Why Eastern Christians call the days after Easter “Bright Week
This issue features:
- Beauty and Blackness
by Ansel Augustine
For Morgan, the Catholic Church “came into my life at a critical time. My father was passing away and a lady down the street offered to take me to church with her, and I really settled in.”
That was nearly 40 years ago. Morgan was confirmed on his 21st birthday.
“I was very, very impressed with the pageantry and I was very impressed with the fullness of the Church, the life of the Church, the sacraments, the Scriptures, the celebration of the Church. To me, it brought God to a totality I could really feel and see.” Read more...
CONGRATUATIONS TO THE NEW FULLY INITIATED!
These beautiful gift boxes were given to new fully initiated Catholics at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Harlem this Easter.
Peace and blessings of the Lenten season to you!
After a recent meeting with the U.S. Black Bishops, it has been decided that the National Black Catholic Congress 13, originally scheduled for 2022, should be postponed to 2023.
This decision was made to ensure that the event could be held in person, as the safety of our constituents – especially in light of the necessity for travel and accommodations – is of the highest concern.
I send all the best to you, and I include prayers that God blesses you abundantly.
Most Rev. Roy E. Campbell, Jr.
President
FOR TEENS AND YOUTH MINISTERS
10-MONTH WEBINAR SERIES
NEXT EPISODE: Sunday, May 2nd
6:00-7:30 PM EST
What’s Our Story? Chapter 10:
Title to Be Announced
Presenters: Lauren Morton and
Justin T. White.
An icon of Julia Greeley, the humble African American laywoman who received the
greatest honor in the history of the Archdiocese of Denver and has been declared a Servant of God, is becoming increasingly popular as her cause for canonization advances in Rome. Read more...
Joyful Mysteries:
Annunciation: humility;
Visitation: love of neighbor;
Birth of Jesus: detachment;
Presentation: obedience;
Finding in the Temple: greater commitment & devotion to Jesus.
Luminous Mysteries:
Baptism: openness to the Holy Spirit;
Miracle at Cana: Mary’s intercession;
Proclamation of the Kingdom & Repentance: Christian witness
and conversion;
Transfiguration: courage to bear
the cross;
Institution of the Holy Eucharist:
greater love for the Eucharist.
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The mission of the Catholic Church of Washington is to spread the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. In the faithful pursuit of this mission, the Archdiocese of Washington is seeking a Campus Minister at George Washington University. In collaboration with the Chaplain, the Campus Minister. Read
more...
FRANCISCAN UNIVERSITY OF STEUBENVILLE
JOB OPENINGS:
Residence Director, Female (in Gaming, Austria)
The Residence Director role is a full-time live-in position responsible for managing a complex, housing 150-210 full-time undergraduate and graduate students. The Female Residence Director works with the Male Residence Director and the Director of Student Life to promote a vibrant Catholic culture that helps students toward both growth and Christian maturity during their semester in Gaming, Austria.
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles
Nuns in rural area have had three incidents this lent.
By John Burger | Aleteia Magazine
A convent of Benedictine nuns in rural Missouri are trying to raise $200,000 for a security fence around their property, as a number of shootings over the years have posed a risk to their lives.
This lent, there have been three shootings that have hit the abbey of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles — a serious uptick in firearm activity that stretches back for years. Read more...
Business executive who is gospel singer, author to receive Laetare Medal
ByCatholic News Service
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (CNS) — Carla Harris, a top executive at the investment bank Morgan Stanley, and a celebrated gospel singer, speaker and author, will be awarded the University of Notre Dame’s 2021 Laetare Medal. Read more...
Don't miss this free and powerful town hall presentation!
Catch the new issue of the
Josephite Harvest
for news, interviews
& commentary.
Click on the image at right for a downloadable pdf file.
The Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, who have promoted the authentic message of Divine Mercy since 1941, are pleased to release the OFFICIAL Divine Mercy App.
Boston College School of Theology and Ministry
Boston College School of Theology and Ministry is a world-class center of theological study, where students thrive with the help of distinguished faculty and a diverse, attentive community. We offer master’s degrees and graduate certificates in theology and ministry, as well as a PhD in theology and education, preparing students for a variety of ministries in service to our Church and world.
