Friday, December 2, 2022

- November 26, 2022

First Friday

END OF SLAVERY DAY

John, Chapter 10, Verse 17

This is why the Father LOVES me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.

This is probably a reference to the manna in the desert, which elsewhere is seen as a type of the Eucharist. In the Gospel of John Christ states, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” So, the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. (John 4: 32-34).

We like our Lord should have the same desire to build the Kingdom of God; to create a New Jerusalem in our home, at our work and in our communities. Our Lord asks that we prepare ourselves for the work by eating the food he gives us which is the new covenant.

We need this food to create a change in us from the old man to become sons of God in and through Christ which is the new covenant of His blood. Those who love him frequent Mass and take the food He gives us through His Priests. For this is real food indeed. It is not food to give pleasure to the body, but it is intended by God to give joy to the soul. According to the late Bishop Fulton Sheen, "You can quickly become tired of pleasures, but you can never tire of joys." Joy comes by finding God. You cannot satisfy a soul with husks!^{^[1]}

First Friday[2]

Mary Alacoque, a nun of the Order of the Visitation, at Parayle-Monial, France; one day, when, according to her custom during the octave of Corpus Christi, she was deeply engaged in devotions before the Blessed Sacrament, the divine Savior appeared to her, showed her His Heart burning with love, and said: “Behold this Heart, which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrilege, and by the coldness and contempt they have for Me in this sacrament of love. And what is most painful to Me is that they are hearts consecrated to Me. It is for this reason I ask thee that the first Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be appropriated to a special feast to honor My Heart by communicating on that day and making reparation for the indignity that it has received. And I promise that My Heart shall dilate to pour out abundantly the influences of its love on all that will render it this honor or procure its being rendered.”

The Supreme Lover[3]

The Goodness of God means that God gives us what we need for our perfection, not what we want for our pleasure and sometimes for our destruction. As a sculptor, He sometimes applies the chisel to the marble of our imperfect selves and knocks off huge chunks of selfishness that His image may better stand revealed. Like a musician, whenever He finds the strings too loose on the violin of our personality, He tightens them even though it hurts, that we may better reveal our hidden harmonies. As the Supreme Lover of our soul, He does care how we act and think and speak. What father does not want to be proud of his son?

If the father speaks with authority now and then to his son, it is not because he is a dictator, but because he wants him to be a worthy son. Not even progressive parents, who deny discipline and restraint, are indifferent to the progress of their children. So long as there is love, there is necessarily a desire for the perfecting of the beloved. That is precisely the way God's goodness manifests itself to us. God really loves us and, because He loves us, He is not disinterested. He no more wants you to be unhappy than your own parents want you to be unhappy. God made you not for His happiness, but for yours, and to ask God to be satisfied with most of us as we really are, is to ask that God cease to love. — Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery[4]

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery aims to end slavery in the world. Contemporary forms of slavery include sexual exploitation, forced marriage, trafficking of persons and recruitment of children for armed conflict. The International Labour Organization estimates that there are currently 21 million people enslaved in the world, a business that generates around 150 billion US dollars in illegal profits every year. The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as a day to be celebrated every December 2nd. The day marks the 1949 adoption of the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others.

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Facts & Quotes

· The average cost of a slave globally is $90.

· Human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry after illegal drugs and arms trafficking. It generates a profit of approximately 32 billion every year.

· 1 million children are enslaved worldwide.

· Child slavery is a crime against humanity. Humanity itself is at stake here. A lot of work still remains, but I will see the end of child labor in my lifetime. – Kailash Satyarthi, Indian children’s rights advocate and founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan.

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Top Events and Things to Do

· Watch a movie about the horrors of slavery. Some suggestions are: 12 Years a Slave (2014), Django Unchained (2014) and Amistad (1997)

· Donate to a charity fighting to end slavery.

· Spread awareness by using the hashtags #InternationalDayforAbolitionofSlavery, #EndSlavery and #HumanRightsMatter.

· Volunteer your time at a local rescue center for victims of human trafficking. These centers assist victims in sharing their stories, regaining their lives and dignity and helping to reduce this problem.

· Read a book about the horrors of slavery. Some suggestions are: Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Beloved and Chains.