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Celebrating Our Freedom:
Rooted in Faith, Guided by Hope
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For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love.
-- Galatians 5:13 NABRE
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Dear Friends in Christ,
As we celebrate Independence Day, we give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy in this great nation—and for the deeper freedom we find in Christ.
The Fourth of July is more than fireworks and barbecues. For us as Catholics, it’s a time to reflect on the blessings of liberty, the call to justice, and our responsibility to be instruments of peace in our communities.
This Independence Day, may our patriotism be rooted in prayer, our freedom guided by virtue, and our joy marked by gratitude.
Wishing you and your loved ones a safe, joyful, and faith-filled Fourth of July!
The Administration and Staff
of the National Black Catholic Congress
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Daniel Rudd Fund Grant Program Opens for Applications July 1!
The 2025 Daniel Rudd Fund Grant Application will open on Monday, July 1 at 8:00 AM EDT and close on Monday, September 8 at 5:00 PM EDT.
This grant supports organizations and ministries that uplift and empower Black Catholic communities through evangelization, education, and social justice initiatives.
Click the button below to visit the Daniel Rudd Fund Grant Program page for guidelines, eligibility, and application instructions.
Don’t miss this opportunity to make a lasting impact!
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20 U.S. bishops including Cardinal McElroy join interfaith effort opposing ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ as ‘moral failure’
By Kate Scanlon | Catholic Standard
Twenty U.S. Catholic bishops, including Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington, have signed onto an interfaith effort opposing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which would enact key provisions of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda on taxes and immigration, calling it a “moral failure.”
The Senate is drafting its version of the budget legislation that House Republicans passed in May under rules that would allow it to pass with a simple majority and avoid a filibuster. Trump has called for the Senate to pass the bill by July 4.
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Ahead of Senate vote, Black Catholic bishop joins interfaith letter opposing Republicans' Big Beautiful Bill
By Nate Tinner-Williams| The Black Catholic Messenger
An interfaith coalition led by a Catholic archbishop is calling on U.S. senators to vote against a controversial HR-1 budget reconciliation, also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a Republican-led effort that would fund mass deportations, favor big business, and cut poverty programs.
One of the nation’s African-American Catholic prelates, Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr. of Washington, joined more than 40 Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders on the Thursday open letter calling the bill a “detriment to the common good.”
| | Photo courtesy of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington | | |
Facilitated by fellow Black Catholic Ministry Leaders, this virtual training includes 9 hours of synodal formation, skill building, and tools for getting started.
You’ll come away from this training with:
- Concrete guidance for crafting various types of synodal circle processes
- Your own completed plan for hosting a Conversation in Communion
- And fresh ideas for building relationships, support, and openness to participation.
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Almost Half of U.S. Adults Have Catholic Connection, but Mass Makes Significant Difference in Catholic Identity
By: Our Sunday Visitor | The Good Newsroom
Close to half of the nation’s adults have a personal or family connection to Catholicism, but Mass attendance makes for significant differences in what Catholics say is essential to their identity.
In addition, the share of U.S. Catholics who are Hispanic is growing, and a significant number of conversions to the faith are prompted by marriage. Clerical abuse, although still widely perceived as an ongoing issue, is more broadly viewed as also problematic among other religious leaders, not only Catholic.
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Amid attacks on DEI, a US nonprofit offers reparations, education and healing: ‘We’re looking to fill the gap’
A Louisiana-based organization is providing a global model for reconciliation as it champions reparations for the descendants of West Africans enslaved by Jesuits
By Melissa Hellmann | The Guardian
When Ashley Robinson and her mother took DNA tests 10 years ago and began meeting long lost cousins, they stumbled across a surprising family history that changed their lives. Robinson’s lineage traced back to the 272 West Africans who were enslaved by Jesuits and sold to plantation owners in the southern US in 1838. The sale of the enslaved Africans helped fund Georgetown University, the oldest Jesuit higher education institution in the US, and served as collateral to the now defunct Citizens Bank of New Orleans, whose assets were later folded into JPMorgan Chase.
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Harvard hired a researcher to uncover its ties to slavery. He says the results cost him his job: ‘We found too many slaves’
By Michela Moscufo | The Guardian
Jordan Lloyd had been praying for something big to happen. The 35-year-old screenwriter was quarantining in her apartment in North Hollywood in June 2020. Without any work projects to fill her days, she picked up the novel Roots, by Alex Haley, to reread.
The novel tells the story of Kunta Kinte, Haley’s ancestor, who is captured and sold into slavery in the Gambia and then brought to Virginia, where he is forced to labor on a plantation. It was adapted into an Emmy-award winning television series in the 1970s, and while reading it again, Lloyd thought to herself, “Wouldn’t it be nice if they could make another Roots?”
