Our readings this weekend come to us at a most opportune moment. Our readings teach us that all peoples, from every tribe, race, tongue, and color, are called to the worship of the Lord (cf Isaiah 56:1, 6-7). The Psalm too reiterates that all the nations are called and invited to praise God. "May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! (Psalm 67). St. Paul, in our second reading also teaches that God's gifts and his call are to Jew and Gentile alike (cf. Romans 11:13-15, 29 -32). The Lord Jesus Himself recognizes the universality of God's call when he granted the request of the Canaanite woman. In the time of Christ, Canaanites were considered foreign and inferior to the Israelites.
So, when we as Christians hear news of racism, persecution, terrorism, whether it be lSIS, Communism, or Neo Nazism, etc... We must recognize that these are all ideologies that are Anti-Christ. We must pray and work for peace. If we find prejudices in our own hearts, because none of us is perfect, we bring them to the Lord and ask Him to purify our thoughts and cleanse our hearts.
Shortly after the news from Charlottesville, Bishop Robert Barron wrote: "Friends, there can be no equivocation or nuance when it comes to racism. The Church's teaching is clear: "It is necessary to guard against the rise of new forms of racism or xenophobic behavior which attempt to make our brothers and sisters into scapegoats' (St. John Paul II).
We must vehemently oppose the resurgence of an "insane, racist ideology born of neopaganism' (Benedict XVI). The Church stands against and condemns all racist ideologies and warns those who would propagate such horrors to repent. Please join me in praying for the victims of the shocking violence in Charlottesville and for the conversion of its perpetrators."