So one of my classmates during the MDiv program was a Sister from Nigeria. She shared with our class one day that the following prayer was composed to fight corruption in Nigeria. It is a prayer she said that many Nigerian Catholics pray daily:
PRAYER AGAINST BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA
Father in heaven, You always provide for all your creatures, so that all may live as you have willed. You have blessed our country Nigeria with rich human and natural recourses to be used in honour and glory and for the well being of every Nigerian.
We are deeply sorry for the wrong use of these your gifts and blessings through acts of injustice, bribery and corruption, as a result of which many of our people are hungry, sick, ignorant and defenceless. Father, you alone can heal us and our nation of this sickness.
We beg you, touch our lives and the lives of our leaders and people so that we may all realise the evil of bribery and corruption and work hard to eliminate it. Raise up for us God-fearing people and leaders who care for us and who will lead us in the path of peace, prosperity and progress. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us.
I am wondering whether we American Catholics ought to think about composing our own version of the prayer in light of all that is going on in our society...
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year!
So first, allow me to apologize for the lapse in blogging. See 2012 New Year's Resolution # 3.
Per my tradition, here's a re-cap of my New Year's Resolutions from 2011 and how I did:
Per my tradition, here's a re-cap of my New Year's Resolutions from 2011 and how I did:
2011 New Year's Resolutions:
1) Continue to eat healthy
2) Do some fun physical activity 2x per week in order to get into better physical shape to prepare myself for life after graduation.
3) Improve my prayer life (set aside time for daily prayer, and try to get to daily Mass 2x a week!) - this also includes (more) regular reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation...
4) Learn to cook Middle Eastern Food
5) Continue to work on learning Arabic.
6) To survive my final semester of Graduate School without going insane or having a nervous breakdown!
7) To work on growing in virtue and give up a particular habitual sin I'm struggling with.
8) Put what is most important first: God, relationships, responsibilities, etc. and not stress about unnecessary things.
9) To not be a bridezilla.
10) To be true to myself.
11) To continually challenge myself to greater openness with others.
12) To squash criticism, pessimism, dissention, suspicion, etc. in my life and foster acceptance, patience, trust, and humility instead.
Here's how I did:
1) This one I was successful at!
2) Epic fail.
3) Some progress, some regression, some progress, some regression... see a pattern?
4) Check.... see # 5...
5) Check and then Uncheck. Worked on it, but after a major change in life plans, I decided to put this aside indefinitely. I love (and miss studying) the language and culture, but right now it is too painful for me to find joy in it.
6) I rocked my final semester, graduating with a 3.91 GPA and scoring a great job without losing my sanity!
7) I had made some progress in this, and then through changes in events, find myself unavoidably removed from the near occasion of sin! I realize that what I could not conquer on my own, God took care of. I know now that I cannot rely on myself but must rely on His grace!
8) Said major changes (see #4, 5, 7) have resulted in a deeper awareness that the one thing in life I cannot compromise is my relationship with God. In that sense, I feel like the trials of 2011 have taught me to be true to God above and before anyone else, which also has made me be true to myself (see #10). I am entirely unhappy / not at peace when God is not #1 in my life!
9). I nailed this one ;)
10) sometimes you have to learn the hard way, but I feel I've definitely made progress in this area.
11) This is something that I've been working on - and have made progress, but you'll definitely see it on my 2012 list!
12) yay!
drumroll please.....
*
*
*
*
And now, my 2012 New Year's Resolutions:
1) Have a sabbath day each week (or one day in which I do not do anything work related).
2) Have a social life outside of work. (or: go out 1-2x a week).
3) Blog 1x a week.
4) Go on a date ;)
5) Be intentional about dressing in a more feminine manner. I feel like I need to be more intentional about looking good when I go out, and taking the time to find, purchase, and then wear clothes that are flattering but modest.
6) Get a physical & get my teeth cleaned 2x this year. (I am realizing that I need to be more intentional about taking care of myself).
7) Get a hobby outside of work! (can you see at trend here?). Aikido, Pottery, Book Clubs, Singing Lessons, - whatever!
8) To continually challenge myself to greater openness with others, particularly with things that are negative. Rather than hiding the negative and facing it on my own, this year I want to share all of me, not just the good parts.
9) Run an Adult Faith Formation Series (several week series) for the Parish over the Summer.
