jim henson

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, founded by President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961.  The Peace Corps is still serving today in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America.

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the death of Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.

An early radical, Day became a socialist, dropped out of college, married and had an abortion before converting to Catholicism as an adult.   As this article by Andrew Hamilton says, Dorothy's was "a gospel with teeth."  She founded Catholic Worker Houses that helped (and still help) the poor--alcoholics, drug addicts and street people.

Her theology was all about pacifism, hospitality and human dignity. The poor who came to her were treated with dignity and non-violence--the first many had ever known.  Even when involved in political passive resistance (think, Gandhi and Martin Luther King) the innate human dignity of one's opponent was at the forefront.

*This* is Christianity.  This is what Jesus wants us to do.

Let's ask Our Lady for peace in the troubled country of Korea.

Our Lady of Korea, bring them peace!


Hat tip to Vivificat.

I wanted to call attention to a new category in my sidebar (second to the last).  It is called Promoting Peace and highlights organizations that help people of greatest need internationally.

The first is Anti Slavery International. This is the world's oldest human rights organization and works exclusively to stop slavery, which still exists today (even in the United States--there was recently a story about a woman who was held without pay and without freedom as a "housekeeper" in Montgomery County, Maryland.)  Horrible things are happening to people, most especially, children, all over the world and it is up to us to stop it.

Catholic Relief Services are all over the world, often the first responders to disasters as they happen.  They are recognized as one of the most effective organizations in the world.

Central Asia Institute and its related websites, Pennies for Peace and  Three Cups of Tea, was founded by Greg Mortenson, a former mountain climber turned philanthropist.   After a failed attempt to climb K2, the world's second highest mountain, Greg lost his way and was rescued by local people in the Pakistani village he wandered into.  Afterwards, he promised them he would build them a school, and, literally, went back to America and started to fund raise from scratch.  He went on to build a bridge and school for that town, and 144 more schools.   Visit his websites, and look in your library for his books.

The other worthy organization is SOS Children's Villages.  They house orphans around the world, not in orphanages, but in homes with family based care.

Please consider giving to one or more of these organizations and promote true peace in the world.

Michele has let me know of a Catholic organization that works internationally to help children and the elderly in need throughout the world.  Chalice is a Canadian Catholic sponsorship program that operates in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and Haiti.  Chalice is considered one of Canada's best charities.