Mother's Day - #BringBackOurGirls

Here state side, we will honor Mothers on Sunday. This year, in particular, my heart is with the mothers in Nigeria whose daughters have been abducted.

Amnesty International, Global Fund for Women, UN Women  among many other groups are tweeting #BringBackOurGirls. This is Social Media at its finest. Due to the efforts being posted on Twitter and other social media, many national U.S. news agencies are now reporting the atrocity of this kidnapping of school girls in Nigeria. This after three weeks since the 276 girls went missing.

Bring Back Our Girls

The terrorist group Boko Haram is reportedly behind this act. They oppose the educating of females and kidnapped these young women from their boarding school and are threatening to sell them off as “brides”. You can read more here or at a number of other news agencies. 

To read more about this news article / picture, click here. 

So, if you will be celebrating Mother’s Day, say a prayer for the abducted girls and for their mothers. And for their fathers. And for their brothers. And for their sisters. And for their neighbors. And for their nation. If Mother’s Day is not your tradition, I ask you to offer prayer on behalf of this situation. Or your well wishes. Or your meditations. Or whatever method you use to focus and center yourself. Let us be a part to see these girls are safely returned home.

Do you use Twitter or FaceBook? Seek out the messages and retweet them to your followers and friends. Do you blog? Mention it on your blog. It may help to turn the world’s attention to this tragedy. 

To quote Edmund Burke, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Indeed, good men and good women must do something!

Tamara

Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator, Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour, and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.

AMEN.

[A Four-Fold Benedictine Blessing - Sr. Ruth Marlene Fox, Osb - 1985]