INTERNATIONAL
YOUTH DAY
2 Kings, Chapter 6, Verse 16
Elisha answered, “Do
not be AFRAID. Our side outnumbers
theirs.”
Many
people are afraid to speak out against the injustices of our modern age because
we are so few. Likewise, here Elisha states to the Israelites to not be afraid
for although our physical army is outnumbered in this contest we far outweigh
them with the armies of the Lord.
Tzevaot
“God the armies of Israel”[1]
·
The
Arameans are at war with Israel. The King of Aram decides to set his camp at a
certain place where he can ambush the Israelites.
·
Elisha
prophetically warns the King of Israel not to pass by that place, successfully
saving them. Then, he pulls the same prophetic miracle again.
·
The
King of Aram asks his soldiers if one of them is a traitor, but they tell him
that it must be the prophet, Elisha.
·
So
the King of Aram sends a huge army to track down Elisha. It surrounds the city
where Elisha is staying.
·
When
Elisha's servant gets up in the morning, he's terrified by the sight of the
Aramean army. But Elisha tells him that they (Elisha and the servant) have more
allies on their side.
·
Elisha
asks God to open the servant's eyes and the servant suddenly sees that, on the
mountain surrounding them, the fiery chariots and horses of the divine army are
arrayed in massive numbers.
·
As
the Arameans attempt to attack him, Elisha asks God to strike them blind. He
does.
·
Elisha
pretends to help them and leads the blind army to Samaria and to the King of
Israel. When he restores their vision they realize where they are.
·
The
King of Israel asks Elisha if he should kill them, but Elisha says no, that
wouldn't be fair.
·
So,
they treat the Arameans to a great feast and then… let them go.
International Youth Day[2]
International
Youth Day seeks to raise awareness to the cultural and legal issues faced by
youth throughout the world. The United Nations
defines youth as people between the ages of 15 and 24 years, although locally,
youth can be interpreted in a more flexible manner. In 1995, the General
Assembly of the United Nations (UN) adopted the World Program of Action for
Youth with the intention of establishing guidelines and policies for action and
support that would lead to a brighter future for tomorrow's youth. The World Program
of Action for Youth, which consists of 15 priority areas, including education,
employment, hunger and poverty, health,
environment and drug abuse,
paved the way for the UN's declaration of International Youth Day in 1999.
Since its inception on August 12, 2000, International Youth Day has served to
increase the quality and quantity of opportunities available to the youth to
actively participate in society. In 2009, the UN Economic and Social Council
further expanded each of the 15 youth priority areas by developing goals and
targets for monitoring youth progress, an expansion that now serves as the
basis for International Youth Day's annual theme. Each year, the theme is
selected based upon immediate and relevant issues that youth are facing today.
International
Youth Day Facts & Quotes
·
Of
the 1.8 billion youth in the world today, half survive on less than $2 per day.
·
Young
people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered,
they can be key agents for development and peace.
If, however, they are left on society's margins, all of us will be
impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to
participate fully in the lives of their societies. - Kofi Annan,
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Check
out the United States Congresses program for youth: www.congressionalaward.org
Catechism of the Catholic Church
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION TWO-I. THE CREEDS
CHAPTER THREE-I
BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Article 11-"I
BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY"
988 The Christian Creed - the
profession of our faith in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and
in God's creative, saving, and sanctifying action - culminates in the
proclamation of the resurrection of the dead on the last day and in life
everlasting.
989 We firmly believe, and
hence we hope that, just as Christ is truly risen from the dead and lives
forever, so after death the righteous will live forever with the risen Christ
and he will raise them up on the last day. Our resurrection, like his own,
will be the work of the Most Holy Trinity:
If the
Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised
Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through
his Spirit who dwells in you.
990 The term "flesh"
refers to man in his state of weakness and mortality. The
"resurrection of the flesh" (the literal formulation of the Apostles'
Creed) means not only that the immortal soul will live on after death, but that
even our "mortal body" will come to life again.
991 Belief in the resurrection
of the dead has been an essential element of the Christian faith from its
beginnings. "The confidence of Christians is the resurrection of the dead;
believing this we live."
How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there
is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has
not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain....
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who
have fallen asleep.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Holy Priests, Consecrated, & Religious
·
Let
Freedom Ring Day 36 Freedom from Avarice
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: August
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
· Rosary
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