On the Fourth Commandment

The fourth commandment tells us to honor our father and mother. It tells us that if we do this, our lives will be long on the earth. So what do we do? What do we do to satisfy this requirement?
It starts off with the definition of a family. The Catechism teaches that a family is a man and a woman united in marriage under God. A family exists for the love of the spouses and the procreation of children. God instituted the human family, creating all persons equal and with inalienable rights, duties, and responsibilities.
With regard to society, the family is the original cell of social life. The family is where children learn moral values, learn to honor God, and begin to use freedom. Family life initiates children into society. Families should be built in such a way that takes care of the young, old, sick, handicapped, and poor. Society in turn has a responsibility to uphold the institution of the family.
Regarding relationships, everyone is a child of God. Therefore, our relationships with our neighbors are personal in character. Every human deserves our respect.
Politicians have the responsibility of upholding the rights and freedoms to have a family and to bring them up in a moral fashion, to protect the marriage bond and the institution of the family, the right to worship, the right to private property and free enterprise, and the right to medical care.
In a family, each member has certain duties. Children are required to respect and honor their parents regardless of their age. Children must be grateful to their parents as well as obedient. When the children get older, obedience is not required, but respect is.
Parents have duties towards their children as well. Parents are responsible for the education of their children. They must respect them as human beings. Parents owe children a moral upbringing.
Civil authorities have duties as well. Those in authority should do so as a service. They should also put the needs of the community ahead of personal interests. They are required to respect human rights.
Citizens in turn have duties. They have the duty to obey those in authority, but have the duty to voice just criticisms. They have the duties to pay taxes, vote, and to defend their country. Citizens have the right to disobey authorities when their laws contradict the moral order.
The political community is required not to infringe upon the practice of religion.
With regard to teachers, students are required to treat them with due respect.

The Type of Dad I Want to Be

When I get older, I would like to start a family of my own. I want to be a dad, I want to have kids. I want to be remembered by a few characteristics:
Respect - I want my kids to respect me, so I in turn will respect them. I won't be a tyrant, I will respectfully listen to my children and treat them how I would want to be treated as a kid.

Dependable - I want to be there for my kids when they need me. My son gets bullied at school? I will be there. My daughter got her heart broken? I will be there. I will help my kids with whatever problems they may face, but no matter what they won't face them alone.

Knowledgeable - I want my kids to look up to me, and one way to do that is being knowledgeable. I want to know what to do in every situation, or at least look like I do. Being knowledgeable will also help me help my kids with whatever they need help with.

Incredibly Funny - I want to make my kids laugh. I want them to be happy around me, and a good way to do that is to be funny. Laughter is the best medicine for any ills.

lastly, the most important...
Lovable - What parents don't want their kids to love them? I want to be the best dad in the world to my kids. I want them to love me as much as I love them. I want them to love me more than anything else in the world.

The Catholic Importance of Sunday

     As Catholics, our goal is to honor God in everything we do. One of the ways we accomplish this is by following the Third Commandment; keep holy the Sabbath day. What does this mean to us? Keeping the Sabbath holy means different things to different people, but the obligations are the same for all. 
     First off, what is the Sabbath? The Sabbath, for Catholics, is every Sunday. It is a day set aside to rest and honor God. God created the world, and then rested on the seventh day, and blessed the seventh day.
 We honor God on the Sabbath through prayer and by attending Mass. Many Catholics do not keep the Sabbath holy, treating it like any other day. This is a violation of the Third Commandment. Sunday especially should be a day centered around God.
 
     Sunday is also a day to commemorate the Resurrection. Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, and resurrected a day later on Easter Sunday. Each Sunday is a little celebration of Easter; of the Resurrection. That is part of the reason why it is so important to honor the Sabbath; we are celebrating the Resurrection. The Resurrection symbolizes new creation ushered in by Christ.

     Another reason for going to Mass each Sunday is for the Eucharist. The Eucharist is important to us as Catholics because celebration of the Eucharist is the center of Church life. You cannot pray at home as you can at church. The fellowship of the congregation, the union of souls, and the prayers of the priests all make the Mass a more complete form of worship. Reception of the Eucharist on the Sabbath honors God and gives us grace.
     In Genesis, God rested on the seventh day after all that He had done. This is a model for us, as Sunday is a day for rest and graces. We are able to rest from our work and labor and spend time with family. We must be mindful of those who cannot take a day of rest because of poverty or illness. Sunday should be a day to relax and worship God.

