Dr. Toni Reaves of the Catholic Church of Philadelphia’s Office for Black Catholics is partnering with the Catholic lay group New Encounters: Catholics Confronting Racism to explore how Advent themes of hope, perseverance and faith parallel the journey of the Black community and all people.
They are hosting “From the Manger to the Movement: Advent and Christmas in the Black Catholic Soul,” a weekly Zoom series every Monday from 7 to 8 p.m. from now through Dec. 22. For more information and the weekly link to participate, click here.
“I want to open everybody’s mind and hearts,” said Reaves. “I tell them the why, from the meaning to the movement, and I’ll give them a whole reflection on that, faith in the Black Catholic soul, our connection to the universal Church, and what it means to live that faith today.”
The Dec. 1 edition, moved to Dec. 4, specifically explored faith. Reaves explains that faith is more than a belief.
“It is courage and emotion. God often works through ordinary people with extraordinary trust,” she said. “Our ancestors also had this kind of defiant hope, believing in God’s promise even when the world denied them justice.”
The Dec. 8 session focused on freedom — liberation born in a stable.
“Jesus’ birth in a humble stable was God’s protest against oppression and injustice,” said Reaves. “We’re going to be using a lot of different Catholic stories, stories with the saints and how they taught about freedom.”
Week three, presented the day after Gaudete Sunday on Dec. 15, moves the journey to praise in the form of “joy that shouts in the darkness,” she said. “We’ll talk about Mary and Elizabeth, that joy that shouted from belly to belly, with Catholic praise, song, movement and drums, and the testimony on survival and hope.”
The final week will bring the journey to love.
God’s incarnation in the person of Jesus shows “a God that draws us near to vulnerability, tenderness and salvation, and we’re all called to embody the same love,” said Reaves.
She brings not only her own faith journey and experience within the Office of Black Catholics, but also a family ministry background. She is the daughter of longtime educator Deacon Edward Purnell, ordained in 1982 as one of the first Black permanent deacons in Philadelphia.
“It’s my calling,” Reaves said. “I feel called to teach, being in education, coming from a family of educators.”
Mary Laver of New Encounters added, “She has not only the legacy, but the lived experience and the expertise that she’s developed herself in the Church and in academia to bring this connection forward for all of us.”
Laver emphasized that the journey of the Holy Family connects the liturgical year and the experiences of Jesus, His family, and the saints to the journey Catholics face today. She noted it also resonates with the story of immigrants who fled persecution and hardship to find hope.
Much of Reaves’ focus will be on the Blessed Mother, particularly in the joy found in the Magnificat when Mary and Elizabeth, and their children — Jesus who brings freedom and John the Baptist who announces it — connect in ways few in society would have embraced at the time.
“It’s the song of a nation. It’s Mary’s, but it’s the song of the nation, everybody who ever was. That’s the Magnificat. He cast down the mighty and lifted up the lonely,” Reaves said.
“This is what we all believe, anybody who believes in liberation and freedom. It’s a freedom fighter song. It doesn’t have to say ‘This is a Black experience.’ It’s the experience of all people of every nation, universality,” said Reaves.
She added that while some elements of what she’ll present have meaning particularly for Black Catholics, they are threads in the tapestry of the universal Church — further reflecting how the Magnificat is for everyone.
“Look at the language,” Reaves said. “It is beautiful language, but it’s not just ancient. It’s not poetry. It’s a living testimony. It’s Mary’s voice. It’s our voice. “It’s God’s promise that we will never be forgotten.”
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