Your prayers, pilgrimages, fasts, and words were fruitful, but only after many tears. Help us to be as concerned as you for the immortal souls of those who are close to us. 

Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know you, / And desire nothing, save only you./ 

Let me hate myself and love you./ Let me do everything for the sake of you. / Let me humble myself and exalt you. / Let me think of nothing except you. / Let me accept whatever happens as from you. /  Let me banish self and follow you, / And ever desire to follow you. / Let me fly from myself and take refuge in you, / That I may deserve to be defended by you. / Let me fear for myself, let me fear you, / And let me be among those who are chosen by you. / Let me be willing to obey for the sake of you. / Let me cling to nothing, save only to you, / And let me be poor because of you. / Look upon me, that I may love you. / Call me, that I may see you, /  And for ever enjoy you. Amen

St. John the Baptist spoke the truth with great courage in calling others to a true change of heart, and to embrace the ways of God.  He did this not only by preaching, but also by example.  He fasted in the desert, and prepared the way for Jesus.  He had such a great courage, that he wasn’t fearful of speaking out about the immoral activities of his day.  This was the reasoning that led to his death, but he continued.  We can learn a lot from his life.  We too, can embrace the ways of God and speak out of the immorality of our day, and with the help of St. John the Baptist, we can prepare the way for Jesus to those around us. 

Daniel Rudd was born in 1854, to Catholic parents who were enslaved on a plantation in Kentucky. At the end of the Civil War in 1865 and now free, Daniel went to school, graduating from high school in Springfield, Ohio, a rare thing for any young man in those days, especially a Black man.

Daniel set to work at a local newspaper, dedicating himself to advocating for the rights of people of color, wanting to extend into secular matters the equality and dignity he found in his Catholic faith. He quickly became convinced of the strong role the press could play in furthering the causes of justice, and in 1885, he founded The Ohio Tribune in Springfield, the first newspaper in the United States printed by, and for, black Americans.

The Tribune eventually became the American Catholic Tribune, a national newspaper based in Cincinnati. Rudd wrote of his newspaper's mission: “We will do what no other paper published by colored men has dared to do - give the great Catholic Church a hearing and show that it is worthy of at least a fair consideration at the hands of our race, being as it is the only place on this Continent where rich and poor, white and black, must drop prejudice at the threshold and go hand in hand to the altar.”

In 1889, Rudd helped create the Colored Catholic Congress, a national gathering of leaders of the black Catholic community that met in Washington, DC. The meeting discussed topics of evangelization and Catholic life and they were even joined at one point by President Grover Cleveland. The Congresses were held occasionally for some years afterward, and was reborn in 1994 as the National Black Catholic Congress, which meets every five years.

Daniel Rudd died in 1933 at the age of 79, but his legacy lives on in the many Catholics who continued to be part of the struggle for civil rights for African-Americans throughout the 20th century.

For much more about Daniel Rudd, listen to American Catholic History, Episode #33.