Ash Wednesday

Readings of the Day

“For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always.” – Psalm 51 (Responsorial Psalm)

In today’s world, this statement is only partially true – our sin is always before us, even when we don’t acknowledge it. That sin is racism.

When the US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued yet another statement on racism more than two years ago, they noted that “racism still profoundly affects our culture, and it has no place in the Christian heart.”

Yet, there is a problem when we consider racism. Actually, there are three problems, as Fr. Bryan Massingale, SJ notes in his powerful book, “Racial Justice and the Catholic Church.” First, we don’t know what we are talking about; second, we don’t know how to talk about it; and third, we really don’t want to talk about it.

He explains that we lack clarity and agreement on what “racism” means; we don’t know how to talk about it productively in an interracial setting where we might not want to appear ignorant or intolerant; and we don’t want to talk about how one racial group benefits from this racial hierarchy.

This is not political correctness, as some might argue. Rather, it is the reality of life in America today. And Lent is a perfect time to lament this sin and understand our connection to its continued existence.

We can begin by educating ourselves. We can read the bishops’ pastoral letter, “Open Wide Our Hearts” and make use of the many educational and parish resources available on the website of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.       

We can read “Poverty and Racism” from Catholic Charities USA, which notes that, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial events of the past year, “these times offer us a unique opportunity to enter into transformative kinship with our sisters and brothers of differing ethnicities and backgrounds.”

In doing these things, we can learn not only about racism, but also about white supremacy and systemic racism. We will appreciate why the bishops wrote, “Racism can only end if we contend with the policies and institutional barriers that perpetuate and preserve inequality – economic and social – that we still see all around us.”

Only then can we meaningfully pray those other words of today’s responsorial psalm: “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.” 

Deacon Walter C. Ayres is Director of Catholic Charities Commission on Peace and Justice in the Diocese of Albany, New York.

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