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As members of the Mystical Body of Christ we proclaim the power of prayer and fasting to transform our world and cast out the demonic influences that divide our communities and destroy its peace.
As our country continues to contend with the historically traumatic issue of racism, we realize along with our bishops the need “to beg God to heal our deeply broken view of each other, as well as our deeply broken society.” (Open Wide Our Hearts, pastoral letter against racism)
Consequently, Archbishop Naumann invites and encourages all Catholics in the archdiocese to join him for a day of prayer and fasting on Wednesday, September 9th, the memorial of St. Peter Claver, to bring about racial healing in our communities. We fast to atone for the sins of racism that violate the sacredness of human life, and we pray for the healing of racial divisions that persist in our nation and our cities.
We look to St. Peter Claver for his example and intercession in our prayers. St. Peter Claver, was a 17th century Spanish, Jesuit priest who heroically ministered in Columbia, South America to Africans kidnapped into slavery and fought to end the practice; he is patron saint of slaves, and ministry to African Americans.
Image: Peter Barker, Flickr.