Catholics to gather for Mass in honor of MLK

By Andrew Junker | January 15, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

Catholics will honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a Jan. 19 Mass celebrated by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted at St. Mary’s Basilica.

The 18th annual celebration will begin with a prelude featuring music and a dramatic recitation of King’s famous “I have a dream” speech. Mass will begin at 3 p.m.

While King wasn’t a Catholic, Isaiah “Kit” Marshall, director of the diocesan Office of Black Catholic Ministry, said it’s important for everyone to remember his contributions to the civil rights cause of the 1960s.

Marshall was an Army officer stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia from 1962 to 1965. Witnessing the effects of segregation firsthand was shocking for the Ohio native.

“Dr. King took on the battle of trying to change the laws and customs throughout the South,” Marshall said. “He put his life on the line for us and he inspired people like me and others.”

Marshall said that the Mass also recalls the participation of many Catholic men and women in the marches and civil protests led by King.

“There were Catholic people involved in the movement. There were sisters in the South that marched at Selma with him and there were priests who marched in Washington,” he said. “The movement was more than just one race or denomination.”

Diverse gathering

In that spirit of diversity, annual attendee Andrea Hardin hopes this year’s celebration will see a wide mix of the Valley’s Catholics.

“Some people looked upon the Mass as the black Catholics doing their thing as opposed to a celebration of inclusion for everyone who participates,” Hardin said. “It was never about being a Mass that segregates us from the rest of the diocese.”

Each year, the Mass features a guest homilist. Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers will be preaching this year. He was chosen in part for his energy and enthusiasm, Marshall said.

Deacon Burke-Sivers is the founder and director of Aurem Cordis, a Christian evangelization and apologetics organization. He has given lectures, retreats and seminars across the country and hosts “Behold the Man,” an Eternal Word Television Network series on male spirituality.

Deacon Burke-Sivers said that since the Gospel reading is on the Beatitudes, he will talk about them in light of the life and legacy of King.

“I also want to touch a little bit on what we have to do as a culture to realize the dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” he said. “We need to not be a self-centered society, but a Christ-centered society, looking outside of yourself like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did.”

Marshall hopes that Catholics will take the opportunity of the Mass to reflect on the role that religion played in the civil rights struggle. Far from being a secular affair, many members of the movement found solace in and guidance from their faith.

King was a prime example of this, Marshall said.

“He really was a preacher. That’s how he was trained. That was his calling,” he said. “Faith was just a huge part of the movement. It came from the churches and the involvement of people from other faiths: Catholic, Jewish — it had a moral tone to it.”