Detroit — “My history does not determine my destiny.” These seven words were echoed by Deacon Larry Oney during his two-night ministry at Corpus Christi and St. Scholastica parishes in Detroit on Aug. 21-22.

“Our nation is in need of healing. We as a country are in trouble with how we relate with one another,” Deacon Oney said. “Detroit can be a model on how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ to the rest of the country.”

Around 300 people gathered Aug. 21 to hear Oney’s talk, “Amazing Grace Overcoming Race,” the first event of Hope and Purpose Ministries’ three-part Revive Detroit campaign, part of an archdiocesan evangelization initiative. A second part of the campaign, “The Encounter,” will take place at St. Scholastica from 6-9 p.m. on Mondays from Sept. 14 to Nov. 23.

Deacon Oney told his personal story of overcoming racial discrimination and poverty while growing up a sharecropper’s son in northern Louisiana. He relayed the anger he felt at his family’s situation, but how anger and vengeance was not the path God was calling him to follow.

“In the 1950s and ‘60s, black men were beaten down for giving the wrong look,” Deacon Oney said. “A day came when it was time to take a trip to Mississippi, and that was like the Israelites going through Egypt. There was a system of fear and anticipation, that we were just waiting to be attacked.”

Deacon Oney’s family moved into a better situation on the outskirts of New Orleans, but he was still angry and looked to join radical groups advocating violence to end racial discrimination.

“By the time I was 15, I wanted to join the Black Panther Party and kill all the white people who aren’t nice; and I’ll be deciding who was and wasn’t nice,” he said.

“Then one day, out of nowhere, a white woman visited our neighborhood on Thanksgiving and gave us food. I was confused, I thought ‘I don’t like these white people; I want to kill them.’”

Deacon Oney said that started his turn away from violence and toward God. A year later, he began learning more about Catholicism and the Eucharist, longing for a fulfillment found through Christ.

“I still wanted justice for all the injustice myself and my family suffered, but I learned mercy is greater than justice,” Deacon Oney said. “Mercy doesn’t come when you want to, but you can always count on mercy to come on time.”

Deacon Oney related his story to countless other stories of racial unrest occurring today — the troubles in Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore — and how forgiveness and trust, though difficult, is the path God urges.

“We all have had negative encounters with race, and we don’t want to let it go,” Deacon Oney said. “Only God can touch a person’s heart. So we say, ‘I choose to forgive tonight. God, would you come into my heart and give me the power to forgive, and you to forgive us.’”

Many in the audience were overcome with emotion during the event.

“I think what happened here tonight was beautiful,” said Rene Bascombe, a member of St. Charles Lwanga Parish in Detroit. “We need more events like this in Detroit; it brings people together. It gives people hope and allows more of the world to come together.

“I see a spiritual revival happening more and more in Michigan. I saw God reaching through Deacon Oney and coming here to heal this city. This is the type of revival Detroit needs.”

Auxiliary Bishop Donald Hanchon of the archdiocese’s Central Region and Catholic lay evangelist Gerardo Hernandez of Hope and Purpose Ministries spoke before Deacon Oney, saying Detroit is ready for a revival and that the city can thrive when it embraces its spiritual roots.

“It’s always great to gather together,” Hernandez said. “Whenever two people are together, we are in His presence; we have way more than that here today. We have people all across the world praying for Detroit.”

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Hope and Purpose Ministries

To learn more about Hope and Purpose Ministries or to buy Deacon Larry Oney’s book “Amazing Grace Overcoming Race,” visit hopeandpurpose.org.