P ASTORES D ABO V OBIS
JUL/AUG 2011
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC SEMINARIANS ASSOCIATION
Vol. 2 No. 4
A Message from the President
Photo: L’Osservatore Romano
“A .â€? These are the words of the beloved pope, Blessed John Paul II, in his address to the Black Catholic community given on September 12, 1987 in New Orleans. The address was based on Mark 16:15, “go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation.â€? This passage commands us to actively live the roles we received at our baptism—the roles of priest, prophet, and king. In the historic address, Blessed John Paul II praised the Church in the United States for its cultural diversity, including the diversity found in the hierarchy. The pope continued to say that he was close to the Black community and its mission, and encouraged Black youth to embrace the Catholic faith through their culture. The Black seminarians in the United States rejoice with the broader Catholic community on the beatiďŹ cation of such a great man who was instrumental in so many positive developments in world history. We keep his cause for canonization close to our hearts and minds, and in our prayers. During these warm days of summer we also celebrate the conclusion of another academic year. I oer my sincere congratulations to the men who have completed their preparation for the priesthood. The National Black Catholic Seminarians Association oers prayerful best wishes to all newly ordained priests as they begin their ministry. May your days be bright and your harvest plenty. Ad multos annos! Ί
Kareem R. Smith President
“I will give you shepherds‌â€?
All Are Called to Evangelize
Jeremiah 3:15
-ΑPASTORES DABO VOBIS The Newsletter of the National Black Catholic Seminarians Association PRESIDENT Kareem R. Smith Archdiocese of New York VICE PRESIDENT Dwayne Davis
Diocese of Brooklyn
SECRETARY Michael Trail
Archdiocese of Chicago
TREASURER Vacant
PASTORES DABO VOBIS is published bimonthly and is available to subscribers, free of charge, by electronic mail. ISSN 2159-1806 EDITOR Desmond Drummer
Archdiocese of Atlanta To receive a subscription or to offer comments and story ideas, send an email to the National Black Catholic Seminarians Association.
NATIONAL BLACK CATHOLIC
N*+,-: N6+?*;6: D6E *F P76E,7 2011 Brooklyn Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq and NBCSA Vice President Dwayne Davis led the 2011 National Day of Prayer for Vocations in the Black Catholic Community on May 7, 2011. Bishop Sansaricq presided at a holy hour held at Saint Benedict the Moor parish in Jamaica, Queens. The liturgy was covered by NET, a Brooklyn-based Catholic television network. The NBCSA thanks the individuals and Catholic communities who prayed with us this year. Ω
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www.josephite.com On June 14, 2011 the Society of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, also known as the Josephite Fathers and Brothers, elected a new superior general—Father William Norvel. This is the first time in its history that the Josephites, an order dedicated to ministry in the Black American community, will have a Black superior general. Please pray for Father Norvel as he embraces the new responsibilities to which he has been called. Ω
W*7:G Y*8+5 D6E 2011
www.usccb.org/wyd Visit the official stateside website for World Youth Day 2011. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has developed a variety of ways for Catholics in the United States to participate in World Youth Day and interact with one another through digital and social media. Through blogs, Facebook, and other means, participation is open to all. Ω
SEMINARIANS ASSOCIATION
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The NBCSA is an affiliate of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus
www.toltoncanonization.com
CONTACT THE NBCSA Kareem R. Smith St. John Neumann Seminary College 201 Seminary Avenue Yonkers, NY 10704-1896
nbcseminarians@gmail.com
-Ω-
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the ordination of Father Augustus Tolton. Confident in his heroic virtue, many are asking for Father Tolton’s intercession. Please keep his cause for canonization in your prayers. Bishop Joseph N. Perry, auxiliary bishop of Chicago and diocesan postulator for the cause, continues his work of nurturing the development of the Father Tolton Cause. Visit the website established for the cause to learn more about Father Tolton and this historic and grace-filled prayerful effort. Ω
S+*7E 6;G S*;9 Part Two: Daniel Rudd Jared T. Anderson, SDB (Nov.) | Salesians of Don Bosco—USA West
“T C ! " # , % & '& ! %( ) ' ( ' #& ) * " ". I " &( #& # #% " - ) & " '( % ) , B ) C " (! . 1 C 12:12). T ' 4 )& ) # " , # " ", 4 #&(( " ) " #5( ! ' 6 ), !& ( " ' ) 4 ( ! ## , " " & ' &(( " #& )": # !& ! " " ( ' , # ) !& ' 4 ) " & & ! & &%( 4 7".� —Blessed John Paul II, N#$# M&''())&# I)(*)+(, 46
F U V V W X “S Y S ,â€? I thought it best to introduce (or reintroduce, as the case may be) someone who, through his own life, oers us a poignant example for how we as seminarians and future priests interact with and support the laity for whom and with whom we work.
