Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

Option for the poor and vulnerable is important to worry about because many poor people die do to lack in food and the conditions the live in. Most live in unhealthy places. In order to get money they try to stand in the middle or side of the road and hold up a sign saying that they are poor, homeless, and need money. Some of them go to a relief services such as the Waterfront Rescue Service, or the CST’s help in towns. Most people live under tarps hanged up in trees for shelter.

“In developing countries, hospitals and clinics often lack the most basic equipment and supplies to treat patients. Doctors and nurses often stand by helplessly, unable to administer lifesaving aid. Your gift can help provide items ranging from basic anti-diarrhea medicine to advanced medical equipment.”

-Food for the Poor


This is why we need to help the poor, because of health issues.


-Nick D.

Peace...

Since we are or were talking about creating peace in social studies , I'm going to do what Mr. O'Donnell does and combine them. Building peace means making development. This means having justice for all people and nations. It means recognizing a direction at work in the world, and making good choices and actions. We are to give good direction to everyone in the world. There are many things we can do to reach peace in our lives. During WW2, we stayed neutral to keep our peace, but really all we had to do was help those in need. As soon as we joined the war and made an alliance we defeated the Germans and created peace for awhile between nations. Hitler saw weakness in the Jews and decided to take control. He didn't treat them equally, instead he turned them into the most hated people in Germany, otherwise known as the holocaust. Peace has many different definitions. My definition for it is absolute happiness. We might get to have peace here in the land of freedom, but it's not the same for other countries. Peace is the reason why we started our country. People came from all over the world to be free. Back then we were scared to let out walls down to people who were different. Blacks, Whites, Asians, Chinese, many people came together and made peace. It was rough at first and still is to trust people who look different , but look at us now.

We are the melting pot. Now that we settled down, why not help those who don't have peace. People who have to worry about how they're going to survive the next day. Yeah, there are actual people who have to worry about things like that. There are actually people in the U.S. who worry about that too, maybe not as bad as 3rd world countries but close. We have homeless people all over. People go through hard times. How can we help them, you might ask. You can start by following the Catholic Social Teachings (CST). Treating people with respect and giving them food, and water. Treating them equal, and serving them. There are countless ways if you understand the CST ways. Lets create peace for other people. Show them the light to God and give them absolute happiness.

~Molly :)

Life and Dignity of the Human Person

I think that Life and Dignity of the Human Person is an important one because without it, this world would be different. Everyone would be attacking each other and many would die. Although many die each day many more would die without it. Life and Dignity of the Human Person means that every one is supposed to be treated fairly as everyone else. Over in Africa, there are CST members are helping the people in tribes to be closer to people and God.

Over in Iraq and Afghanistan none is treated fairly. With all the war it is not as fair as in other places. Because there are many religions in Iraq, there are many people that do not believe in their religion, so many of them protest why the religion is there. Here in America there are many religions, but many people do not care if one person does not like their religion. The World has over 750 million religions and many are part of one. Only about one-third of the whole World’s population has no religion in their life. Many try to get them to be religious but they refuse to.

-Nick D.

Our Solididarity

We are one human family whatever our race,ethniticty, sex, religion, or the way we live. We are brothers and sisters. Wherever we live, we know that God created us in his image and likeness. We all know that deep down in our hearts, we are all the same. Loving our neighbor has a major impact in a shrinking world, and at the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want peace, work for justice.”1 The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict. Yes, you will be seen as a young adult in society. But don't let that get in OUR way of making a change. The word "change" in our society means give back what we have been given. We have been given a choice in our country to choose our path in life. Most of us have chosen freedom and life, now we must give that to the countries that don't know the meaning of freedom. You may be a young adult or an adult with nothing left, we all have a meaning and impact in the world. Now is your time to tell yourself you can help change the world one person at a time.

by: Garrett

"Wal-Mart to Limit Toxic Cadmium in Kids' Products"

(Part2) Walmart has started to crack down on the use of the toxic metal cadmium in children's jewelry and other kids' products. They are doing this voluntarily. This is a way of showing the dignity of work and the rights of workers. They are protecting their customers' children from harmful products. They didn't have to do this.They could have just kept the products there and made money off of them, but they didn't. Cadmium can harm bones and kidneys. That's not all though. Walmart tested many of it's children's jewelry, and they cam out with high levels of it in them. This came out and the Californian senate mad a bill that banned cadmium from their children's jewelry. So, Walmart led by example, which is what we should do. The right of workers like Walmart can be big or small depending on what we decide.
~ Molly B.

Work..Work..Work!

