By Thea Jarvis

Calling Martin Luther King, Jr. a modern day “drum major for justice,” Bishop J. Terry Steib, SVC recently called upon superiors of men’s religious orders to identify with the slain civil rights leader’s belief that “whatever you see or however it appears, whatever you do in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is not forgotten.”

Steib, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and one of 10 black U.S. bishops, was the chief celebrant of an evening liturgy held at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta Aug. 21. The Mass drew close to 200 participants from the 28^th National Assembly of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men whose five-day meeting ran through Aug. 24.

Also in attendance were Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, who welcomed the guest clergy to the King Center, Mrs. Coretta Scott King and Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr., honorary president of the center.

Like Martin Luther King, Jr., who fought his own battle for racial equality, contemporary Christians must continue the struggle for peace and justice, Bishop Steib said, strengthened by their faith that “it is a cruel world, but its history is in the hands of a just God. Its history is in our hands, we who profess to be instruments of this just God.”

Though Martin Luther King, Jr. did not live to see the full fruit of his labor, he was confident that, despite setbacks, despite violence and hostility, “he knew he would see the goodness of God in the land of the living,” Bishop Steib said. Others who serve in the quest for justice must have that same certainty, he continued, bolstered by the “many times we were delivered in the face of injustice and how many times we helped to deliver others in the face of unjust attitudes and acts.”

Attired in colorful black, green and red vestments, the bishop said that for King, immediate results were not the goal. “He wanted to leave a committed life behind. He wanted people to be able to say that he did try to feed the hungry, to clothe those who were naked, to love and serve humanity.”

And even though it is only human nature to want to see the justice of God, Steib told his listeners, for Christians such fulfillment may only come “after we leave this spaceship we call earth.”

Recalling Dr. King’s words, Bishop Steib quoted: “I may not get to the promised land with you. But I want you to know that we as a people will get to the promised land.”

Following the liturgy, held in the Freedom Hall Auditorium of the King Center, the congregation processed outside to the King gravesite for an ecumenical prayer vigil. Candles were lit from the eternal flame which burns near the grave, and a commemorative litany in honor of Dr. King, “Let My People Go,” was recited in the warm summer night.

Father Ronald Carignan, OMI, president of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, expressed his gratitude to Mrs. King for her invitation to visit the center and presented her with an honorarium for her continuing work, which represented donations from the communities which comprise the conference.

Accepting the gift, and a citation honoring the memory of her husband, Mrs. King noted the contributions of Catholic leaders in the peace and justice arena. She explained that, for Martin Luther King, Christ provided the example of service and the spirit for his ministry, while Gandhi provided the technique of non-violence.

Alluding to the newly proclaimed Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday, Mrs. King said she hoped it would be “a time to sow seeds of justice, peace and equality.” Most American holidays are days of rest, she explained, but the King holiday should be “a time for non-violent action for human concerns.”

Commenting on the group’s visit to the King Center, Father James Gardiner, SA, communications liaison for the CMSM Assembly, said it would be “difficult to come to Atlanta and not pay attention to something this significant.”

The assembly, which had as its theme “U.S. Men Religious: Formed by the Culture, Challenged by the Gospel, Called to Proclaim the Kingdom,” focused on American culture and how this experience affects men religious, Father Gardiner said. It also explored what their continuing response must be to the society and to the world.