Faith is decisive

One of the biggest and most dangerous lies is that of racial purity. There is no such thing. We're all way more closely related than racists would have us believe. Humanity, like the triune God, should strive for unity in diversity.

Myths of racial purity/superiority, in the service of which religion is often misappropriated, at least in the modern era, are responsible for a lot of war, death, and devastation. If you consider yourself a Christian, one of our religion's central theses is that race doesn't matter, genealogy doesn't matter, etc.

You're not a Christian because you're Italian, Irish, Venezuelan... Faith in Christ is the decisive factor. Having faith means recognizing that God did not become human merely to make you easy in your comfort but challenge you at the deepest level of your being, urging you to forsake your idols.

Anyone can have faith in Christ- it's not exclusive but universally inclusive. If you miss this, you miss Christianity. As Jesus insisted: "God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones" (Matthew 3:9).

Jesus, Crucifixion & the Latin Tree of Sin, by Sandra Silberzweig

If you pay close attention to the exodus narrative, you will find this: "The Israelites set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the children. A crowd of mixed ancestry also went up with them, with livestock in great abundance, both flocks and herds" (Exodus 12:37-38)

Nonetheless, some continue to insist that white males are the most endangered group of people. What laugh! Generally speaking, at least in the U.S., we're the problem.

Given Saint Patrick's history of being captured and initially brought to Eire as a slave, I've always found a lot of resonance and correspondence in the collaboration between Ziggy Marley (one of Bob's sons) and The Chieftans on Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." As a result, this collaborative version of this great song is our traditio for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph:

At least to my mind, "our prophets," the ones we kill, are those who point us toward overcoming our murderous tribalism: MLK, Malcolm X, Bobby Kennedy, and many others, chief among whom is Jesus, God's Son. God did not kill his Son, we did- you and me. Saint Joseph, pray for us.