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For a Brooklyn Haitian nonprofit, new property signals strides in building collective wealth
Life of Hope aims to build a multi-use facility to serve as one-stop shop for Haitians
By Allison Hunter | The Haitian Times
This time last year, Porez Luxama was sure he would be cutting the ribbon on a gleaming, newly-renovated property in East Flatbush with much fanfare by this summer. But months after Life of Hope closed on the property in June 2024, the executive director began extending a ‘take it slow’ approach about the larger development he hopes to build out.
| | Porez Luxama, Executive Director at Life of Hope (Facebook image) | |
7 Things You Should Never Say to a Grieving Person
By Brandon Marcus | NewsBreak
Grief has no timetable, no set stages, no clean, predictable path. It is a deeply personal journey that can feel like drowning in memories, emotions, and unanswered questions. And yet, in the discomfort of someone else’s pain, people often reach for words that sound kind in theory but land like stones on a fragile heart. Whether it’s a close friend mourning a parent, a co-worker reeling from a sudden loss, or a neighbor trying to stay upright after a tragedy, knowing what not to say can be just as important as knowing what to say. Silence may feel awkward, but the wrong words can do more harm than quiet ever could.
| | Photo by Alex Green, from Pexels | |
When temps rise, remember these heatstroke prevention tips
By Stephen Stacey, D.O. | Mayo Clinic Health System
Time outdoors is time well spent throughout the year, but it's especially enjoyable during the summer. Hiking, fishing, boating and other warm-weather activities can renew your appreciation for nature. They also are good for physical and mental health.
Summer can bring hot temperatures, and working or playing in the heat can be dangerous. As you head out this summer, remember to take precautionary measures to prevent heat-related injuries when you're far from climate-controlled environments.
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Dr. Kevin Johnson Bridges Generations with Historic Hip-Hop Mass
By Spelman College
Celebrating the Creative Expressions
of a Community
In an innovative blend of faith and culture, Kevin Johnson, DMA, associate professor of music and director of the Spelman College Glee Club, made history recently with the premiere of his Hip-Hop Mass. Held at the Lyke House, a Catholic Newman Center in Atlanta serving Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Georgia State University, the Mass blends hip-hop, gospel, and Catholic liturgy into a transformative spiritual experience.
| | Photo of Kevin Johnson from the Spelman College Website | |
Summer Etiquette Tips
As the season of weddings, barbeques and weekend celebrations kicks off, etiquette expert Myka Meier stops by Studio 1A to break down the dos and don’ts of RSVPs, texting, dressing for work and more.
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JULY 1
The Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
By Matthew Plese | The Fatima Center
The History of Feast of the Precious Blood
According to the Traditional Catholic Calendar of 1962 and prior, July 1st is the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This feast was instituted for the Universal Church in 1849 by Pope Pius IX and was raised to the rank of a double of the first class by Pope Pius XI on the occasion of the nineteenth centenary of our Savior’s death in 1933.
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Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, save us.
Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God, save us.
Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament, save us.
Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony, save us.
Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, save us.
Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, save us.
Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, save us.
Blood of Christ, price of our salvation, save us.
Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, save us.
Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, save us.
Blood of Christ, stream of mercy, save us.
Blood of Christ, victor over demons, save us.
Blood of Christ, courage of Martyrs, save us.
Blood of Christ, strength of Confessors, save us.
Blood of Christ, bringing forth Virgins, save us.
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Blood of Christ, help of those in peril, save us.
Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened, save us.
Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow, save us.
Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent, save us.
Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, save us.
Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts, save us.
Blood of Christ, pledge of eternal life, save us.
Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory, save us.
Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, save us.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord!.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord!.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. .
V. You have redeemed us, O Lord, in your Blood.
R. And made us, for our God, a kingdom.
Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, you have appointed your only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by his Blood. Grant we beg of you, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. R.
Amen.
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Consecration to
St. Joseph
The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father
By Donald H. Calloway, MIC
Imprimatur: Most Rev. Jeffrey Monforton, DD, Bishop of Steubenville, OH.
In the midst of crisis, confusion, and a world at war with the Church, it's time to come home again to our spiritual father, St. Joseph. In this richly researched and lovingly presented program of consecration to St. Joseph, Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, brings to life the wonders, the power, and the ceaseless love of St. Joseph, Universal Patron of the Church and the Terror of Demons.
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SAINT PETER CLAVER FOUNDATION GALA
The Power of Collective Action: Empowering the Future
What is the goal of this campaign? To establish a $100,000 fund that will support the Social Justice programs of The Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary and community partners.
For what type (s) of programs will these funds be used? Monies from this fund are restricted to support programs or awareness campaigns for the following areas: Black Lives Matter - Dignity of Black Lives, Criminal Justice Reform, Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking, and Racism.
How will money be disbursed? Monies from this fund will be disbursed in the form of grants upon approval of grant applications.
When will grants be available? The grant cycle will begin once the full $100,000 fundraising goal is reached.
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SUNDAY, JULY 20, 2025
7:30 PM EDT
ATTIRE: Blue or Silver Semi-Formal
LOCATION: Bethesda Marriott
5151 Pooks Hill Road
Bethesda, MD 20814
TICKETS: $125
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The National Archives
The National Archives, formally known as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is the official record keeper for the U.S. government. It's an independent agency that preserves and provides access to a vast collection of government and historical records. These records document the story of the nation, its government, and its people.
NARA's core function is to safeguard valuable government records and make them accessible to the public.
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The Claverite
A PUBLICATION OF THE KNIGHTS OF PETER CLAVER
The Claverite is the official magazine of the Knights of Peter Claver, Inc. and the Ladies Auxiliary. It serves as a cornerstone publication, sharing news and information about the organization's activities and members' contributions. The magazine highlights the organization's commitment to the Catholic Church, community service, and the well-being of its members.
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