Homily: Fourteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Fourteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 9:32-38) “A Man Who Stood Strong”

Today we remember an American who is on the road to sainthood. Augustus Tolton is unlike any other American Saint. He comes from a city that is very familiar to me.

I was visiting my sister in Quincy, Illinois a few years ago. I was surprised to see a little cemetery located by a movie theater blocked off. A big tent had been erected in the middle of the grounds. The cemetery looked like no one had been buried there for years. My family told me that the Catholic Church was exhuming the body of a Catholic priest who was in the process of canonization.

When I arrived home, I did my research on Fr. Augustus Tolton. I was surprised to learn that he was the first African American priest in the United States.

He was born in rural Missouri in 1854. He was a slave. His family fled Missouri which is across the river from Quincy. Families in Quincy were part of the underground railroad. Augustus and his family settled in Quincy. They were part of a small African American Catholic community.

Augustus decided that he wanted to become a priest, but no religious order or diocese would sponsor him. A local pastor gave him instruction. It seemed like he would not achieve his dream. Finally, he found a seminary in Rome that would educate him.

He was ordained a priest and then came back to Quincy. He was a popular preacher but the racism he encountered caused him to move to Chicago where he exercised his ministry. He found it hard to be the only black Catholic priest in the United States, but he persevered. He advocated for the rights of African American Catholics throughout the U.S. He died at only 43. We remember him for breaking down barriers and advancing the cause of Black Catholics.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Would I have held on to my desire to be a priest as Augustus Tolton did? Have I ever refused to give up?

2.   Have I ever experienced discrimination or seen it? Where and when?

 Dear Parishioners,

             I am sorry that we had to postpone our outdoor Mass this past Sunday. The weather has been very uncooperative lately. The prediction was for rain in the middle of the Mass so we could not risk setting up and then having to tear things down. Hopefully, we can have an outside Mass later in the summer.

            Please pray for our Pastoral Council. We will be having a planning session tonight and will set goals for the upcoming year.

            May our Lady of Peace Pray for Us.

            Fr.  Mark