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]
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.
Jesse Tree[5]
Jesse
Tree Scriptures (The Symbols Are Only Suggestions)
·
December 1 Creation: Gen. 1:1-31; 2:1-4 Symbols: sun,
moon, stars, animals, earth
·
December
2 Adam and Eve:
Gen. 2:7-9, 18-24 Symbols: tree, man, woman
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Restoring
the Church
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Rosary
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