Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, archbishop emeritus of Washington, the nation’s first Black cardinal and the Church’s first African American cardinal, served as the guest homilist at an annual Mass at Xavier College Preparatory Catholic High School. “The secret to human greatness and to spiritual excellence is not to be found in marketing of an individual but in having a person live up to the highest spiritual qualities within himself or herself, living proudly according to the ‘content of
their character,’” he told attendees, referencing Rev. King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech.
Make time to reflect on spiritual values that matter to you and how you are living those out in daily life.
“[King] came to echo the message of Jesus Christ that we are all truly brothers and sisters,” Washington Cardinal Robert W. McElroy said during a Jan. 18 Mass remembering the late civil rights leader. Washington’s archbishop called on the faithful to “constantly be seeking the conversion of human hearts,” and to “see each other as brothers and sisters,” because “we all come here as the children of the same God – the Father of us all.” This month, take the time to pray for that vision of unity among all of God’s children.