How to Apply
Explore Our Programs
Scholarship Information
Scholarship Highlight: Lift Every Voice Scholarship
"What does it mean to be Black in the Church in society?” In her 1989 address to the USCCB, Sr. Thea Bowman raised this important question. “It means that I come to my Church fully functioning...I bring myself; my black self, all that I am, all that I have, all that I hope to become." This fellowship recognizes the need for transformative ministry and amplified voices in pursuit of racial justice and reconciliation. Candidates for this fellowship should demonstrate a commitment to the work of anti-racism and show potential for critical thinking and advocacy around the intersection of theology and race. This award covers up to 100% of a student’s tuition, based on merit and availability.
Please reach out to us with any questions at stmadm@bc.edu or 617-552-6506.
____________
Boston College School of Theology and Ministry is now hiring for two positions in our admissions office.
Assistant Director, Admissions:
https://bc.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/2/home/requisition/4548?c=bc
Admissions Assistant:
https://bc.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/2/home/requisition/4554?c=bc
WEBINAR FOR DANIEL RUDD FUND APPLICANTS
DEMYSTIFYING THE DANIEL RUDD FUND APPLICATION PROCESS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2021 | 2:00 PM EDT
With Tonya Marie Taylor-Dorsey
DAILY MASS - St. Joseph Church
2020 St Josephs Dr Upper Marlboro, MD 20774
The only Catholic bishop who has consistently written on race matters, Bishop Braxton describes his family's history and his experience as an African American that he brought to his ministry as a Catholic priest and bishop.
Fr. James Boric, pastor of the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore, delves into the meaning of the Mass.
The Church and the Racial Divide: Reflections of an African
American Catholic Bishop
PREACHING AND RACISM: FINDING OUR WAY FORWARD
A Course on Developing Preaching for Anti-Racism
The contextually difficult task of preaching about racism requires intentionality. This seminar study about race and preaching invites reflective practitioners and students in initial and advanced ministerial formation to peer learning about racism in America and antiracism preaching practices.
Objectives:
Learning and applying the vocabulary of caste and trauma to understand racism in personal, congregational, ecclesial, and social contexts. Bearing witness to experiences of racial suffering. Exploring pastoral, prophetic, and theological strategies for constructive antiracism preaching. Praying to heal and repair the social fabric of a world torn by racism.
The following discounted tuition rates apply -- Audit: $794 3 Master’s Credits, $1,390 3 DMin credits, $1,558
Register at:
https://events.ai.edu/event/164122. Registration closes May 30. Registration is limited to 23 students, and ecumenical registration is welcome. Read more...
Devotion to Julia Greeley grows as beatification cause advances in Rome
Help the NBCC keep helping others.
Your donation makes it possible for us to give to programs that
benefit Black Catholics across the United States.
Council of Catholic Women - Archdiocese
of Washington
April 2021 Newsletter
(Click image to download pdf)
Online Enrollment Counselor
The Online Enrollment Counselor is responsible for making initial contact with inquiries and with providing thorough customer service throughout the entire admissions process and beyond.
Academic Advisor
The Academic Advisor advises undeclared and online undergraduate students, maintains advising data, facilitates curricular changes in the catalog and student information system, and assists in planning academic events such as orientation, advising, academic awards, and graduation.
Director of Priestly Discernment Program
The Director of the Priestly Discernment Program is entrusted with the formation, pastoral care and guidance of the young men participating in the Priestly Discernment Program.
Sorrowful Mysteries:
Agony in the Garden: trust in God;
Scourging at the Pillar: purity;
Crowning with Thorns: fortitude;
Carrying of the Cross: perseverance in trials;
Crucifixion: forgiveness
for others.
Glorious Mysteries:
Resurrection: faith;
Ascension: hope;
Descent of the Holy Spirit: gifts of the Holy Spirit;
Assumption: To Jesus through Mary;
Coronation: final perseverance.
African American Catholics and “The Black Church”
(A presentation for the Berkley Forum on “the Black Church” in American Public Life)
By The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D.
Are African American Catholics considered part of what is popularly called “the Black Church”? In most instances, it would seem we are not. When you hear about the leadership of “the Black Church” impressing for racial and social justice, you are likely to think of the Reverend Senator Raphael Warnock, until recently the Pastor of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and now, the first African American Senator from Georgia. Read more...
