Richie Havens, Pope John Paul II and Martin Luther King, Jr.

This morning, Callie is finishing invitations to Claire’s Baptism.

This morning, at Mass, I recited a mystery of faith:  “…by your Death and Resurrection, you have set us free.”

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

There is certainly a distinctive Catholic teaching on politics:  human life and dignity are primary. The common good takes precedence over selfish interests.  Local institutions – families, churches, unions, religious schools – should be respected, not undermined, by government.  The justice of a society is measured by its treatment of the poor and vulnerable.

Back in 1993, Pope John Paul II wrote, “Human persons are free.  But, their freedom is not unlimited; it must halt before the moral law given by God.  Human freedom finds its fulfillment precisely in the acceptance of that law.  God’s law does not reduce or do away with human freedom; instead it protects and promotes that freedom.”

Catholicism asserts the value and dignity of duly constituted authority, both religious and political.  Further, in a direct assault on the spirit of our age, it teaches that genuine freedom is found in submission to just authority.  The alternative is the “freedom” of a fish liberated from the sea.

Historically, in Southern black culture, a minister’s role is that of political leader, spiritual guide, community organizer and social monitor. The Negro church emerged as an influential leader in the civil rights struggle. Negro ministers, like Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., committed to social gospel, Christianity, and a duty “to set at liberty them that are bruised.”  In this tradition, Martin Luther King, Jr. studied at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.  Following his graduation, he became pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

As a believer in God’s word, he knew that Jesus Christ had died to set him free, granting him the same dignity and salvation available to all persons. What he sought was freedom in America.

OK—here’s the Richie Havens part…and if you haven’t ever seen this performance, go find it on YouTube.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA51wyl-9IE   Richie Havens was the first performer at the Woodstock festival in 1969.  He held the crowd for nearly three hours and was called back for several encores. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual “Motherless Child” that became “Freedom.”  The song dates back to the era of slavery in the America when it was common practice to sell children of slaves away from their parents.

Despite the ending of physical slavery at the conclusion of the Civil War, new methods had kept the blacks from enjoying full equality.  Discrimination and lack of education had kept blacks confined to skilled and semi-skilled labor. Martin Luther King, Jr. sought equality under the law, he asked to be made equally subject to her laws; he sought submission to a just authority.  He knew that justice would grant access to opportunity for black Americans.

He believed that by creatively using existing laws, it would be possible to prove that officials combating demonstrations were using the power of the police state to deny blacks equal protection under the law. He would use existing laws to gain and protect freedom. As he organized marchers and prepared them to go to jail, as he coached them to risk beatings and submit to the uncertain justice of southern courts, he imagined the power of a man saying, “Punish me. I do not deserve it. But because I do not deserve it, I will accept it so that the world will know that I am right and you are wrong.” Beyond accomplishing his own liberation, this nonviolent crusade could rechannel energy from hatred to something more constructive. The black man could seek not only to free himself, but to free his oppressor from his sins.

Freedom stands for something greater than just the right to act however I choose—it also stands for securing to everyone an equal opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Martin Luther King, Jr. urged us each towards freedom: to be responsible, to assert that we as individuals are capable of responsibility and freedom, of fidelity and endurance and courage. Each of us lives in God’s freedom; we must recognize that dignity in everyone.  And we must work for a just, free America, with equal opportunity for all.

Seeking just authority, freedom and creative expression,

With love,

mom