A reflection by Jack Clark Robinson, OFM, on the Franciscan Heritage 
  These pictures were taken in the chapel at Casa Guadalupe Friary. The community decided to note the observance of February as Black History Month by use of an aid created by the Racial Justice Working Group under the Justice Committee, JPIC of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood. The aid included a collage of pictures (at right, below) of significant figures from Black history here in the United States, one for each day of the month. So at Brother Bruce’s suggestion, we read about one of them each morning before Morning Prayer.

The first picture is of a quite recent figure, Amanda Gorman, the young Catholic poet who read one of her poems at the presidential inauguration and the Super Bowl. The second is also a current figure, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the Archbishop of Washington, D.C. (I am privileged to have a personal connection to Cardinal Gregory. While he was an Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, Cardinal Gregory confirmed me and then ten days later ordained me to the diaconate). Other figures include John Lewis, the late Congressman, who was a leader in the fight for equal rights for people of color for over 50 years, as well as Thurgood Marshall, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. There are also artists, such as Louis Armstrong - the musician, Spike Lee -the movie-maker, and Alvin Ailey - the choreographer. Perhaps most fittingly, the person chosen to be remembered on Ash Wednesday, February 17th this year, was George Floyd.

Entering Lent, our time of fasting, penance, and prayer, we are reminded that we have much to do individually to be truly penitent, that is, to be at work trying to do things to make our lives with God and with each other more what God wants them to be. On Friday of the first week of Lent, we hear from the Prophet Isaiah:
Truly, the bonds of racism and the yoke of prejudice remain like a knee to the neck of many, still oppressing them. We must work to free ourselves and our society from bondage to the distortions of racism and prejudice. Sharing the bread of the Eucharist at the Table of the Lord should strengthen us to share the bread of life with all who are hungry, to shelter them from injustice, and clothe them with dignity. For the message of Christ takes one step further, the message of Isaiah, to turn our backs on anyone, is to turn our back on our own.

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