Holy Hour of Adoration - LIVE from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring
Call to Love -- A Pastoral Letter
Against Racism
Click here to download pdfs:
Archdiocese of Baltimore Photo
Photo by Jennifer Barton
Poetry is the medium in which Jenario Morgan expresses his Catholic faith. At the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Notre Dame, Morgan shows off a rosary that his wife, Leslie, gave him.
Prayer to Overcome Racism
Mary, friend and mother to all, through your Son, God has found a way to unite himself to every human being, called to be one people, sisters and brothers to each other.
We ask for your help in calling on your Son, seeking forgiveness for the times when we have failed to love and respect one another.
We ask for your help in obtaining from your Son the grace we need to overcome the evil of racism and to build a just society.
We ask for your help in following your Son, so that prejudice and animosity will no longer infect our minds or hearts but will be replaced with a love that respects the dignity of each person.
Mother of the Church, the Spirit of your Son Jesus warms our hearts: pray for us. Amen. www.usccb.org/racism
Photo: Andrew Nixon/CapRadio
Pandemic Has Strengthened Faith For Some
By Pauline Bartolone | NPR
When Sacramento State University classes went online because of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, 19 year-old Nicole Oneto moved back in with her parents about an hour south of Fresno, Calif. Read more...
(CNS photo/courtesy University of Notre Dame)
The National Black Catholic Congress®
320 Cathedral Street | Baltimore, MD 21201
Ph. 410.547.8496 | Web: www.nbccongress.org
DIVINE MERCY
UPCOMING WEBINARS
About Bishop Braxton:
Edward Kenneth Braxton (born June 28, 1944) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, from 2005 to 2020. Bishop Braxton is the author of several letters, articles and books on the racial divide in America, some of which can be found in the NBCC resources.
From Holy Spirit Catholic Parish in Duncanville, TX
What is the Permanent Diaconate?
What Is The Ministry Of The Deacon?
The call to the Order of Deacon is a call to a ministry of service. The service ministry of a deacon may take many forms. Most deacons serve in parish ministry, primarily working with the pastor and parish staff in facilitating lay ministry. Like the priest, the deacon should call others to ministry by his witness and his example. Read more...
Diocese of Belleville Photo
Tonya Taylor-Dorsey, mostly known publicly
for her work as a musical director and
composer, recently retired as a Grants
Manager with over 25 years of service to
state government. During her tenure, she
participated in the development of technical
assistance workshops designed to assist
potential grant applicants in completing proposals for funding. She was instrumental in the development of an evaluative scoring system. She was a part of the scoring team, culminating in the recommendation of awards.
DID YOU MISS AN EPISODE? CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW:
The National Black Catholic Congress | 320 Cathedral St. Baltimore, MD 21201 | 410-547-8496
® 2021 The National Black Catholic Congress, All Rights Reserved
Easter Message from
Bishop Ricard
Superior General
The Josephites
Dear Friends,
The Easter Gospel reports, “Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.” Quickly, she ran to find Peter and the other disciples to report that “the stone had been removed from the tomb.” This is how the Good News of Salvation began to spread.
By Vladimir Mauricio-Perez | Denver Catholic
NEW From Our Sunday Visitor
Black Catholics on the Road to Sainthood
Edited by Michael R. Heinlein; forward by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez
The Mass Explained
DR BILLIE TERRELL is an active Catholic and
licensed and practicing clinical therapist. She recently
retired from the University of St. Francis as a Professor
Emeritus after 25 years as a full-time faculty member, Director of the BSW/MSW programs, Chair of the Social Work Department, and 10 years as Director of the Office of Institutional Diversity. She has maintained private practice for many years, providing individual and family therapy, consultation to employee assistance agencies and county-based trauma therapists. Dr. Terrell is a wife, mother, grandmother...and great-grandmother to Grey Josephine.
Portraits of the Black Catholic Men and Women
Rising to Sainthood
Download images by clicking on the portraits below
Click here to read biographies of the Holy Men and Women Rising to Sainthood. Click button under portraits to learn more about each Cause for Canonization.
