Really...? Seriously...?

Religious Persecution Is Widespread

Okay, this is just wrong on so many different levels! Whenever I read this, I was just about speechless. It's bad enough we have terrorism, but now this?! I thought we would be done with religious persecution after the Holocaust, but this proves me wrong.

Twelve thousand people have been killed in Nigeria during the last ten years, all because of religious persecution. This conflict between the Christians and Muslims is unreal. And the worst part of it is that NO ONE has been convicted and sentenced for the killings! Also Nigeria isn't the only country. The U.S. Commission has done a report on International Religious Freedom and it names more than two dozen countries as offenders.

I don't know if you have noticed yet but this is a huge violation of human rights. And as you may know, that goes against the CST of Rights and Responsibilities of the Human Person. We, as a human being, have freedom of thought. And these people who killed one another apparently don't have the responsibility to respect each other's rights.  

Take a look at the link at the top and leave comments on how you feel about it.
-Kim ^_^

Work With Your Rights...

We all have workers rights even though we dont work. We all have the right to participate in the work going on in school and at home. This is a way to participate in God's work. Those that do work like our parents have the right to decent work, just wages, and safe working conditions and to participate in decisions about their work.This is how it should be but that doesnt mean it always happens. Take sweatshops for example. People are being worked to hard, underpayed, and they dont have a say in whether they want to stay and work or leave. They are abused and threatened and just dont work in safe working conditions. Do you think this is fair to them? I dont think so! It goes against all of the CST's completely. Imagine if you were forced to work long hours during the day and leave with little to no money after you had been through grueling work and harsh threats. Many people do these jobs to try to bring home a little bit of money at the end of the day, but most of the time that doesn't even happen. Yes, it is hard to believe, but it does happen and by living out the CST's it would help get rid of things such as this. What would you do if you had to work in a sweatshop?? (leave comments and stories) :)

~Meagan

You Came Upon Me Wave On Wave...

This is a song by Pat Green that makes me think of God coming to us when we live out the CST's little by little. It takes courage to live them out and when we do we build a stronger relationship with God that we were looking for. And the lyrics to this song explains it perfectly. :)
~Meagan

They did whatever it took.

Public Schools Leaders
^^^Man, am I proud of these courageous modern day super Heros! As you know, there is a fine line involved with religion at public schools. But these students erased that ugly line. From public high schools around the United States came blessed students who did a great deed (in my opinion). Few students passed out bibles under cover which can spark debate of course. Was it ok for them to go and give out god's word, even if it meant jumping over the poorly drawn line? Think about it a while. Didn’t a lot of people do crazy things to get the message across? For example, Ghandi calmly protested his feelings of peace. So do a lot of people and it isn't always a big life changing matter, no, but it made a change. It can make a wave. Public schools fail and fail again to explain why they sketched out that line so those chosen students let them know about their confusion. Ha, finally, we've found someone yelling their silent words that usually go unsaid. Those words came out of the mouth of god, and know, teenagers; unexpected teenagers. Oh! And get this! Guess who told them to do that in the first place? Your dad! Your dad, god, told them that they can do that if they wanted to and we should all love him for giving us that free will. What’s your way of being the mirror image of these teens? Tell me on the comments below! Remember, less than three <3 -Chloe

Decisions, Decisions....

This Catholic Social Teaching, Rights and Responsibilities of the Human Person, is basically just about making decisions (obviously). We have the right to make our own decisions and we have the responsibility to make the right decisions.

But it isn't all about decisions it's also about our rights as a human being. It boldly says that we have a right to life, and that includes the things we need to have a good life: a safe place to live, freedom, and food. We also have the responsibility to respect others rights. We have to make the decision (there we go again) if we want to respect others rights, and being Catholic hopefully you will respect them.

Do you remember when you were little an you really wanted a pet and you would tell your parents that you would feed it, care for it, and it would be your responsibility? And then your parents give in and get you it. And then you go on vacation for a week and forget about the poor thing and come home to a dead hamster, but that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that maybe your parents maybe didn't really give in, they may have just wanted to test your responsibility. Now testing your responsibility on a poor little animal maybe isn't the right way to go but you get the point? Responsibility is a quality that plays a big part in your life, and what your parents did was just a way to make this quality stronger.

Can you think of some ways to test your own responsibility yourself? (leave comments on what you thought of!)

-Kim ^_^

What Does Money Have To Do With Anything?

In these times money is a big issue. This is why optioning for the poor and vulnerable is important. How many of you have seen a homeless person on the side of the road and didn’t even think twice about them but just looked away. Now a day it is a normal sight to see a few homeless or poor people around town. That doesn’t make it right. What if you were in their shoes? Lets look at the point Chloe made, we are all brothers and sisters in God's eyes and I know you wouldn't leave your brother or sister on the side of the road to be alone and starving would you? I don’t think so. A lot of people judge others by the amount of money they have but let’s refer to the story of The Last Judgment in the end it’s not going to matter how much money you have or how many other riches you have. We get caught up in the material things and don’t want to think about how much they don’t matter and how much our brothers and sisters do. God made us equal and that is how it should stay. Yes, some people make more money than others but that doesn’t make you any different that the man in the homeless shelter or on the side of the road asking for a small amount of money.

I know sometimes it is hard to think about giving up your things and money to people you don’t even know but God gave up his life for us who he didn’t even know just to save us. And you never know you might save someone’s life by giving up something small, something you probably would forget about within a few hours but that person you give it to might treasure it forever. Yes, this is very hard to think about because many of us haven’t done it before but why not be the one to start the trend. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be the one without a lot of money?? (Leave your comments and stories) :)
~Meagan

Pick Up The Phone...

Family, Community, and Participation is calling! Whether you know it or not you are called to these things as a human being. Some people think of family as a mom and a dad and children, while this is one way you can participate you can also join a missionary or some other religious vocation if that is your calling. Someone who did just that was Sister Thea Bowman who is a great example of this CST. Thea Bowman was the granddaughter of a slave and was raised by Methodist parents but soon converted to Catholicism. As a teenager she became a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration. Throughout her life she lived out this CST by teaching and sharing God's love with her students. She was diagnosed with bone cancer, became disable and used a wheelchair but still she strived to be true to herself by working against prejustice, suspicion, hatred, and things that drive people apart. If we all follow in her example in some way the world would be such a better place. This is what the Catholic Social Teachings are trying to get us to do. She was just one person and she made such a big difference in many people’s lives, imagine if that was you. How good would you feel? Many of us won't enter a missionary but we will more than likely start a family and have children. This itself is a participation in family life. But you are also called to participate in your community. This isn’t that hard just take a part of the things people around you are doing. Do you get involved in things the people around you are doing?? (leave comments and stories) :)
-Meagan