10) Write 6 chapters of my book.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Election 2012
I've begun looking at the polls to see which candidates are rising to the top for the 2012 Presidential Election. Tonight I spent a little while scouring potential candidates' campaign sites and reading up on their stances on issues that are important to me. I find myself looking at both the traditional issues that hold sway for Catholic voters - abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research and gay marriage, as well as those which traditionally are considered more progressive, but which feature prominently in Catholic Social Doctrine - immigration, economic justice, healthcare, education, poverty, peace.
As I go through this process of discerning the best candidate, I find myself agreeing with some candidates on some things, and disagreeing with them vehemently on others. This derives from the fact that I have conservative leanings on some issues, progressive leanings on others.
On the one hand, the pro-life issues are very important; but so is our foreign policy. Being involved in an unjustifiable armed conflict in which civilians are killed during raids is a concern for me, even if it is not as large in scope as say, the number of abortions performed in the US each year. I am also concerned about welcoming the immigrant and providing for those who do not have the resources necessary for a dignified human existence. Also, as we hear about the "Occupy Wall Street" and other similar movements, it's becoming more and more apparent that we need to re-examine the economic structures of our nation and see whether they are truly just.
While trying to weed through all this information, I find several questions rising to the forefront of my mind:
* If Catholic Social Doctrine supports the idea of subsidiarity (that social issues should be addressed on as local a level as possible and that a larger governing body should only step in when absolutely necessary to achieve the desired end) - is it right to support a candidate who wants the federal government to produce the programs necessary to address social issues?
* Would supporting such a candidate only lead to individual persons shirking their personal responsibility to care for the poor in their local community?
* In this case, is it that in America we want the government to do what we ourselves should be doing?
* Is taxing individuals at a higher rate to meet the financial responsibilities of federal government programs which provide social services harmful to the economic situation of our nation?
* Do the wealthy have a greater responsibility to shoulder a greater percentage of the burden? (Here I would say yes... I can think of passages in the social documents of the Church which talk about that those who have more have a greater responsibility to contribute to the support of those in poverty / who are marginalized / etc.) But is the answer having them contribute more in taxes to fund the social programs of the Federal Government?
* Is the "Occupy Wall Street" movement turning into a class war? (The 99% vs. the 1%...).
* Do we place too much emphasis on government fixing problems - rather than rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty, taking personal responsibility for solving our own problems and working for the common good?
* and other questions...
As I go through this process of discerning the best candidate, I find myself agreeing with some candidates on some things, and disagreeing with them vehemently on others. This derives from the fact that I have conservative leanings on some issues, progressive leanings on others.
On the one hand, the pro-life issues are very important; but so is our foreign policy. Being involved in an unjustifiable armed conflict in which civilians are killed during raids is a concern for me, even if it is not as large in scope as say, the number of abortions performed in the US each year. I am also concerned about welcoming the immigrant and providing for those who do not have the resources necessary for a dignified human existence. Also, as we hear about the "Occupy Wall Street" and other similar movements, it's becoming more and more apparent that we need to re-examine the economic structures of our nation and see whether they are truly just.
While trying to weed through all this information, I find several questions rising to the forefront of my mind:
* If Catholic Social Doctrine supports the idea of subsidiarity (that social issues should be addressed on as local a level as possible and that a larger governing body should only step in when absolutely necessary to achieve the desired end) - is it right to support a candidate who wants the federal government to produce the programs necessary to address social issues?
* Would supporting such a candidate only lead to individual persons shirking their personal responsibility to care for the poor in their local community?
* In this case, is it that in America we want the government to do what we ourselves should be doing?
* Is taxing individuals at a higher rate to meet the financial responsibilities of federal government programs which provide social services harmful to the economic situation of our nation?
* Do the wealthy have a greater responsibility to shoulder a greater percentage of the burden? (Here I would say yes... I can think of passages in the social documents of the Church which talk about that those who have more have a greater responsibility to contribute to the support of those in poverty / who are marginalized / etc.) But is the answer having them contribute more in taxes to fund the social programs of the Federal Government?
* Is the "Occupy Wall Street" movement turning into a class war? (The 99% vs. the 1%...).
* Do we place too much emphasis on government fixing problems - rather than rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty, taking personal responsibility for solving our own problems and working for the common good?
* and other questions...
Saturday, October 8, 2011
101 Things in 1001 Days Update
As of October 8th, 2011, Here's what I've accomplished so far:
37. Go through all my belongings and donate 35 items.- ONLY 10 MORE TO GO!
72. Write a Parent Newsletter for the CCD program each month. October, check! November- almost done!
Not too bad, considering I have until May of 2014 to finish up! :)
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