Deliver Us From Evil

There are countless amounts of sin in our society today. However, one sin particularly that I believe we need to be delivered from is the sin of hate. Each and every day on the news, there are several stories of murders, bizarre killings, suicides, etc. In a society where people would love one another, as Jesus did, there would be no more suffering and hatred. These terrible actions of the people such as murder and killing others are done through hatred. Our society needs more people who love one another and treat each other with respect, the world as we know it would be a much better place. We need to learn to change hate into love and make this horrible sin, such as hate, one day disappear. Let us change the bad news on the television to good news of people loving and caring for one another just like Jesus.

Temptations

Jesus was tempted by the Devil several times when he was in the desert for forty days. Similarly in today's world, we are tempted as teenagers by some of the "devils" of our modern society. Teenagers are tempted by the peer pressures of society to do dangerous things that may put their own lives at risk and maybe even the lives of others at risk as well. The devil tempted Jesus just as the many dangers of alcohol, drugs, and smoking tempt teenagers in our world today. Through the power and strength in our faith in God, we can overcome these challenges and temptations we face in our everyday lives.

Pope John Paul II

After watching all of the "Saints Alive" presentations in class, I have learned and gained a better knowledge of several different saints that I did not know much about. One saint that had a great impact on me was Pope John Paul II. His life interested me greatly because of the countless ways that he changed the Catholic Church for the better. I really loved how he improved the Catholic Church's relations with other religions such as Islam and Judaism. This shows that he truly cared about peace with our fellow brothers and sisters and that there should be no conflict between these very different religions. Another thing that I really enjoyed learning about Pope John Paul II was that he traveled to over 100 countries during his time. He made a great effort and was successful in enforcing universal holiness. Pope John Paul II often talked about the importance of women and family. He firmly believed that the strong relationship between the family was the future of humanity. I also agree with his thoughts about this because a strong family will always stick together even through the toughest of situations in our world today. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Pope John Paul II and his incredible changes to the Catholic Church. He has greatly influenced me and my life for the better.

Stop Kony

After watching the "Stop Kony" video, I was truly inspired to help the cause and make Kony famous for the right reason. It was really eye opening to see the conditions that children live in in other countries. We have known about issues like these for years, but never made a change to actually stop them. I have spoken to a few people about the Kony video and I have noticed that some people do not support the cause in making Kony famous. They believe that there are problems just as bad as this in America and we have done little to solve them here, let alone in Uganda. However, I believe that this Kony video is very eye opening and will make the people around our country come together. Not only will this make our country come together under this circumstance, but I strongly believe that this will better help our country unite to solve other nation and worldly causes. On April 20, 2012, I hope Philadelphia, along with all the other cities in our nation, will cover the streets and buildings with endless amounts of "Stop Kony" posters. I hope that the government will make a large effort to stop Kony once and for all. These poor children are being abducted and forced to kill their own families. They are completely defenseless. As a country, if a tragedy like this were to occur in our country, our government would want other countries to help stop this terrible man as well. The Stop Kony foundation is not asking for money, they are just asking that we share the news of Kony and make him famous. We need to make him famous so more people know about him and will put a great effort into stopping this terrible man. Bandwagons are sometimes not a very good thing in society, but the entire point of this cause is for more and more people to join the "Stop Kony" bandwagon in order to raise awareness about horrific crimes Joseph Kony is committing. In the end, I hope that our nation will unite together and our government will send out troops with the technology to stop Joseph Kony.

Mother Teresa: Living the Gospel

Mother Teresa was an extraordinary woman that influenced our world in countless ways. She taught us how to love and be carrier's of God's love. Mother Teresa firmly stood by the statement that loneliness is the greatest poverty of rich countries. I also firmly believe in this statement as well. I think this statement means that although rich people may have an endless supply of money, they are often very lonely and have few people to show them love. Mother Teresa loved all people, even the poorest of the poor, and often found that the rich did not know how to love or show love to others. This is something Mother Teresa often said and I also believe in this as well.

Mother Teresa once said, "I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." This is one of my favorite quotes from Mother Teresa because it summarizes her overall message she sent to the world by spreading love to all, even the poorest of the poor. I like the metaphor that she used with the little pencil because even though she was a small woman, she really sent a great letter of love to the world. Mother Teresa was truly a little pencil in the hand of a writing God. If each person in the world was a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, the would would be a much happier and loving world.

Praying As We Go

When we "Pray As We Go" every morning before we start, I enjoy the time because it is a time when I can relax and breathe. It is nice to hear the readings everyday and think of how it relates to our life. It is a time to let the stress be relieved from the body and not worry about anything. It creates the atmosphere that God would want us to pray and think in. I enjoy how we talk about the reading afterwards and think of the greater meaning within.