be without fear

Bishop Olmstead's call to arms

Bishop Olmstead's call to arms
INTO THE BREACH

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Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Thursday, January 11,2018

Sirach, Chapter 17, Verse 8-10
8 He put fear of him into their hearts to show them the grandeur of his works, 9 that they might describe the wonders of his deeds 10 and praise his holy name.

Get out and see the wonders of his work.

Places of grandeur[1]

·         Glorious Walking and Delicious Repasts. The Lake District Lancashire and Cumbria, England Long and narrow, Windermere is a ribbon lake. The poet William Wordsworth described England’s Lake District as “the loveliest spot that man has ever known.”


·         Grandeur transcends any language. It is the primary attraction of Denali National Park, but it’s not the only draw. Visitors return from the 6-million-acre park with tales of grizzlies, moose, and golden eagles; of sweeping vistas of subarctic tundra, glaciers, and the massive peaks of the Alaska Mountain Range.


·         Mount Desert Island Maine is a place of craggy grandeur. Visitors will find extraordinary Oceanside drives, surf-battered bluffs, off-island whale-watching, and lobster shacks with a view. Some of the nation’s loveliest walking and bicycling paths (they become cross-country ski trails offseason) join 120 miles of moderate hiking trails, all offering great views.


·         The West’s Most Scenic Mountains: Grand Teton National Park Wyoming, U.S.A. Craggy, glacier-chiseled, and rising to 7,000-plus feet above the floor of Wyoming’s Jackson Hole Valley (itself more than 6,000 feet above sea level), the dramatic peaks of Grand Teton National Park win America’s topographical beauty pageant. With no foothills to mar the view, the oft-photographed Tetons dominate the skyline with a grandeur that’s starkly primeval.


·         The White Continent Antarctica: Antarctica’s large icebergs form when glacier pieces break off into the ocean. Antarctica— Terra Australis Incognita, “the unknown land of the south”— is the surreal seventh continent at the bottom of the world, a place of ethereal beauty and unequivocal grandeur that inspired the great explorers of old and captures the hearts of adventurers today. The limitless landscape of ice, sea, and sky comes in a million shades of blue, and jagged, snowy mountain peaks and glistening glaciers dwarf anything ever made by man. It is the ultimate, end-of-the-earth expedition, the world’s most inaccessible continent.



·         West Fork Oak Creek Sedona, Arizona: West Fork Oak Creek is a popular trail. There is a pleasant little stream that ripples along the canyon floor as you hike it where you can look up at the dizzying cliffs that tower above it. During this hike you will meditate on each of the ways you may have been walking away from God; marking each of the conciliations as you cross the stream multiple times. On the return hike, you will meditate using the walking towards God considerations as you cross the stream. Remember every journey away from something is a journey toward something— the left side meditations are the seven deadly sins and the right is the Beatitudes of Christ.[2]


Catechism of the Catholic Church


IV. OFFENSES AGAINST THE DIGNITY OF MARRIAGE

Adultery

2380 Adultery refers to marital infidelity. When two partners, of whom at least one is married to another party, have sexual relations - even transient ones - they commit adultery. Christ condemns even adultery of mere desire. The sixth commandment and the New Testament forbid adultery absolutely. The prophets denounce the gravity of adultery; they see it as an image of the sin of idolatry.

2381 Adultery is an injustice. He who commits adultery fails in his commitment. He does injury to the sign of the covenant which the marriage bond is, transgresses the rights of the other spouse, and undermines the institution of marriage by breaking the contract on which it is based. He compromises the good of human generation and the welfare of children who need their parents' stable union.

Human Trafficking Awareness[3]

Human Trafficking Awareness Day is dedicated to raising awareness of sexual slavery and human trafficking worldwide.  Today, there are between 21-30 million people enslaved in the world, more than at any time in human history. Every day, modern slavery can be recognized: children  become soldiers; young women are forced into prostitution and migrant workers exploited in the workforce. Human Trafficking Awareness Day seeks to end this slavery, return rights to individuals and make the world a safer place for all inhabitants. Human Trafficking Awareness Day started in 2007, when the U.S. Senate designated January 11th as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the hopes of raising awareness to combat human trafficking. It began as a U.S. initiative, and the United Nations has started to highlight this topic and work towards global awareness with days such as International Day for the Abolition of Slavery.

