Archdiocesan Mass for peace looks to St. Peter Claver’s example as a guide

Archbishop Shelton Fabre celebrated a Mass for Peace on the eve of the memorial of St. Peter Claver at the Cathedral of the Assumption Sept. 8. 

The Mass, organized by the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Office of Worship, included the Knights of Columbus and the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary.

During his homily, Archbishop Fabre drew attention to the life and example of St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who witnessed the violence done to enslaved Africans in Cartagena, Colombia, and sought to alleviate their suffering.

As we seek to respond to the violence in our communities, Archbishop Fabre said, look to St. Peter Claver, who responded to the injustices he saw with a willingness “to do what he could do.”

He told his listeners that St. Peter Claver responded to violence in his community by acknowledging the dignity of each person he encountered.

In the same way, he said, “One way we can respond to the multifaceted reality that is violence is by respecting human life and the human dignity of every single person, regardless of their race or the circumstances in their lives.”

The violence in our community — including poverty, economic hardship, racism, religious prejudice, capital punishment, abortion and gun violence — finds its origin in the “disregard of the value and human dignity of each person,” said Archbishop Fabre.

Archbishop Fabre invited the congregation to first acknowledge each person’s human dignity in response to the violence in one’s immediate family, relationships and home.

“Our homes must be the first schools of love,” he said.

Families must teach children to respond to disagreements in a peaceful manner, he added.

Secondly, he said, we must reject viewing people as: “other,” “them” or “those people.”

A remedy to this way of thinking can be found in encountering people different from oneself, he noted.

St. Peter Claver did not “sit around and discuss the evil deeds of others,” he noted, adding, we shouldn’t either. 

Rather, he encouraged his listeners to advocate for just policies, adding, “Peace flows from justice and right relationship with God and all others.”

“All must have value in our lives,” said Archbishop Fabre.

Following the example of St. Peter Claver, the task that lies ahead, he said, is “to respond to those who suffer and do what we can do.”