Appreciation

So, everyday we learn something new. A couple weeks ago in my Civics/Economics class we were discussing the Constitution and the rights we all have as citizens. My teacher asked us which right was most important to us and why. Of course the first thing that popped in my head was Freedom of Religion. I cannot even imagine how it would be if I were prohibited to practice Catholicism. It would definitley break my heart and I would not know what to do. I was raised Catholic like most people in our Parish, and it's not everyday that we actually take the time to thank God that the U.S Constitution was written by open-minded and understanding people. Especially with different issues going on, involving foreign countries, I grew to realize how truly blessed we are to live in America. This is the biggest lesson I learned so far this year. God has certainly been making it obvious that I need to be more thankful by showing me how others that are less-fortunate than us live their lives everyday. At Camp Emmaus, we were introduced to several people who risked their lives just to come to America. It's incredible that they gathered up so much courage to speak out and inform us about something we are not always aware of. Most of us were born into the states, and therefore, we did not experience the nerve-wrecking procedure of becoming a U.S citizen. During class, my teacher gave us the actual citizenship test. It's comprised of 30 questions, and one must get no more than 6 wrong in order to pass. Let me just tell you I would not be a citizen if I weren't born in the states!!! Never in my life have i felt more grateful to live in the United States than right now, and I will forever be more patriotic and even more religious. We have the Freedom of Religion so we do not need to hide our practices. This does not, however, give us the freedom to ridicule or belittle someone else's beliefs. No matter who a person is, and no matter what he or she did, God loves him unconditionally regardless of any of it. Our role as Christians is to be loving and compassionate towards every one. If someone were to say things that offended us the best thing we can do is be assertive by letting them know that we are not okay with it, and later on, we can pray for that person. We should not let anyone's opinions deteriorate our beliefs, because our faith is much stronger than that. Overall, it wouldn't hurt to be a little more thankful and maybe even more patriotic.