Factory Fire

I can't believe that all of these corporations had no idea where their products were being made. If they had wanted to find out where exactly their products were being made, they could have. I think that they didn't want to know where they were being made. I don't know what this means for the US because I am appalled by this but I also know that I won't stop shopping at those stores. I think we are responsible to know where our products are being made, but I'm not sure that it would make a huge difference to most people. People will just shop where it's convenient. The government should be concerned because these factories take away American jobs. The corporations should know where their products are being made because it can affect the quality. While I think it's nice to give jobs in Bangladesh, I think they should at least pay them fair wages, but I would prefer to have the jobs in America.

It is easy to be consumed with hatred for someone, but it is hard to forgive. Why is that? When the Pope forgave his attempted assassin, he raised that question to everyone. What good does it do us to hold on to anger? We touched on this before when we read the article about whether or not we should forgive Osama bin Laden. Immaculée decided to forgive her family's murderers, not so that they may find peace, but so that she could find peace. If we hold on to hatred, how can we ever truly move passed it? Both Immaculée and the Pope's decision should make us open our eyes and see that if they can forgive people who so greatly wronged them, we should be able to forgive people in our own lives. They are great examples of how to live our lives as Catholics and human beings.

Messy World

When I hear stories about tragic events, such as Hurricane Sandy, I feel awful for the people affected. However, for most of the stories, I do not feel very compelled to act. I feel like I, and many others, have the mentality that one person can not make a difference. However, the Gospel teaches that one person can make a big difference. We are all called to help solve the injustices in the world. Sometime, though, we forget that. The article says that we have to sensitize ourselves to the violence and that we have to react to violence in the world. I think that there is so many terrible stories in the news everyday that we don't like to listen to it anymore. I agree with the article that we have to put ourselves in the victim's shoes and imagine if it were us. We may not understand the issue, but we know that it's wrong and should feel called to help.

Global Solidarity

I believe the world is responsible for protecting any citizen of any country because we are all global citizens. Just because a person is not born within the borders of the United States, it does not mean her life is not just as valuable as an American's. Life is a precious gift that should be protected at all costs. These stories of the girl who was beheaded and the girl was shot are just two examples of the abuse of women all over the world.

When there is a natural disaster, like the disaster that occurred in Haiti, people all over the world responded with money, supplies, and volunteers. However, when something like individuals being targeted, it is just a headline. People will say it is sad and then move on with their lives. To me, events like the story I read about are just as important. Money and supplies won't solve these problems, though, which is why people may shy away from actually helping these women. These women need support and for people to lobby their governments to make a real change to protect these women.

Year of Faith

I will strive to learn more about the lives of our Saints. The Saints were people just like who tried to get closer to God. There is so much to learn from the example that these men and women set for us. They lived lives of solidarity and are hope for future generations.

Reading the Bible everyday is something that can seem impossible because our lives are so hectic, but it would really my faith in daily life. The Bible is the closest material we have linking us with the true works of Jesus. It is important to read direct passages to fully understand his Word.

Helping those in need is very important to the Catholic faith. Jesus taught about helping the dear neighbor and giving to those who are less fortunate. In order to be more like Him, we must help those that do not have as much as we do. I hope to volunteer more when I get to college and have more free time to dedicate to service.

Inviting a friend to mass is so simple. I have been invited to mass by others, and it feels nice to have someone want you there with them. Change starts at the local level. I can help the faith of others by simply asking someone to come along with my family and me to church.

Another way to live out the "Year of Faith" is to just really incorporate the teachings and Beatitudes into my everyday life. The Beatitudes offer a guide to how to live your life in a good, Christian way. It would be so easy to incorporate them into my life.

Circle of Protection

After I watched both of the candidate's responses, I realized that both of the candidates sort of did not entirely answer the question. It sounded like they talked in circles about the same topic. That is a negative for both of the videos, in my opinion.

In President Obama's speech, he talked about how the poor and the middle class should not be responsible for fixing the economy. He said that the upper class should take on the most burden because they have been blessed and can afford to.

Mitt Romney believes in more means testing to be sure that people are not abusing the welfare system. He is more focused on creating jobs to get people off welfare and become self- sustaining so that there is not such a need for so much welfare. He understands that the welfare system needs changes but that the system was put in place for a reason. He plans on continuing America's legacy of helping its less fortunate.

Both candidates obviously have plans for helping the economy grow and flourish, however, I believe Romney did a better job at explaining his plan and what he wants to do with the economy. President Obama, I feel, talked more about the problems and not enough about the solutions.

Project H.O.M.E.

Project Home works for justice for the homeless by offering shelter to the homeless and low budget housing for the less fortunate. Project Home does acts of charity everyday by helping people turn their lives around. They save many people's lives by helping them out.

 Project Home differs from other homeless shelters because they enter participants into a program where they have to complete goals and they graduate from the program, a lot of times with their high school diploma or equivalent. By the end of the program, many people become self- sufficient so they no longer need a lot of assistance from the program or the government. The point of the program is truly to stop the cycle of poverty by helping people become independent instead of just helping them and being done and moving onto the next person.

 The Emergency Women Respite Center is my personal favorite program of theirs. My sister did a project on this center specifically so I learned about it from her and by helping her collect donations. The center is open only in the winter and helps women who were domestically abused by giving them supplies, shelter, and food. This also help integrate into the Project Home program to help them get their lives worked out.

Forgiveness

We all remember September 11, 2001, no matter how young we were. I was only in first grade and could not fully grasp what this day meant for our nation and for the world. It eleven years later now and it is still hard to understand how someone could take the lives of over two thousand people without remorse. That is why it is so hard to forgive Osama bin Laden. He murdered thousands of innocent people because of his hatred for America and what we represent.

 When I read the article, I understood the point the writer was making. We are not forgiving bin Laden for him, but to help us move on as a nation. Our religion calls us to forgive ourself others for what they have done. However, it is much easier said than done. For me, to forgive bin Laden would mean sending a message that this kind of violence is okay and tolerated. For the past eleven years, we have been trying to tell the world the exact opposite; that America will not be attacked without consequences. Even though Osama bin Laden is now dead, what he has done is still with all of us and people are still mourning the losses of their family and friends. It still feels like the towers just collapsed and it's my opinion that more time needs to pass in order for people to make peace with what has happened. Only then can we truly forgive Osama bin Laden.

 There are many acts of forgiveness in the Bible. For example, Jesus forgives the men who had him killed and who killed him. He forgave them of their sins. God forgives us of our sins, whether we ask him to or not. The article said that God forgives, and we should forgive as well. Jesus forgave people of their sins and helped them to be better. The Bible teaches that no one is perfect, and everybody sins, but we must forgive their sins. the Our Father says "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."