Prayers To Fort Benning this Weekend

From November 16-18, 2012, thousands of human rights activists, torture survivors, anti-war veterans, students, families, union workers, nuns, artists, and others are converging at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, to call on the Obama administration to end the U.S. militarization of the Americas, and to close the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC)!  Why do folks continue to mobilize year after year?  Click here to read some of their stories on the SOA Watch site.  Then, continue to pray for their safety this weekend and for an end to the training of soldiers who will oppress, torture and assassinate their own citizens. 

On November 16, We Remember!

On November 16, 1989, six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter were murdered.  Today, on November 16, 2012, we remember Ignacio Ellacuria, SJ; Ignacio Martin-Baro, SJ; Segundo Montes, SJ; Amando Lopez, SJ; Joaquin Lopez y Lopez, SJ; Juan Ramon Moreno, SJ; Julia Elba Ramos; and Cecilia Ramos. Creighton University has a page on its site with a wealth of information not only from 1989, but also from the years since then.  Click here to access the material and pray for an end to the government-sponsored violence and oppression that continue in many countries around the world.

We pray, also, for those converging on Fort Benning, Georgia this weekend.  Check tomorrow's blog post for more information.

Honoring Our Veterans

In case you missed it, you should know the information given in yesterday's Parade about four ways to say "thank you" to veterans on this observance of Veterans' Day.  Click here for the link to the story.  The action items are fairly simple to do and can go a long way for a man or woman serving our country and for their families.

More Information About Hurricane Relief

The Diocese of Paterson, NJ is offering several ways to donate to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts:

• You can go to the Paterson Diocese Catholic Charities website www.catholicharities.org and click the DONATE button. All donations received in this manner in the next two weeks will be set aside for hurricane relief.
• You can send donations directly to Catholic Charities at 777 Valley Road, Clifton, NJ 07013 – marked “hurricane.”
• All parishes in the Diocese of Paterson will be taking a collection on the weekend of November 10-11. You can make a contribution there.

What Can We Do To Help?

So much devastation, so many tragedies . . . what can we do?

• Donate money and/or blood:  Go to www.redcross.org
• Donate to Catholic Charities or to your diocese's Catholic Charities
• Let's remember that there were folks affected in Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti.  Catholic Relief Services is on site there.
• Most of all, let's continue to pray, pray, pray . . .

Any other ideas?  Let me know by clicking on the "Comments."  (E-mail subscribers, go to the blog first, then click on "Comments" under this post.)