human rights day
Psalm
85, verse 9-11:
9 I will listen for what God, the LORD, has to say;
surely he will speak of peace to his people and to his faithful.
May they not turn to foolishness! 10 Near
indeed is his salvation for those who fear him; glory will dwell in our
land. 11 Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will
kiss.
Christ is drawing near with his birth in ten days. We
are to rejoice just as Mary did in her Canticle of Praise when she entered the
house of Zechariah.
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my
spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s
lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The
Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His
mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his
arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers
from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled
with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped
Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise
to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Our
Lord Jesus himself clearly taught us the first principles of Catholic morality:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second
is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments
depend all the law and the prophets.” (Mt 22:37-40) Love, or charity, is
the great commandment of the Lord. Love of God and love of neighbor are the
source & summary of Catholic morality. “All the law and the prophets” flow
from this starting point. This means that what love requires is the
essence of all moral rules, all of the Ten Commandments, and all aspects of
morality spoken of by the prophets and even by Christ himself. The only things needed
are those things which love makes necessary. It is also important to say that love does, indeed, require many things!
In fact, it takes only a few simple steps of logic to deduce the Ten
Commandments and most of the rest of Catholic morality from this starting
point. Those moral precepts describe the minimum that love requires.
“What do you mean
the minimum?”
Catholic
morality’s basic moral code describes the minimum necessary to live in
union with Christ. If we fall below that level, then the life of Christ cannot
live within us. That’s the meaning of mortal sin: an
action which shows God that we refuse his offer to become “children of God”
(John 1:12) and “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4). So, if that’s the
minimum, then what’s the maximum that love requires? Again, Jesus
provides the answer: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all
men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
(John 13:34-35) The maximum, then, is to completely give ourselves for
others, even as Christ did for us. To put it more simply: there is no
maximum! We’ll always find that we can give more.
Love demands we
care about human rights, but we must begin with the protection of the unborn.
Human
Rights Day commemorates the day on which the United Nations issued the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
a document drafted by representatives from all regions of the world, which
outlined fundamental human rights to be universally protected. The Declaration
contains 30 articles that touch on rights to freedom, justice, peace, dignity,
education and health
care, amongst other rights. On December 10, 1948, the United Nations
proclaimed the UDHR in an effort to help define equal rights that all humans on
the planet deserve and can help the world achieve lasting freedom, justice and peace.
Human Rights Day was officially declared by the United Nations in 1950.
It is celebrated on December 10th each year and is marked by speeches and
activities designed to bring attention to the issues surrounding the most
pressing Human Rights issues worldwide.
Human Rights Day
Facts & Quotes
·
The
United Nations Declaration of Human Rights was one of their first declarations
and came about after the atrocities perpetrated upon humans during World War II
were brought to light.
·
Over
the past decade, armed conflict has killed 2 million children,
disabled another 4-5 million, left 12 million homeless and orphaned another
million.
·
Whenever
I hear anyone arguing for slavery,
I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally. - Abraham Lincoln
·
America
did not invent human rights. In a very real sense... human rights invented
America. - Jimmy Carter
·
I
have cherished the ideal a democratic and free society... it is an ideal for
which I am prepared to die. - Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, who
was imprisoned from 1964-1990.
Human Rights Day
Top Events and Things to Do
·
Educate
yourself on current human rights fights such as genocide by terrorist groups,
slavery and trafficking and child labor around the world.
·
Get
involved with a local human rights organization.
·
Watch
a documentary about human rights issues and violations. Some recommendations: Invisible
Children (2006), Girl Rising (2013) and Nefarious (2011).
·
The
U.S. is not the only country to recognize the importance of religious liberty.
The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights--a foundational document for
international law, created by representatives from all over the
world--recognizes this basic human right in Article 18: “Everyone has the right
to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to
change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others
and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching,
practice, worship and observance”. Clearly, the framers of this document relied
on human reason and saw the need for governments to recognize this civil right.[3]
As we begin the Advent season 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:
Diligence vs. Slothfulness
Visualizing each task as a special assignment from the Lord and using all my
energies to accomplish it (Colossians 3:23)
1866 Vices can be
classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian
experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the
Great. They are called "capital" because they engender other sins,
other vices. They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or
acedia.
2094
One
can sin against God's love in various ways:
·
Indifference neglects or refuses to reflect on divine
charity; it fails to consider its prevenient goodness and denies its power.
·
Ingratitude fails or refuses to acknowledge divine
charity and to return him love for love.
·
Lukewarmness is hesitation or negligence in responding
to divine love; it can imply refusal to give oneself over to the prompting of
charity.
·
Acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to
refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness.
·
Hatred of God comes from pride. It is contrary to love
of God, whose goodness it denies, and whom it presumes to curse as the one who
forbids sins and inflicts punishments.
2339 Chastity includes
an apprenticeship in self-mastery
which
is a training in human freedom. The alternative is clear: either man governs
his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and
becomes unhappy. "Man's dignity therefore requires him to act out of
conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within,
and not by blind impulses in himself or by mere external constraint. Man gains
such dignity when, ridding himself of all slavery to the passions, he presses
forward to his goal by freely choosing what is good and, by his diligence and
skill, effectively secures for himself the means suited to this end."
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
How is that heart of yours getting along? Don't worry: the saints
— who were perfectly ordinary, normal beings like you and me — also felt those
'natural' inclinations. And if they had not felt them, their 'supernatural'
reaction of keeping their heart — soul and body — for God, instead of giving it
to creatures, would have had little merit. That's why, once the way is seen, I
think that the heart's weaknesses need be no obstacle for a determined soul,
for a soul in love.
Daily Devotions
·
Advent
is a special time to be with loved ones and share the season's traditions
together. Say a prayer for family
commitment today.
[4]http://graceonlinelibrary.org/home-family/christian-parenting/49-godly-character-qualities/
[5]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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