POSITION AVAILABLE:
Campus Minister - George Washington University
John Singleton Copley, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Year of St. Joseph: Parishes and Catholic school draw inspiration from patron saint
By Richard Szczepanowski | Catholic Standard
The Year of St. Joseph – proclaimed last Dec. 8 by Pope Francis and continuing until Dec. 8 of this year – is an opportunity for the Catholic faithful to model their lives on the holy example of the foster father of Jesus, according to the pastor of a parish named in the saint’s honor.
“St. Joseph did everything by faith, doing what he could to take care of his wife and son, just as any father should do for his family,” said Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., who serves as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Largo, Maryland. “He did what he needed to do quietly and humbly. We should hope to live like that.” Read more...
Welcome Fr. Boxie!
Courtesy Photo
We know by now (or should if we are paying attention) that the Black American experience is not a monolith. Though there are some overarching themes, our individual experience varies widely and has ever since the first Africans were kidnapped and taken to America in 1619.Type your paragraph here.
Fr. Robert P. Boxie, III, a native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, is the chaplain at Howard University and the priest-in-residence at Immaculate Conception (Catholic Church in Washington DC). He had been the parochial vicar at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Largo, Maryland since July 2017, and was ordained to the priesthood in June 2016 for the Archdiocese of Washington. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, with a degree in chemical engineering and a second major in music, he worked a year abroad in France teaching English as a language assistant at a French high school. Upon returning to the United States, he enrolled at Harvard Law school and graduated in 2007, after which he landed a federal clerkship at the federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland. Read more...
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Catholic App, with Daily Mass Readings, Order of Mass, Liturgy of Hours, and More!
Bishop Roy Campbell, NBCC President, says the following about the book: "The book introduces readers to six Black Americans who dealt in their lifetimes with the human denigration and suffering that is manifested by American's original sin of racism. Yet they not only persevered, but truly lived as Christian people..."
Copies can be ordered by clicking this link: https://www.orderosv.com/product/black-catholics-on-the-road-to-sainthood
NBCC Price $5.00 with code NBCC21 at Checkout.
Black Lives Matter at the Stations
of the Cross
A Virtual Prayer Experience
Produced by Eat The Scroll Ministry and Arusi Network
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE UPDATES AND QUARTERLY NEWSLETTERS
The Archdiocese of Baltimore is taking applications for the position of Chaplain for the Women's Correctional Facility.
Duties:
The Chaplain shall provide the following services to the Catholic population in a fashion consistent with the beliefs and practices of the faith (addt'l duties);
- Develop monitor and deliver worship services, including Mass
- Provide instructional and personal growth opportunities,
- Addressing spiritual and emotional needs through pastoral counseling,
To apply or for more information, contact: Dcn. Seigfried Presberry,
Director, Office of Prison Ministry
E-mail: SPresberry@archbalt.org
Phone: 410-547-5575
or
Steve Anderson, Manager, Human Resources
E-mail: Sanderson@archbalt.org
Phone: 410-547-5513
Check out the latest issue of
In a Word!
PROGRAMS TO HELP DEEPEN YOUR FAITH
A Call for An Increase in
BLACK CATHOLIC VOCATIONS
Join our mailing list:
By Philip Kosloski | Aleteia Magazine
On Easter Sunday the atmosphere of the Church switches gears, and instead of a focusing on death and sorrow, the Church is alive and resplendent with joy. Jesus is risen!
This is emphasized in a particular in many Eastern Churches. The week following Easter Sunday is called “Bright Week,” and refers to the light that Jesus has brought into the world.
In biblical terms, Jesus rose on the “eighth day,” which symbolically represents the new creation and the promise of Heaven. Eastern Christians reflect on this promise of future joy by referring to “Bright Week” as “one continuous day.” Read more...
As we celebrate this Easter, we are looking forward to removing the stones in our own communities and in our own lives. Read more...
Bozeman ‘On Fire’ as New Pastor of Transfiguration Catholic Church
By Cora Jackson-Fossett | LA Sentinel
Enthusiasm and excitement are second nature to Father Anthony Bozeman. He describes himself as “on fire with the gift of the Holy Spirit” and he intends to apply that energy as the new pastor of the Church of the Transfiguration in L.A.’s Leimert Park. Read more...
REV. KINGSLEY OGBUJI, Host and Introductions.
