Do Not Be Silent

Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. Acts 18:9

So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. John 16:22-23

Piety

Jesus, help guide me to “do something about it.” Wake me up from being a reader of the news and the Good News to being a reactor and catalyst. Help me mobilize my emotions into faith-based actions that start to build the Kingdom of God right here. Right now. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/051807.shtml

Taking on our responsibilities as followers of Jesus puts us into a movement toward happiness. Despite the current worldly anguish we face, as we move closer to God and God moves closer to us, we will experience a joy that no one can steal or spoil.

Jesus can sense our troubles. Yet, he doesn’t want us to succumb to those problems. He wants us to be encouraged by the ways He supports us. Jesus does “palanca” for us. He prays to support and lift us up. In fact, the disciples also did palanca for us. In fact the New Testament includes 22 palanca letters to us from the early Church.

This encouragement tells us that our worldly troubles are like clouds on the horizon. The storm will come, but it will pass by revealing the light of the heavens. Yet, we also can not shirk our responsibility to help ease the troubles of others as well.

Action

Every day, I go to work in the District of Columbia. This trip affords me the chance to pass by the front of the Holocaust Museum and The White House. Recently, these two institutions joined forces to shine light on the genocide happening in the Darfur region in western Sudan.

On April 18, President Bush, in an address at the Museum, said that we have a moral obligation to stop the genocide in Darfur. He went on to say:

Inside this building are etched the words of the Prophet Isaiah: "You are my witness." As part of this witness, these walls show how one of the world's most advanced nations embraced a policy aimed at the annihilation of the Jewish people. These walls help restore the humanity of the millions who were loaded into trains and murdered by men who considered themselves cultured. And these walls remind us that the Holocaust was not inevitable -- it was allowed to gather strength and force only because of the world's weakness and appeasement in the face of evil.

Witnesses to that war in the Darfur region have seen that conflict claim a staggering human toll. More than 200,000 people have died from the conflict -- or from the malnutrition and disease that have spread in its wake. And more than 2 million people have been forced from their homes and villages into camps both inside and outside their country.

If you want to see what is happening in these burned out villages and refugee camps, Google Earth has an amazing portrayal of the Crisis in Darfur. http://www.ushmm.org/googleearth/

We can not be silent. We must act!

Another 30 days has elapsed since President Bush issued stern warnings to the Sudanese government to protect innocent lives. Yet they have failed to take such necessary and humanitarian actions. Therefore, the Save Darfur coalition is urging President Bush to put in place the plans announced on April 18.

The people of Darfur simply cannot afford any more "last chances" for the government sponsoring the violence against them. Plan B (which was originally supposed to launch in January) has been delayed long enough.

This month, the United States holds the presidency of the U.N. Security Council -- a perfect time to lead the world by introducing a tough resolution to make it clear that the world is united in opposition to the ethnic cleansing taking place in Darfur.

President Bush and world leaders must use all measures available to force Sudan to keep its commitments to the international community.

Ask the White House to stick to its deadline and finally implement - and enforce - tough U.S. sanctions against Sudan, and to introduce a tough Security Council resolution at the UN.

Click here to send a message to the White House that the people of Darfur need action immediately.