It’s All in the Name: Healing The Issue of Racism (Part I)

saved, trust

By Deacon Gerard-Marie Anthony

If someone knocks on your door, what do you normally say?  You say, “Who is it?” You do this because a name tells a lot about a person, group, and organization.  The name will usually influence your decision as to whether you will open the door or not.  Well, right now there are two people knocking at the door of our hearts both as individuals and collectively as a society concerning the topics of race relations and the fundamental truth that Black Life matters.  We must, therefore, be prudent and ask the crucial question, “Who is it?”  This issue is a lot bigger than a political party or a colorful movement.  It is about recognizing who is behind the door!!!  One group of people knocking are the Devil and his minions.  The other group of persons is God. It is vital to look at the names of the Devil and God to decide who we should allow into the door of our hearts to heal as individuals and as a society.

The Names of the Devil

The names of the Devil we will look at are Liar/Murderer, Satan (accuser), and Lucifer/Prince of this World.  From looking at these names, we will know how to recognize the diabolical and keep our door shut because opening the door to the diabolical has dire consequences.    In contrast, the Holy Names of the Blessed Trinity are Father, Son/Jesus, and Holy Spirit/Giver of life.   When we hear and recognize these names, we should open the door of our hearts because this will lead to prosperous and peaceful consequences.  So, let us look at these names!

The first names of the Devil are Murderer/Liar.  We look at these names because Jesus tells us in extraordinarily strong terms that this is the devil’s character and that we should not live as his children!  He tells us, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here… Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn. 8:42-44).  Jesus is emphatic about condemning lies and not being a liar because He is the “way, the truth, and the life.  Nobody can come to the Father but through [Jesus].” (Jn. 14:6). 

Lies are a rejection of Jesus and the Liar wants us to reject Christ so we can break our relationship with the Father.  The result is what Sr. Miriam James, SOLT calls Spiritual-Orphan Syndrome.  We live as if God has abandoned us and so we lose hope.  We do not trust God or one another so we lose faith and since we cannot love those we do not trust, we lose love.  Let us not buy into this misery, especially when it comes to the topic of racism!  God does not leave us as orphans (on the contrary, He promises not to do so in Jn. 14:18 and fulfills this after His Resurrection Matt. 28:20), but wants us to dwell in His Fatherly heart by dwelling in the truth both as an individual and as a community.  

Racism

Therefore, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Pastoral Letter Against Racism states:

Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbor’s Christ calls us to love (Mt 22:39). Racism occurs because a person ignores the fundamental truth that, because all humans share a common origin, they are all brothers and sisters, all equally made in the image of God. When this truth is ignored, the consequence is prejudice and fear of the other, and—all too often—hatred.

We should not open the door to our hearts to hatred.  Therefore, we must ask Jesus (whose name means “God saves”) to be amidst our conversations and that those conversations should be inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Giver of life.  So, let us lay down some truths because the Devil likes confusion and disorder:

  • Just because someone says, “Black Life matters”; it does not mean they do not think other ethnicities do not matter.   At the same time, just because someone says, “All Life matters” does not mean that they have the intention of devaluing the lives of African Americans.
  • Just because racist actions occur on an individual level, does not mean that everyone is racist and wants to promote racism.   Let us take an example from History.  The History Channel has an article about the Klu Klux Klan.   It writes:

The KKK was founded in 1865, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) extended into almost every southern state by 1870 and became a vehicle for white southern resistance to the Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for Black Americans. Its members waged an underground campaign of intimidation and violence directed at white and Black Republican leaders” [emphasis mine].  

Think Logically

So this would be like saying just because the non-Republicans had people who did NOT want political and economic equality for Black Americans, that ALL Non-Republicans do not want political and economic equality for Black Americans. That would be absurd, illogical, and a lie. We must be consistent in applying this same logic to our current times. 

  • If blacks are talking about a bad experience with police or authority; it should not simply be blown off or dismissed.   While acknowledging the bad experience(s) however, we cannot conclude that ALL police or authority hate or just want to hunt down black people (see point 2).
  • If a white person is afraid to talk about the issue of racism and even all that is going on in America at the present moment; it does not mean they don’t care or that the issue of racism is low on their list of priorities.   The biggest reason that racism is not talked about, based on the many peace-making efforts I have been doing between the Black and Caucasian communities, is because of the fear of being labeled as a racist because the person may use the wrong adjective (like call someone black instead of African American) or do not agree with rioting and looting.  
  • We should not be so quick to dismiss “Systematic Racism” here in America.  It exists and it is called Planned Parenthood!   Because of the push for abortion, especially in poor black neighborhoods, over 25% of the African American race never gets a chance to make a difference in our world.   The Center for Disease Control in a report released in 2018 tells us that 36% of abortions in America were African American life with a whopping 121,829 black babies that were killed.   To put this in perspective, in the same year of the report according to website Mapping Police Violence, there were 1,143 lives (this is black and all ethnicities) lost to police shootings.   There is 106 times more black life lost through abortion than total (black and all ethnicities) lives lost to police shootings.  Catherine Davis and Bradley Mattes make this systematic racism point ever more poignant, “According to U.S. census data, there were 18,871,831 black American citizens in 1960. Since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973, abortion has killed an estimated 20 million black babies — more than the entire black population of 1960.”  How is this not being made an issue as this is by far the number one killer of Black Life?  We need to talk about it, not to condemn women who have had abortions but to help work towards opportunities to help them have resources so black life can be honored and celebrated.   

So let’s not live under the name of Liar and kill the truth and our relationship with God and our brothers, but let’s live under the names of Jesus and the Holy Spirit so we can have harmony and live as children of our Heavenly Father.   We will look at the other two names of the devil in the next part of our series, but let us take to heart the names of Truth and Peace instead of Murderer and Liar for the good of all.  

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6 thoughts on “It’s All in the Name: Healing The Issue of Racism (Part I)”

  1. Pingback: Pray My Name—Racism and God - Catholic Stand

  2. The worst aggravator of racism and misunderstanding between the races is President Trump and this site absolutely refuses to criticize him.

    He called “Black Lives Matter” a “symbol of hate”.
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2020/07/01/trump-calls-planned-black-lives-matter-sign-by-trump-tower-a-symbol-of-hate/#2d7d35745e7b

    He is going to veto a military appropriations bill passed by his own party because it requires renaming bases named after Confederate heroes.
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-threatens-to-veto-defense-bill-over-provision-to-strip-confederate-base-names-11593614483

    And that’s just from this morning.

    1. Dcn. Gerard-Marie Anthony

      This is not about Trump; Republican vs Democrat. This is about good vs evil. If we keep trying to blame rather than love, we are missing the point. Let’s stop pointing fingers and ask ourselves, what can we do to love our brothers and sisters instead of trying to tear down people, even the president.

    2. This is not about Trump; Democrat vs Republican. This is about good vs evil.
      We must stay focused on how can we love our brothers and sisters. We must stop trying to spread hatred of any person, even the president. If we spread hate, we are missing the point.

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