Fr. Kingsley Ogbuji SSJ is a priest of St. Joseph
Society of the Sacred Heart. A native of Nigeria,
Fr. Kingsley is pastr\or of St. Peter Claver Catholic
Church Houston, Texas, where he ministers to the
spiritual and pastoral needs of the people. He holds a
bachelor’s in philosophy from the Pontifical Urban University Rome, MA and MDiv degrees in theology from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, and is pursuing certification in healing and deliverance ministry from Pope Leo XIII Institute in Chicago.
4-PART SERIES ON BLACK FATHERHOOD
Beginning Wednesday, March 10, 2021
1-2:30 PM CST | 2-3:30 EST | 11 AM-12:30 PM PST
Four Hundred Souls, edited by Ibram X. Kendi (author of How to Be an Antiracist) and Keisha N. Blain (author of Set the World on Fire), presents a new way to engage Black American history. It is a community history of Black America, a story told by the people inhabiting it — a "for us by us" endeavor, conceived out of the premise that, as Kendi puts it, "solidarity is the womb of community." Read more/Order Book...
Most Rev. Roy E. Campbell, Jr.
FOUR HUNDRED SOULS: A COMMUNITY HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICA, 1619-2019
Edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
528 pages;
One World
$32.00
This statue of St. Joseph and a young Jesus is located near the entrance to St. Joseph Church in Largo, Maryland. (CS photo/Andrew Biraj)
PART 1: The Procession to the Collect
Christ comes to us (literally) in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Do we prepare well for Him? Do we recognize Him at the Mass?
Black Catholic poet shares experience in verse
By Jennifer Barton | Today's Catholic
Catholics who care about US Black
history must read 'Four Hundred Souls'
By Alicia Pender | National Catholic Reporter
FUTURE WEBINARS IN THIS SERIES:
- MAY 12, 2021 - Parenting Attitudes of Black Fathers: The Contributing Factors
- JUNE 16, 2021 - Applying Our Knowledge:
Family Treatment Options
IBCS MASTERS OF THEOLOGY PROGRAM
Click the image below to download the Summer 2021 Course Listings.
IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT CONGRESS 13!
In his apostolic letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae (RVM), St. John Paul II tells how we are to assimilate the mysteries of the rosary by meditating on the life of Jesus as we contemplate each mystery. When we immerse ourselves into the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, and we are rewarded by the "fruits" of the mysteries listed below:
Monk’s powerful “Spirituality 101”
lessons in Confession
By Tom Hoopes | Aleteia Magazine
Why do we make something so easy so complicated?
“You know Spirituality 101, don’t you?” asked the priest. I had just finished my confession to a wise monk at St. Benedict’s Abbey, and he hadn’t given me my penance yet.
“Um … no?” I said. “What do you mean?”
What followed was advice so concise
and powerful that I brought it up in
several conversations afterward. I
discovered that students at Benedictine
College were well aware of the advice —
some had heard it more than once.
Black Catholic Vocations Prayer
God our Liberator, we thank you and praise you for you are a God who walks with us, who knows our struggles, and who gives us strength to answer your call.
You have created us in your likeness…I hear you calling us to keep on keeping on. You have anointed us to bring glad tidings to the poor and to set captives free…I hear you calling us to go and tell the Good News about Jesus Christ.
You have blessed us with family and faith, spirit and soul…I hear you calling us to live and leave a legacy of your love. “O my Lord, what shall I do?”
Free us, Faithful God, to hear your voice. Help us, Loving God, to answer your call. Empower us, Lord Jesus, to be your witness.
Place our lives at your service as holy men and holy women, wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, priests and religious, generously and compassionately serving our sisters and brothers.
With faith and unfailing confidence, we ask this prayer through Jesus Christ, Your Son. Amen
Prayer by Jesse Cox, O.P. and Mary Therese Johnson, O.P., with edits by Father J.D. Jaffe. Used with permission of the Diocese of Arlington Vocations Office.
Pioneering Black Catholic journalist Daniel Rudd - American Catholic History
Born a slave before the Civil War, Daniel Rudd was a Catholic journalist, who was the first black man to own a national newspaper of any kind. Click image to view.
The National Black Catholic Congress®
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
To: NBCC Constituents
From: Most Rev. Roy E. Campbell, Jr.
Subject: Congress 13 Update
____________________________________________