Daniel Rudd 1854-933
Daniel Rudd, best known for his being the catalyst for the American Catholic Tribune and the National Black Catholic Congress, shows us what can happen when one is well formed in their sense of baptismal priesthood. Rudd’s apostolate also reminds us about the importance of gathering together and being in community. It is worth noting that Daniel Rudd’s path to starting the American Catholic Tribune, a newspaper which served the Black Catholic population in the United States, was not without struggle. The Tribune had a small following and many of its articles were reprinted from other newspapers. Daniel Rudd had to pick up and move the Tribune oďŹƒce on more than one occasion. While working with the Tribune, Rudd suggested that the Black Catholics of the country gather for a congress, if for nothing more than to meet and discuss various issues that they experienced in their respective hometowns and dioceses. This undertaking was supported by various clergy members, including Josephite Father John Sla[ery, Archbishop William Henry Elder, and Father Augustus Tolton. This support only bolstered the movement, which grew and continues to this day. So what does this have to do with us? I think that in reecting on Daniel Rudd’s life, we are invited to take a look at how we work with and for the laity. We live in a day and age where we are formed to share ministry and collaborate with the laity. Even with that being the case, we all know that there are still some who would prefer that lay people stay in the pews, that they be seen and not heard, that the vocation of the laity be regarded as somehow less than that of a priest or religious. Rudd’s life is a shining example of what happens when lay people are not only supported by their clergy, but encouraged to take an idea and run with it. Continued on next page
Story and Song: Daniel Rudd (continued)
“...a-er my own heart.”
The National Black Catholic Congresses continue to provide a forum for us as the Black Catholic Church to gather and proclaim to the wider Church and society our apostolic vibrancy and our collective charism. It was not a clergy member who started this significant movement; it was a lay person who built the structure that we continue to use and build upon today. It was a lay person who gave voice to a movement that has lasted for over a century. And all of this done with the support and backing of the clergy. This leaves me with the following thought: imagine what we as Church can accomplish through serious support for and formation of the laity. Our faith cannot leave the parish building unless the people in the pews feel empowered enough to go out and be signs and bearers of the Good News. The clergy cannot accomplish this alone. To think that our ordained ministry and consecrated life is the end all and be all is to seriously deceive oneself and to seriously stifle the move of the Spirit. God willing, through our enthusiasm, joy, accompaniment, and pastoral wisdom, the Church will be blessed with many more lay faithful like Daniel Rudd. Ω
Prayer for the Cause of
Father Augustus Tolton O God, we give you thanks for your servant and priest, Father Augustus Tolton, who labored among us in times of contradiction, times that were both beautiful and paradoxical. His ministry helped lay the foundation for a truly Catholic gathering in faith in our time. We stand in the shadow of his ministry. May his life continue to inspire us and imbue us with that confidence and hope that will forge a new evangelization for the Church we love. Father in Heaven, Father Tolton’s suffering service sheds light upon our sorrows; we see them through the prism of your Son’s passion and death. If it be your Will, O God, glorify your servant, Father Tolton, by granting the favor I now request through his intercession (mention your request) so that all may know the goodness of this priest whose memory looms large in the Church he loved. Complete what you have begun in us that we might work for the fulfillment of your kingdom. Not to us the glory, but glory to you O God, through Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are our God, living and reigning forever and ever. Amen. Imprimatur
Bishop Joseph N. Perry
Francis Cardinal George, OMI Archdiocese of Chicago
2010
To report any spiritual or physical favors granted through prayer in Father Tolton’s name, please write: Office of the Cardinal Archdiocese of Chicago 835 North Rush Street Chicago, Illinois 60611