Rogation Wednesday
ST. RITA OF CASSIA
2 SAMUEL, Chapter 23, Verse 3-4
3 The God of Israel
spoke; of me the Rock of Israel said, “One who rules over humankind with
justice, who rules in the fear of
God, 4 Is
like the light at sunrise on a cloudless morning, making the land’s vegetation
glisten after rain.”
The
Rock
of Israel (Hebrew: צור ישראל, Tzur Yisrael) is a concept in Judaism that alludes to
God, and in Zionism and politics, to the cultural and historical heritage of
the Jewish people and the foundation of the State of Israel.[1]
God fearing leaders are life giving and not life taking
for they have a Holy Fear of God. Traditionally in Judaism there are seven
names given for God. The seven names of God that, once written, cannot be
erased because of their holiness are the Tetragrammaton, El, Elohim, Eloah,
Elohai, El Shaddai, Tzevaot.
Tetragrammaton is YHWH or I am that I am.
El simply means God and is used in the names of
IsraEL, AngEL.
Elohim means He is power of powers Eloah is the
singular form of Elohim.
Elohai mean “My God”.
El Shaddai means “God Almighty”
Tzevaot means “God the armies of Israel”.
1. Our birth name – the name assigned
to us when we arrive in this world
2. Our given names – the names
assigned to us as we walk through the world. These names can be positive and
negative, ranging from successful, beautiful, star athlete to those names
assigned by mean kids, like concentration camp victim, stupid, addict.
3. Our secret name – the name granted
to us by God Oberbrunner said the problem is our birth names and given names
don’t ever fill up the void inside us. We pretend and wear masks.
What would God call you? When Christ called his
apostles; He revealed to some of them God’s name for them. Sons of Thunder for
John and James and for Simon son of John, He called him Peter which means
“Rock”.
International Day for Biological Diversity[6]
The International Day for Biological Diversity aims to
raise awareness and understanding of biological diversity and issues
surrounding it. The day also serves to highlight possible strategies to protect
biodiversity, which refers to the variety of life on the planet. Today,
habitats are degrading and leading to a reduction in biodiversity, a problem
that directly affects human well-being, poverty reduction and global
sustainable development. The International Day for Biological Diversity was
proclaimed in December of 2000 by the United Nations
General Assembly. It is celebrated annually on May 22, a day that commemorates
the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992.
International
Day for Biological Diversity Facts & Quotes
·
According
to the UN, more than 3 billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity
for their livelihoods and 1.6 billion people rely on forests and non-timber
forest products for their livelihoods.
·
Habitat
degradation and the loss of biodiversity are currently threatening the livelihood
of over 1 billion people who live in dry and subhumid climates.
·
Over
50% of the world’s plant species and 42% of all terrestrial vertebrate species
are native to a specific country and do not naturally exist elsewhere.
·
We
should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use
it and come to understand what it means to humanity. – E. O. Wilson, American
biologist, researcher, theorist and author.
Day
for Biological Diversity Top Events and Things to Do
·
Watch
a movie or documentary on the importance and irreplaceability of the world’s
biodiversity. Some suggestions are: The Cove, Oceans, Plastic Planet and the
11th hour.
·
Spread
awareness on social media by using the hashtags
#InternationalDayForBiologicalDiversity, #IDBD and #BiologicalDiversity.
·
Join
the international Day for Biological Diversity Google Hangout where you can
video stream yourself and with other people to discuss biological diversity
with like-minded individuals.
·
Organize
or participate in a local cleanup effort. Biodiversity is very negatively
impacted by human trash and pollution.
·
Donate
to the center for biological diversity. All funds are put towards securing a
future for all species hovering on the brink of extinction with a focus on
protecting lands, waters
and climate that species need to survive. Consider funds like WWF, the Animal
Project and Defenders of Wildlife.
Why should Catholics care?[7]
The Church’s social teaching calls on Catholics to
uphold the life and dignity of every human person, to be in solidarity with our
brothers and sisters worldwide, and to care for God’s creation. Since the
extraction of oil, gas, minerals, and timber affects the poor most acutely, the
Church has been addressing issues related to extractive industries around the
world. Catholic agencies and affected people have been engaged in advocacy with
their own governments, international financial institutions, and extractives
companies, urging them to become more transparent, to reduce the negative
impacts of resource extraction on people and the environment, and to increase
benefits for the poor most especially. In the U.S. bishops’ first statement on
environmental matters, renewing the Earth (1991), they draw attention to the
ethical dimensions of the ecological crisis, exploring the link between ecology
and poverty and the implications for human life and dignity. Bishops of every
part of the world have expressed concern regarding extractive industries. Indeed,
Pope Benedict XVI, expanding on the issue of the environment in Caritas in
Veritate, stated: Let us hope that the international community and individual
governments will succeed in countering harmful ways of treating the
environment. It is likewise incumbent upon the competent authorities to make
every effort to ensure that the economic and social costs of using up shared
environmental resources are recognized with transparency and fully borne by
those who incur them, not by other peoples or future generations: the
protection of the environment, of resources and of the climate obliges all
international leaders to act jointly and to show a readiness to work in good
faith, respecting the law and promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of
the planet (No. 50).
Daily Devotions
No comments:
Post a Comment