Before you post that zinger to social media, listen to what Jackie and Bobby have to say about healing racial injustice (instead of inflaming further division). Our brothers and sisters of color are hurting right now, and the only proper response is love—specifically, as Jackie and Bobby will explain, a listening kind of love.
If you read the title of this video and said to yourself “But I’m not racist”—great! But that doesn’t mean racism doesn’t affect you. It doesn’t mean you’re not involved.
“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body” (1 Corinthians 12:14-15).
If you haven’t experienced racial prejudice yourself, that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. And it doesn’t mean it’s not hurting you too. We’re all one in the body of Christ:
“Believers who respond to God’s word and become members of Christ’s Body, become intimately united with him…” (CCC 790)
“The body’s unity does not do away with the diversity of its members…There is only one Spirit who, according to his own richness and the needs of the ministries, gives his different gifts for the welfare of the Church…If one member suffers anything, all the members suffer with him, and if one member is honored, all the members together rejoice. Finally, the unity of the Mystical Body triumphs over all human divisions” (CCC 791)
Bobby reminds us that, if we’re hoping for a change in society, we have to start with a change in ourselves. The root of racism is sin, and sin takes root in each of us and grows if we let it. And, of course, the only antidote to sin is love—a charitable love that only comes from God.
In the case of racial injustice, sometimes the best way to love someone is to listen to them—to put yourself in their shoes and, in a sense, suffer with them. And, of course, don’t forget about the traditional triad of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This goes beyond politics. Racism is a spiritual battle.
Meet Jackie and Bobby Angel
Jackie Francois Angel is a full-time worship leader and speaker. Bobby Angel is a campus minister and theology teacher at a Catholic high school. Married in 2013, they have four beautiful children and strive to grow in holiness each day!
