Blessed Are the Saintly Six by O’Neill D’Cruz
Be glad and rejoice; your reward is great in heaven
– Matt 5:12
The “Saintly Six” refers to the six African Americans—Thea Bowman, Henriette DeLille, Pierre Toussaint, Mary Elizabeth Lange, Augustus Tolton, and Julia Greeley—who are candidates for canonization in the Catholic Church. Since the process of canonization proceeds through various steps (Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed, Saint), it is typically deliberate, distant in time and place from the communities served by the candidates, and delayed for various reasons.
Meanwhile, as with the Saintly Six, the candidates’ local communities often revere as saints those who, like Jesus, “came to serve, rather than be served” (Matt 20:28). This devotion is informal, independent (of the canonization process), and instantaneous (exemplified in recent history by Mother Teresa of Kolkata, who was venerated as a saint by people of various faith traditions even before her death).
How does one venerate a candidate who is already considered a saint by the community, but has not yet been declared a saint? The answer is “equipollent canonization,” the road-less-traveled by which the already is the way to address the not yet. The process of equipollent canonization requires a long-standing, widespread devotion within the local community, and with this the pope can waive the requirement to complete the steps and stages of the canonization process. Examples of equipollent canonization include Thomas More, Hildegard of Bingen, and Angela of Foligno.
The already/not yet paradox is encrypted in all the Beatitudes: the present tense in the first part of each Beatitude indicates we are already blessed on earth; the future tense in the second part indicates not yet, for we will be doubly blessed in heaven. The Saintly Six are excellent role models for our faith journey. They are already revered among local communities, and not yet officially canonized as saints.
As a blessing to the faith community, the Saintly Six left us “footprints in the sands of time” (“A Psalm of Life,” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) so that, comforted and inspired by the example of their faith, life, and work, we too may “seek first the kingdom of God and his justice” (Matt 6:33) by living and doing “Thy Will . . . on Earth as in Heaven” (Matt 6:10).
As we head into Black History Month, let us bless and be blessed as we P.R.A.Y.—ponder, reflect, act, and yearn—the Beatitudes rosary guided by the Saintly Six. As with the racial justice rosary, the following is a description, not a prescription, to pray this rosary. One can adopt and adapt the format based on past experiences, present needs, and future expectations of one’s local faith community. The Beatitudes serve as the theme, and one of the Saintly Six serves as the guide, for each reflection. Most P.R.A.Y. references are from the texts for the causes of canonization of the Saintly Six, along with relevant gospel verses.
Opening Prayer—Guide: Augustus Tolton
Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:3)
Ponder: A gentleness of spirit best describes Fr. Tolton’s personality in such wise that the inquirer cannot detect any irritability in him. He had his moments of self-doubt and stark loneliness.
Reflect: Fr. Tolton felt keenly the humiliations inflicted by others, that underneath he felt deeply the sting of verbal assaults and impatience others threw at him, the harshness and humiliations inflicted upon him, and he felt deeply the indignities and insults his people suffered.
Act: Fr. Tolton lived the gospel within adversity, and he did so faithfully for his entire life in a simple and loving way.
Yearn: Fr. Tolton could find joy under trial and be himself simultaneously an encourager of others with their trials. (May we be) inspired by his courage and innocent determination in face of incredible race prejudice.
First Beatitude—Guide: Thea Bowman
Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted (Matt 5:5)
Ponder: “Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.”
Reflect: “What does it mean to be Black and Catholic? It means that I come to my church fully functioning. That doesn’t frighten you, does it?”
Act: “I bring my whole history, my traditions, my experience, my culture, my African American song and dance and gesture and movement and teaching and preaching and healing and responsibility as gifts to the church.”
Yearn: “We unite ourselves with Christ’s redemptive work when we reconcile, when we make peace, when we share the good news that God is in our lives, when we reflect to our brothers and sisters God’s healing, God’s forgiveness, God’s unconditional love.”
Second Beatitude—Guide: Henriette DeLille
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for justice; they shall have their fill (Matt 5:6)
Ponder: “. . . for the love of Jesus Christ, she had become the humble and devout servant of the slaves.”
Reflect: Henriette lived a holy life, caring for the slaves, the sick, the orphaned, the aged, the forgotten and the despised.
Act: Henriette expressed apostolic intentions through caring for the sick, helping the poor, and instructing her people, free and enslaved, children and adults, in the name of Jesus Christ and the church.
Yearn: “I believe in God. I hope in God. I love. I want to live and die for God.”
Third Beatitude—Guide: Pierre Toussaint
Blessed are the compassionate; for they shall obtain compassion (Matt 5:7)
Ponder: Toussaint was “renowned for crossing barricades to nurse quarantined patients.”
Reflect: Toussaint is the only layperson to be buried in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.
Act: Toussaint is credited as the founder of Catholic Charities of New York, caring for orphans, immigrants, the sick and the abandoned, and generously supporting schools and churches, as well as blacks and whites in need.
Yearn: Be compassionate, as your Heavenly Father is compassionate (Luke 6:36)
Fourth Beatitude—Guide: Julia Greeley
Blessed are the clean of heart; for they shall see God (Matt 5:8)
Ponder: Julia had a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart. She even died on the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
Reflect: Julia received the name “Denver’s Angel of Charity.” For nearly a century after her death, many people asked that her cause for canonization be considered.
Act: Whatever she did not need for herself, Julia spent assisting poor families in her neighborhood. When her own resources were inadequate, she begged for food, fuel, and clothing. To avoid embarrassing the people she helped, she did most of her charitable work under cover of night through dark alleys.
Yearn: “My Communion is my breakfast.”
Fifth Beatitude—Guide: Mary Elizabeth Lange
Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called children of God (Matt 5:9)
Ponder: Black men and women could not aspire to religious life in Mary’s time.
Reflect: Mary and three other women became the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first congregation of African American women religious in the history of the Catholic Church.
Act: There was no free public education for African American children in Maryland until 1868. Mary responded to that need by opening a school for the children in her home.
Yearn: Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these (Mark 10:14)
Litany: All American Saints, including the Saintly Six, pray for us.
Closing Prayer: All you holy men and women, pray for us!
In communion with the Saintly Six, let us be glad and rejoice! Do I hear an Amen?! ♦
O’Neill D’Cruz retired once from academic clinical practice as a pediatrician and neurologist, a second time from the neuro-therapeutics industry, and now spends his time caring, coaching, and consulting from his home in North Carolina, known locally as the “Southern Part of Heaven.” He is a wounded healer who works to heal the wounded, in order that All Shall Be Well.
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