Teens Being Faithful to the Second Commandment

As teenagers, life is not always lived as it should. We break various rules, both human as well as spiritual. Some of the rules we break are listed in the Ten Commandments. One Commandment that teens often break is the Second Commandment. 'You shall not take the name of God in vain'. Teens will often use God's name in vain in regular conversation, saying, 'oh my God' or, 'Jesus Christ!'. We must remember to use God's name with respect. He is the Creator, and we must use reverence when speaking about Him. Sometimes teens will use God's name in an oath, saying, 'I swear to God' when trying to prove a point. When we make a promise, it should always be truthful. We should not need to make an oath, because we should always tell the truth. Another thing teens can fix to be faithful to the second commandment is not to commit blasphemy. Blasphemy is the utterance of hatred towards God's name. Blasphemy is everywhere in the media, on shows like the Simpsons and Family Guy, and that gives a negative example to teens that watch the shows. Blasphemy is the polar opposite of reverence, and it can be avoided if teens just remember to treat the Holy name of God with respect.

The Meaning of the First Commandment

The first commandment tells us, "I am the Lord your God. You shall not have any other gods before me." This may seem initially to be a simple statement, but it actually has more meaning than just the literal translation.

Faith - The Catholic Catechism tells us that our moral life has its source in faith in God who reveals his love to us. St. Paul speaks of the "obedience of faith" as our first obligation. He shows that "ignorance of God" is the principle and explanation of all moral deviations. Our duty toward God is to believe in him and to bear witness to him. We as Catholics must always stay faithful to God. We must never fall into despair, and never lose faith in God. 

Hope - The Catholic Catechism tells us that the first commandment is also concerned with sins against hope, namely, despair and presumption:

By despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God's goodness, to his justice - for the Lord is faithful to his promises - and to his mercy. We must always believe that God will keep His promises and that he would never desert us. 

Charity - In the Catholic Catechism, it says faith in God's love encompasses the call and the obligation to respond with sincere love to divine charity. The first commandment enjoins us to love God above everything and all creatures for him and because of him. We must love each other with charity, and be free to give ourselves to others. We must give to others and to God. 

Adoration - On adoration, the Catechism says adoration is the first act of the virtue of religion. To adore God is to acknowledge him as God, as the Creator and Savior, the Lord and Master of everything that exists, as infinite and merciful Love. "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve," says Jesus, citing Deuteronomy. We must give God our praise regularly. We owe God our endless adoration and praise.

Prayer - When speaking of prayer, the Catechism says The acts of faith, hope, and charity enjoined by the first commandment are accomplished in prayer. Lifting up the mind toward God is an expression of our adoration of God: prayer of praise and thanksgiving, intercession and petition. Prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God's commandments. "[We] ought always to pray and not lose heart." Prayer is essential to our faith life. It brings us closer to God. It is necessary for us to have a healthy relationship with God. 

Sacrifice - Regarding sacrifice, the Catechism tells us that it is right to offer sacrifice to God as a sign of adoration and gratitude, supplication and communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice." 

Promises and Vows - When speaking of promises and vows, the catechism says in many circumstances, the Christian is called to make promises to God. Baptism and Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Orders always entail promises. Out of personal devotion, the Christian may also promise to God this action, that prayer, this alms-giving, that pilgrimage, and so forth. Fidelity to promises made to God is a sign of the respect owed to the divine majesty and of love for a faithful God. When we make a promise to God, we must try our best to keep it and to be faithful to Him. God never fails in keeping His promises, so why should we?

The Social Duty of Religion - The Catechism says, "All men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and his Church, and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know it." This duty derives from "the very dignity of the human person." We as Catholics must uphold the dignity of every human person. It is our mission to keep human rights validated.

Superstition - The Catechism teaches that superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition. It places a practice above faith in God. It replaces faith in God with belief in strange supernatural forces. This is a form of idolatry and violates the first commandment. 

Idolatry - The Catechism says the first commandment condemns polytheism. It requires man neither to believe in, nor to venerate, other divinities than the one true God. Scripture constantly recalls this rejection of "idols, [of] silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see." These empty idols make their worshippers empty: "Those who make them are like them; so are all who trust in them." God, however, is the "living God" who gives life and intervenes in history. Idolatry, whether it be worship of false gods, or overvalue of money, drugs, sex, etc., is in direct violation of the first commandment. We must not place anything before God in our lives. He must come before all things.

Divination and Magic - When speaking of divination and magic, the Catechism says God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility. We must not put faith in magic or supernatural forces before faith in God. If faith in anything comes before faith in God, it is a form of idolatry. God will reveal his plan for us in due time. 

Irreligion - The Catechism states that God's first commandment condemns the main sins of irreligion: tempting God, in words or deeds, sacrilege, and simony. We must not put God to the test. We must not make unholy what is holy, or offend God. That is in direct violation of the first commandment. We also must not misuse sacred objects for superstitious purposes. Holy objects are holy, but they are still only objects and we must not place too much importance on them. 

