Amplifying Black Voices: Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist, a fierce orator and a writer. I thought of him recently as a team here at the parish was preparing a session for Blessed Is She: Celebrating Women Mystics.
Why?
Because that session included getting to know St. Theresa of Avila. Her writings include a verse that begins:
Christ has no body now but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours.
That verse made me think of Douglass, who once said:
I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.
What St. Theresa and Frederick Douglass both knew was that prayer is essential and action is its companion.
This week, I invite you to think about how you can marry your prayer with action. What might God be calling you toward as this new year begins? How will you make 2021 a year that makes a difference in the world?