VICTIMS
OF THE HOLOCAUST
Sirach, Chapter 4, Verse 20
My
son, watch for the right time; fear what is evil; do not bring shame
upon yourself.
Shame is generally
connected with sexual ungodliness. Leviticus which is the book of the law on
holiness in chapter 18 lists every sort of sexual sin. Sex is good and was
invented by God and carries no shame if it is done at the right time
open to life between a husband and a wife.
Leviticus 18 begins with:
My decrees you
shall carry out, and my statutes you shall take care to follow. I, the LORD, am
your God. Keep, then, my statutes and decrees, for the person who carries
them out will find life through
them. I am the LORD.
None of you shall
approach a close relative to have sexual intercourse. I am the LORD. (Lv. 18:4-6)
Leviticus 18
ends with:
You, however, must keep my statutes
and decrees, avoiding all these abominations, both the natives and the aliens
resident among you—because the
previous inhabitants did all these abominations and the land became defiled; otherwise the land will vomit you out also for
having defiled it, just as it vomited out the nations before you. For whoever does any of these abominations shall be
cut off from the people. Heed my
charge, then, not to observe the abominable customs that have been observed
before your time, and thus become impure by them. I, the LORD, am your God. (Lv.
18:26-30)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
I. "MALE
AND FEMALE HE CREATED THEM . . ."
2331 "God is love and in himself he
lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in his
own image. God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and
thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion. "God created
man in his own image male and female he created them"; He blessed them and
said, "Be fruitful and multiply" "When God created man, he made
him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed
them and named them Man when they were created."
2332 Sexuality affects all aspects of the
human person in the unity of his body and soul. It especially concerns
affectivity, the capacity to love and to procreate, and in a more general way
the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others.
2333 Everyone, man and woman, should
acknowledge and accept his sexual identity. Physical, moral, and spiritual
difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and
the flourishing of family life. The harmony of the couple and of society
depends in part on the way in which the complementarity, needs, and mutual
support between the sexes are lived out.
2334 "In creating men 'male and female,
God gives man and woman an equal personal dignity." "Man is a person,
man and woman equally so, since both were created in the image and likeness of
the personal God."
2335 Each of the two sexes is an image of
the power and tenderness of God, with equal dignity though in a different way.
The union of man and woman in marriage is a way of imitating in the flesh the
Creator's generosity and fecundity: "Therefore a man leaves his father and
his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." All human
generations proceed from this union.
2336 Jesus came to restore creation to the
purity of its origins. In the Sermon on the Mount, he interprets God's plan
strictly: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit
adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has
already committed adultery with her in his heart." What God has joined
together, let not man put asunder.
The tradition of
the Church has understood the sixth commandment as encompassing the whole of
human sexuality.
9 Days for Life is a "digital pilgrimage" of
prayer and action focused on cherishing the gift of every person's life. A
multi-faceted novena highlighting a different intention each day provides
reflections, bonus information, and suggested actions. Join to receive the
novena through the 9 Days for Life app, daily emails, or daily texts. See below
for information on how else you can get involved! #9DaysforLife #OurPrayersMatter
Day Six:
Intercession: May all victims
and survivors of human trafficking find freedom, refuge, and healing.
Prayers: Our Father, 3 Hail Mary’s,
Glory Be
Reflection: Those
who are vulnerable are most at risk for being lured into situations where they
are trafficked. Migrants and refugees often face increased risk factors like
changes to language and culture, lack of support systems, and the burden of
poverty. Young people on the margins, especially runaway and homeless youth, are
targeted for sex trafficking and may subsequently be forced to have abortions.
Easily tempted by the false promises of traffickers, victims often find
themselves enslaved with no means of escape. Christ came “to bring good news to
the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives” (Is 61:1, cf. Luke 4:18). May all who are trapped in situations of
slavery be released from their chains of captivity and find freedom, refuge,
safety, and healing in Christ and His Church.
Acts of Reparation (Choose one.)
·
Give
up sleeping on your pillow tonight. Allow this small sacrifice to remind you of
the sufferings endured by those in our world who are enslaved.
·
St.
Josephine Bakhita, who was born in Sudan and sold into slavery, has become
known as the patron saint of human trafficking victims. Pray for victims and survivors of human
trafficking, asking the intercession of St. Josephine Bakhita.
·
Offer
some other sacrifice, prayer, or act of penance that you feel called to do for
today’s intention.
Holocaust Memorial Day is a day commemorating the
millions of Jews and minority groups who were murdered by the Nazis during the
Holocaust in the 1930s and 40s. The Holocaust, a systematic and state-planned
program to kill millions of Jews and other minority groups in Europe, was one
of the most horrific genocides in history with an estimated 11 million lives
lost. The purpose of the day is to encourage discussion of this difficult
subject in order to make sure that it never happens again. In 2005, Holocaust
Memorial Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly. January 27, the remembrance date, is
significant as it was the date that Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest and most
infamous Nazi extermination camp in Poland, was liberated in 1945. The
Holocaust is marked by many different days around the world. In Israel, the day
is known as Yom HaShoah and begins when the sun sets on May 4 and finishes in
the evening of May 5.
International Day of Victims of the
Holocaust Facts & Quotes
·
Jewish people were excluded from public life on
September 15th, 1935 when the Nuremberg Laws were issued, stripping German Jews
of their citizenship and the right to marry Germans.
·
The mass killings of Jews and undesirables in death
camps was referred to as the Final Solution by the Nazis.
·
If we bear all this suffering and if there are
still Jews left, when it is over, then Jews, instead of being doomed, will be
held up as an example. ― Anne Frank, well-known Holocaust victim
·
I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever
human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality
helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never
the tormented” ― Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor
Victims of the Holocaust Top Events and
Things to Do
·
Visit the largest extermination/concentration camp from
the Holocaust. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, located in Poland, allows
visitors to see the camp and learn more about the atrocities committed inside.
·
Join social media campaigns that promote awareness
of the Holocaust, try tweeting using the hashtag #holocaustmemorial or
#remembranceday.
·
Find a HMD activity near you by consulting their
website. There are many different workshops and discussions held year-round. Or
if there are none near you organize an activity yourself to mark HMD in your
community. The HMD website has a
selection of useful information on how to do this.
·
Read one of the thought provoking, gripping and
saddening accounts of the Holocaust. Some choice picks include:
1) The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
2) Maus by Art Spiegelman
3) Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt
1) The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
2) Maus by Art Spiegelman
3) Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt
·
Watch a movie about the Holocaust. Some popular
picks: Schindler's
List (1993), Auschwitz (2011), The
Boy in Striped Pajamas (2008), Life is Beautiful (1997) and The
Pianist (2002).
Question: Are the babies in the
womb considered human? At the Judgement Germany will have 11 million souls to account for: -and
America now has 60 million and counting to account for---think about it.
Daily
Devotions
[1]http://www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/january-roe-events/nine-days-of-prayer-penance-and-pilgrimage.cfm
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