Atheism - On atheism, the Catechism says since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion. If we don't acknowledge God's existence, then that violates the first commandment gravely (I am the Lord your God). When we recognize the existence of God we can love Him and serve Him through others. 

Agnosticism - When speaking of agnosticism, the Catechism says agnosticism can sometimes include a certain search for God, but it can equally express indifferentism, a flight from the ultimate question of existence, and a sluggish moral conscience. Agnosticism is all too often equivalent to practical atheism. If we are unsure of the existence of God, then we cannot put complete faith in Him, which violates the first commandment. We must also acknowledge his existence to be able to love Him with all our hearts. 

The first commandment might seem simple, but it actually covers a wide variety of issues, all pointing to the same major duty for us as Christians: we must love God and put Him above all things. 

My Five Christmas Wishes for the World

      Normally Thanksgiving is the main holiday in our society to think about what we have to be thankful for. I think Christmas should be, too. So many things distract us from the true meaning of Christmas; it has become heavily commercialized, and the current mindset is that the measure of the holiday is based on how flashy or exciting the gifts people get or receive are. The true meaning of Christmas is Jesus. It is a time to be thankful and be with the ones you love, because aren't they the greatest gift in our possessions? On that note, I have five Christmas wishes for the world on this basis of gifts that we have that many people take for granted.
     My first wish for the world is that violence would end. All types. Street violence, wars both foreign and domestic, government brutality, and any other kind I've overlooked. People should not have to live in constant fear for their life. Everyone has the right to life, and freedom from fear. Violence is caused by ill intention, and ill intention can be caused by a lack of perspective. If everyone took the time to see things from others' point of view, the world would be a better place.

     My second wish for the world is that everyone will be well fed. Food is in such great abundance in our country. We waste so much as a nation when in other parts of the world people would gladly go through our dumpsters for the copious waste that goes uneaten. In our country, it is thought that the greatest gifts have to cost a fortune, when to some people a simple meal would mean more than jewelry or cars. Every person has the right not to starve.

     My third wish for the world is that everyone has the opportunity to succeed. This too is a simple right that not everyone that should have it does have it. In other parts of the world, women, gays, the elderly, and certain races are all denied the same opportunities as others. Everyone deserves a chance.

     My fourth wish for the world is that everyone would be free from persecution. Whether it be Christians and Jews in the middle east, or even the unborn in our own nation, everyone deserves to be free from persecution. Persecution goes hand in hand with prejudice, which is caused by a lack of perspective. If the persecutors could see their own people persecuted like the people they persecute, it would never happen. If everyone just had pure intentions for everyone to be happy, the world would be a better place. This is highly unrealistic, but one can always wish, right?

     My last wish for the world is that everyone will be loved and that no one will be alone this Christmas. This is the most important of my wishes, because no one should feel alone. Rich or poor, black or white, Christian or Muslim, everyone should be loved. The feeling of being alone is something that no amount of money can fix. Cars, clothes, houses, possessions can never fill the holes inside. The only way to feel complete is with something money can't buy; the warmth of the love of others and our God. That's the true meaning of Christmas.

Slavery in the Modern Day

In London, British law enforcement has detained a couple for holding three 'extremely traumatized' women captive for more than 30 years. Online, a computer generated little girl attracted 20,000 men, 1,000 of them offering payment for sexual acts. What does this reveal about the world we live in?
Slavery is a big problem. It may not be as open as it was in the 17-19th centuries, but it is still a prominent problem even in the present day. This may come as a shock to some, but there are 20-30 million, yes, MILLION slaves in the world today. Human trafficking is an incredibly lucrative industry, yielding over 15 million dollars each year. How can we as a people come together to end slavery?
As a start, President Obama proclaimed January to be anti-trafficking month. I think it is a good idea, but in my opinion EVERY month should be anti-trafficking month.
Some people may misunderstand the term slavery. Slavery means the state of being bound in servitude in the ownership of another. People being owned by other people. God created all to be equal; slavery is in direct violation of basic human rights. Chattel is a similar term meaning a movable piece of human property. If people fully understood the definitions and just thought of how terrible they are, the awareness for this evil would increase greatly.
Do you happen to like chocolate? Do you like the taste of children's tears? The two are closely associated with each other. Most of American chocolate has been produced with some form of child labor. In Africa, children are either hired or stolen from their families to harvest cocoa. They work grueling tasks for as long as 18 hours a day. Many children are beaten, or get seriously injured on the job, and the children rarely see their families.
The three most important facts about slavery are that at least 14500 slaves are trafficked into the US every year (this is important because the impact of slavery hits close to home on this fact, because the evils of slavery could be right outside your door), the average cost of a slave today is $90 (this is important because it is revealing about just how easy it can be to own a slave), and that slavery can be ended completely in 25 years (this fact gives hope to people that slavery can in fact be ended for good).