Human Trafficking Awareness Facts & Quotes

·         The most common form of human trafficking is sexual exploitation, accounting for 79% of human trafficking victims. These victims of sexual exploitation are predominantly women and girls.
·         According to UNICEF, 2 million children are estimated to be trafficking victims of sex trade each year. 20% of traffic victims are children.
·         The average age of a girl being forced into the US domestic sex slavery market is 13.
·         The average cost of a slave around the world is $90.
·         It is slavery in the modern age. Every year thousands of people, mainly women and children, are exploited by criminals who use them for forced labor or the sex trade. No country is immune. Almost all play a part, either as a source of trafficked people, transit point or destination. - United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

Human Trafficking Awareness Top Events and Things to Do

·         Talk to children about strangers and make sure they memorize important addresses and phone numbers.
·         Save 888-373-7888 to your phone.  This is number to the National Human Trafficking Resources Hotline.
·         Make a donation to an organization fighting human trafficking.
·         Learn the signs and indicators of human trafficking so that you can learn to recognize it and report it. US Homeland Security offers a training online free of charge.
·         Watch a movie about human trafficking. Our picks: Taken (2008), Trade (2007), Human Trafficking (2005), The Pink Room(2011), Nefarious (2011) and Lilya 4-ever (2002).

Know the Signs[4]

Recognizing indicators of human trafficking is key to identifying victims and helping them find assistance.

Look for someone who:

·         Is not free to leave or come and go as he/she wishes
·         Is unpaid, paid very little, or paid only through tips
·         Works excessively long and/or unusual hours
·         Is not allowed breaks or suffers under unusual restrictions at work
·         Owes a large debt and is unable to pay it off
·         Was recruited through false promises concerning the nature and conditions of his/her work
·         High security measures exist in work and/or living locations (e.g. opaque windows, boarded-up windows, bars on windows, barbed wire, security cameras, etc.)
·         Is fearful, anxious, depressed, submissive, tense or nervous/paranoid
·         Exhibits unusually fearful or anxious behavior after mention of law enforcement
·         Avoids eye contact
·         Lacks health care
·         Appears malnourished
·         Shows signs of physical and/or sexual abuse, physical restraint, confinement or torture
·         Has few or no personal possessions
·         Is not in control of his/her own money, has no financial records or bank account
·         Is not in control of his/her own identification documents (ID or passport)
·         Is not allowed or able to speak for themselves (a third party may insist on being present and/or translating)
·         Claims of just visiting and inability to clarify where he/she is staying/address
·         Lack of knowledge of whereabouts and/or do not know what city he/she is in
·         Loss of sense of time
·         Has numerous inconsistencies in his/her story

Hungary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_Hungary
Hungary is a source, transit, and destination country for women and girls subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and a source country for men and women in conditions of forced labor. Women from Hungary are forced into prostitution in the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Greece, and the United States. Women from eastern Hungary are subjected to forced prostitution in Budapest and areas in Hungary along the Austrian border. Roma women and girls who grow up in Hungarian orphanages are highly vulnerable to internal forced prostitution. Men from Western Europe travel to Budapest for the purpose of adult sex tourism, some of which may involve the exploitation of trafficking victims. Men and women are subjected to conditions of forced labor within Hungary. Women from Romania and Ukraine are transported through Hungary to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, and the United Arab Emirates where they are subsequently subjected to forced prostitution; some of these victims may be exploited in Hungary before they reach their final destination country.[1]

The Government of Hungary does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated law enforcement progress in 2009, including amending Paragraph 175/b of its criminal code to increase penalties for cases involving child victims of human trafficking under the age of 12 as well as an increase in the number of traffickers convicted and sentenced to time in prison, though it did not prosecute or convict any labor trafficking offenders. The government demonstrated mixed progress in improving victim assistance during the reporting period; while it allocated funding for a new NGO-run shelter that opened in March 2010 and guaranteed funding through June 2011, the shelter did not assist any victims during the reporting period. Moreover, the shelter is permitted only to assist Hungarian victims, excluding the assistance of any potential foreign victims. More should be done to ensure all victims have access to assistance. The lack of victim assistance funding by the government in 2008 and most of 2009 may have resulted in a decrease in victims assisted in 2009.[1] U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2 Watchlist" in 2017.[2]



49 Godly Character Traits[5]

During this New Year let us take up the nature of God by reflecting on these traits that make us a model for our children and our sisters and brothers in Christ. Today reflect on:

Thriftiness vs. Extravagance

Not letting myself or others spend that which is not necessary (Luke 16:11)

1835 Prudence disposes the practical reason to discern, in every circumstance, our true good and to choose the right means for achieving it.

Daily Devotions
·         Drops of Christ’s Blood
·         Nineveh 90 Day 11
·         Please pray for me and this ministry

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