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Campus Ministry

Care for the Entire Person

Have you heard the term cura personalis? It’s not just another old Latin phrase here at SLU; it’s an expression that forms the core of how we nurture spiritual life in our community.

Message to the SLU Community

“Racism is not one sin among many; it is a radical evil.”
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Brothers and Sisters to Us

The Department of Campus Ministry at Saint Louis University acknowledges that the recent deaths of our fellow Americans, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, continue to reveal racial injustice and inequity in our world, in our country, in our city, and yes, even at our University.

We are committed to listening to and supporting our community through our shared prayer and by creating spaces for critical reflection. We condemn the marginalization of any members of the SLU family and affirm the sacred dignity of all persons as made in the image and likeness of God.

We acknowledge, we lament, and we repent the sin of racism.

In preparing the resources below, we encourage the members of our community to pray, listen, learn and act – leading to what St. Ignatius describes as “the more” – the magis. How can we reject racism and work aggressively to remove racism and change the systems that enable racism?

Prayer Resources

Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commencement Address at Oberlin College, June 1965

Black Lives Matter Meditation

 Liberate Meditation App for Black, Indigenous and People of Color

Black Lives Matter: Weeping with Mary at the Foot of the Cross

A Conversation with Jesus Regarding My Many Privileges

Examen for Racial Justice

Examen for White Allies

Examen for Racism

Night Will Be No More – Pastoral Letter to the people of God in El Paso – Bishop Mark Joseph Seitz, Bishop of El Paso

Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call of Love – Pastoral Letter against Racism. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 

Self-Care Tools

 Black Lives Matter Healing Justice Working Group – Healing In Action: A Toolkit for Black Lives Matter

American Psychological Association: Discrimination: What it is and how to cope 

Emotionally Restorative Self-Care: People of Color – Black People – African Americans with Brandi Jackson Wellness

Filling our Cups: 4 Ways People of Color can Foster Mental Health and Practice Restorative Healing 

Grief is a direct impact of racism: Eight Ways to Support Yourself

National Museum of African American History and Culture – Talking About Race: Self-Care

12 Black Mental Health and Wellness Resources to Follow on Instagram Black 

Articles/Videos

Killing of George Floyd exposes blind spot on racism, Catholic advocates say Crux Article 

Black Catholic women: voice embodied

How Can Catholics Help Lead the Fight against Racism? America Magazine Article

The Ignatian Witness to Truth in a Climate of Injustice – Fr. Bryan Massingale You Tube

How the Church can Combat Racism and White Privilege - Fr. Bryan Massingale You Tube

The Assumptions of White Privilege and What We Can Do About It - Fr. Bryan Massingale National Catholic Reporter article

A Pastoral Letter to the Nation: Pentecost Amidst Police Brutality, Pandemic, and Poverty – Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II A Pastoral Letter to the Nation

For Our White Friends Desiring to Be Allies, Sojourner's Article

Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and Racism, Fred Kammer, SJ Catholic Social Teaching and Racism

On Being with Krista Tippett

Black Catholic Syllabus curated by Dr. Tia Noelle Pratt, “this syllabus is a collection of resources related to Black Catholics in the United States. It is intended for academics, journalists, educators, diocesan institutions, parishes, congregations of women and men religious, and the general public. This syllabus prioritizes the work of Blacks in order to center the voice of Black Catholics in creation of their own narrative.” 

Books

  • Racial Justice and the Catholic Church by Fr. Bryan Massingale · Antiracism: An Introduction by Alex Zamalin
  • How to Be an Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
  • Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad
  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
  • White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo
  • Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
  • I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
  • The Bridge Called My Back, Writings by Radical Women of Color edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa
  • My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
  • Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, 4th Edition, edited by Maurianne Adams, Warren J. Blumenfeld, D. Chase J. Catalano, Keri “Safire” DeJong, Heather W. Hackman, Larissa E. Hopkins, Barbara J. Love, Madeline L. Peters, Davey Shlasko, & Ximena Zuniga
  • Integrating Mindfulness into Anti-Oppression Pedagogy by Beth Berila
  • The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James Cone
  • Songs of Our Hearts, Meditations of Our Souls: Prayers for Black Catholics by C. Vanessa White 

Resources on Antiracism and Antiracist Activism

Resources for Prayer in this Time of Pandemic

Please join us in finding those ways that you connect with your spiritual life during this time.  If you are looking for individual conversation with a campus minister, please feel free to email staff directly or campusministry@slu.edu and we will set up a time with you.