{"id":41277,"date":"2020-06-09T23:01:11","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T05:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=41277"},"modified":"2020-06-14T10:32:31","modified_gmt":"2020-06-14T16:32:31","slug":"exposing-this-revolutionary-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/exposing-this-revolutionary-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Exposing this Revolutionary Spirit","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2026without the guidance of charity in truth,
\nthis global force could cause unprecedented damage
\nand create new divisions within the human family\u2026
\nhumanity runs new risks of enslavement and manipulation..
\n<\/strong>\u2014POPE BENEDICT XVI, Caritas in Veritate<\/em>, n.33, 26<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

WHEN<\/strong> I was a child, the Lord was already preparing me for this worldwide ministry. That formation came primarily through my parents whom I saw love and reach out to people in need with concrete help, irregardless of their color or status. So, in the school yard, I was often drawn to the kids who were left behind: the overweight kid, the Chinese boy, the aboriginals who became good friends, etc. These were the ones Jesus wanted me to love. I did so, not because I was superior, but because they needed to be acknowledged and loved like me.<\/p>\n

I remember sitting in front of the television in 1977 watching Roots <\/em>with my family, a television series about the slave trade in America. We were horrified. I still find it overwhelming that this actually happened. And then the segregation. Our family watched the story of Jackie Robinson a couple of months ago (“42<\/a>“), and tears welled up in my eyes\u2014and anger at the utter arrogance, evil and injustice of white supremacists.<\/p>\n

My ministry has taken me into dozens of American States, including the “deep south”. I have often gone for walks in the forests of Florida or Mississippi and I can feel the ghosts of oppression <\/em>that passed through those trees. And neither did I pretend that racism did or does not exist there. I would sometimes strike up \"\"conversations with my American friends to ask them about the racism of the past and present. Depending on which State or region, which community or area, some have told me how there are subtle remnants of racism; others say that there has been healing and that they peacefully co-exist. But others say that racism is alive and well. That young black men feel fear when being pulled over for no reason by a white cop; or that they’ve been excluded from doing homework in a cafeteria for no apparent reason; that they’ve been barked at for standing too close to someone; or that their parents still forbid the idea of intermarriage; or that someone has rolled down the window and shouted “n____r!” through the window. That this continues in 2020 is grievous\u2014as are the ethnic hatreds boiling over between other cultures and peoples.<\/p>\n

This entire ministry was started by prophetic words given to me and a black American priest from New Orleans while we gave him shelter after Hurricane Katrina.[1]<\/sup><\/a>cf. Prepare!<\/em><\/span><\/span>