Today we have the last of the longer modern beatitudes the 8th graders wrote several months back. This one is fitting for January as this is Poverty Awareness Month, and the 7th grade essay fits with Christina’s beatitude when Gabriela talks about the challenge of dealing with difficult situations.
Modern beatitude by Christina: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” - Blessed are the weak, for they will be given strength. Today we are faced with many challenges that force us to make hard decisions. But God will give us strength because he loves us and only wants the best for us.
How Can I Evangelize Mercy?
by Gabriela N.
A way that I can evangelize mercy to other people is showing mercy. Everyone has minor difficulties at times and needs help. A merciful thing to do would be trying to help.
Being kind is another way of showing mercy to someone. Of course there are those days when you can’t help but be mad. That’s understandable. The best thing we can do is keep to ourselves, but sometimes we just spill and say something quite mean. When a friend is mad I can try to calm them down or let them calm themselves down. Even though humans like company, sometimes some of us need some alone time for calming down.
These actions can help me evangelize mercy.
Bishop Barnes has asked all the parishes in our diocese to take part in a spiritual pilgrimage of fasting and prayer for our country in these remaining days until the presidential inauguration. “It is meant as a show of support for our country,” Bishop Barnes said. “It’s a prayer that the United States succeeds in its principles, for the benefit of all.” The fasting and prayer began yesterday, 3 January, and continues until 19 January. Each parish has been asked to fast and pray on a specific day. Our parish was asked to fast and pray on Tuesday, 17 January. The usual Lenten directives for fasting are to be followed. Please join in praying for healing and unity for our country.
May you have a blessed New Year. Thank you. Mrs. Alhadef