(Part 1)
We will work everyday for the rest of our lives. God gave us each special gifts and talents. Our work that we do involves these gifts and talents. For example, if you love animals and animals love you, you might just one day become a vet, or work with animals. How we use them is all up to us. Work is more than a way of living, it is a way to participate in God's creation. Everyone should respect others work and their right to work. Workers must fully and faithfully perform their work they agreed to do. Whether it is work here on earth, like politics, or work for God, like creating peace. We need to work it to the fullest. Our life could be considered as a test to see if we worked right enough or if we just didn't care. We are basically all workers and we all have rights, so treat everyone how you would want to be treated. Being a worker means serving the community. Workers should get paid fairly and should be able to have appropriate hours of service.
~Molly Blake

LINKIN PARK - "Not Alone"

By: Garrett

Rights and Responsibilities

Rights and responsibilities means that every human can have a job, will have shelter,will have food and water. Through the Catholic tradition, it teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy environment can be formed only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human wellness. Which means that these rights are duties and responsibilities, and must be an aspect to life and that community. We also have a responsibility to our own choices and if we mess up early in our life , than it will have an impact on what you will be able to do in your life. In all honesty, if you get involved into drugs or crimes so much, you may not be able to even join the military. So, you have the right to have rights, but it's your responsibility to choose the right thing.
By: Garrett

My Father's World

By: Molly B.

Family, Community, & Participation

"Teamwork!"

God calls us each and everyday to family, community, and participation. Having a family means growing relationships with not only God , but also the other people in it. Family life should be strengthened because of the growth of human life. Everyone should have the right to have a family. Some people think same sex marriage should be banned and discriminated, but I think a family is a family. I might be grossed out a bit, but a family IS a family, and they all have differences. Families are big and families are small. Everyone lives in a community, some might not be big but you do have one. Families and Communities are the same. They create bonds between a person and other people. You serve in your society and you serve in your family. Our participation in them should be strong. Your local Church is a great way to participate in your community. Giving to the poor and being the hero for the little ones. God wants us to take part at creating bonds and making friends with others. We can do the simplest services, such as picking up a wrapper off the ground or just making conversation to those who don't really know many people. There are billions of ways you can think of to participate, but it's up to you to actually go through with it. I have a challenge to you. Go out walking through you neighborhood and try to find as many problems and then see if you can fix any during that trip.

~Molly :)

God's Creation + Our Life = Our Responsibility

God Created Everything! Not only us, but everything! I'm talking the air we breathe to the animals we love. Incredible, right? Everything's perfect in how He created it, but there's just one little thing that can make His perfect handiwork go bad. He made it so that we would be the ones that could control what's going on with His creation. We might not know it, but sometimes we push God's other creations aside to make us the more important ones. We make sure that we're first. If you don't believe me just look outside and see it for yourself. If you looked outside you might notice a little thing of trash on the ground. Well guess what, that little thing of trash is alot more than what it looks.
Things can be harmful to animals and plants just like the fact that chocolate is bad for dogs. You should go pick it up, and if it can be recycled then recycle it. We are responsible for our fellow earth. This is a requirement of our faith. The goods of the earth are a gift from God, and are for the benefit of everyone. Catholic tradition insists that we show respect for God through our stewardship of creation. This is a stewardship that makes sure that we preserve our forests, maintain clean water sources, preserve species in the wild and maintain their natural habitats. Sound like big jobs huh. They actually aren't that hard. You can help by simply throwing away your trash instead of littering and if the trash is recycable than put it in your recycling trash can. If you don't have one then you can ask for one at this link -> http://www.recyclingbin.com/. If you want to read more on this we have a link on our blog. Remember, true stewardship requires changes in human actions, so this means you will have to be committed to our fellow Earth.
~Molly

Social Justice....Look Out!

Any word that has been teamed with justice sends a shutter of confusion down my spine. After all just what does social justice mean? An actual definition of social justice is hard to find. Social justice is concerned with equal justice, not just in courts, but in all aspects of society. This concept demands that people have equal rights and opportunities, everyone from the poorest person to the wealthiest ones.
Do we have a "just" society? Do we treat everyone equally? Here's a story that will give you one side of an answer; 58-year-old pitcher makes college team
(just click on the link to watch the video)
This is a story that talks about a 58 year old pitcher that had a dream. He couldn't make it in college, but stuck with it and it is now fulfilled. Everyone on his team treats him like he is there own age. His coach doesn't seem to have a problem with it. There's another side of this story though. Some people aren't treated as lucky as he was. God gave us free will. He knew that some people wouldn't know how to use it right, but he also knew that some would. Sometimes criminals aren't always criminals. They get judged. There was a guy who had to go to jail for about 2 months just because he took his girlfriends adhd pill to settle down and focus on his work. It was his first time doing it and he said he was only doing for that day. Everyone trusted this guy, for he is a really good guy, yet the judge didn't give it a second thought to her decision. This is called criminal justice. Sure, we have laws and we need to follow them, but shouldn't we look at facts during these types of cases, and not judge them. It's not just this guy though, thousands of people get judged in trial. Some people go to jail for a long time for something they didn't do, and we probably just figured it out. We need to give people chances. I'm not saying they should have let this man go, I'm saying maybe something less bit hard of a punishment like that. You may not realize this, but 2 months of jail time can really be hard and seem really long to the person in it. People in jail don't get to see have the same rights we do. If you don't have a pillow you don't get one handed to you. Luckily this man only stayed in jail for a month. So, I leave you with this, don't judge people because of their way of life.

-Molly Blake