"I have loved you with an everlasting love...And I know the plans I have for you says the Lord"
Jeremiah:29-31
When I think about authentic feminism, I think about Dorothy day. She was a well-known activist and convert to Catholicism who was not only interested in Women’s rights, but in human rights. The innate dignity of the human person especially the dignity of workers. She founded the Catholic Workers Movement and fought for the rights of men and women workers to lift them out of poverty. She was also a prolific writer and philosopher, writing about the common themes of the day, Including taboo topics like sexuality and abortion. Below is a reflection she wrote about Prayer that I found insightful and inspiring. Enjoy! Believing that Prayer Is Answered I do believe in a personal God, because I too have had revelations, answers to my questions, to my prayers, and if the answer fails to come…I have that assurance God gave Saint Paul and he passed on to us, My grace is sufficient for you. And what is grace? Participation in the divine life. And that participation means for me light and understanding and conviction, of course only occasionally, but strong enough to carry me along, to lift me up out of depression, discouragement, uncertainty, doubt…. The frustrations that we experience are exercises in faith and hope, which are supernatural virtues. With prayer, one can go on cheerfully and even happily, while without prayer, how grim is the journey. Prayer is as necessary to life as breathing. It is drink and food…. Pouring rain today. I stayed in, resting—feeling exhausted. Sorrow, grief, exhaust one. Then tonight the prayers, the rosaries I’ve been saying were answered. And the feeling that prayers are indeed answered when we cry out for help was a comfort in itself. I had the assurance that they were answered, though it might not be now. I would not perhaps see the results. Praised be God, the God of all consolation. He comforts us in all our afflictions and enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have had from him” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Suffering draws us to prayer and we are comforted. Or at least strengthened to continue in faith, and hope, and love…. O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help us. Lord, hear my prayer, let my cry come to you. In you have I hoped, let me never be confounded. All I have on earth is you. What do I desire in heaven beside you? And that “they” should have you, find you, love you too, those you have given us, sent to us, our children, our flesh and blood. May they cry out for the living God. No one comes to the Father but through me (Jn 14:6). You have said this, Jesus. Draw them, I beg you, I plead with you, so that they will run to the odor of your ointments (Sg 1:3), that they will taste and see that the Lord is sweet(Ps 34:8). Let them seek and find the way, the truth, the light. Servant of God Dorothy Day Human dignity is something that can’t be taken away. Catholic Social Teaching states that each and every person has value, are worthy of great respect and must be free from slavery, manipulation and exploitation.The basis for the theme of Human Dignity, is that humans are created in the image and likeness of God. Regardless of any factors or reasons we can think of, individuals have an inherent and immeasurable worth and dignity; each human life is considered sacred. This theme is about our radical equality before God that leads us to think no less of somebody because they are from a different place or culture, because they believe something different to you, or because of their work, employment situation or family of origin. YOU MATTER! All human beings regardless of race, wealth, gender, age etc MATTER! "Dear friends, it is certainly necessary to give bread to the hungry – this is an act of justice. But there is also a deeper hunger, the hunger for a happiness that only God can satisfy, the hunger for dignity. There is neither real promotion of the common good nor real human development when there is ignorance of the fundamental pillars that govern a nation, its non-material goods: life, which is a gift of God, a value always to be protected and promoted; the family, the foundation of coexistence and a remedy against social fragmentation; integral education, which cannot be reduced to the mere transmission of information for purposes of generating profit; health, which must seek the integral well-being of the person, including the spiritual dimension, essential for human balance and healthy coexistence; security, in the conviction that violence can be overcome only by changing human hearts." Pope Francis |
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I'm not really a writer, but it's on my long list of aspirations to become one. The first on the list is to become a great Saint! My hope is to share knowledge and inspiration as we walk together during our pilgrim journey on earth and guide each other, hand in hand to the gates of Heaven... If you for find this website helpful please consider making a donation today! Archives
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