Juneteenth flag
On June 19, 1865, two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, federal troops under the command of Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas. They brought a life-changing message for the estimated quarter-of-a-million slaves in the state: “All slaves are free” and entitled to payment for their labor.
This important day in history became known as Freedom Day, or Juneteenth, now a U.S. federal holiday.
We pray, O Lord, for change. Jesus You revealed God through Your wise words and loving deeds, and we encounter You still today in the faces of those whom society has pushed to the margins. Guide us, through the love You revealed, to establish the justice You proclaimed, that all peoples might dwell in harmony and peace, united by that one love that binds us to each other, and to You. And most of all, Lord, change our routine worship and work into genuine encounter with You and our better selves so that our lives will be changed for the good of all.
- adapted from Racial Healing and Liturgical Resources by the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
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