Oklahoma City Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women 2005 Essay Contest

Oklahoma City Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women 2005 Essay Contest

This contest was open to all 4th through 8th graders attending a Central Region ACCW affiliate parish school or enrolled in the religious education program of a Central Region affiliate parish. Those who wished to participate were asked to compose a 200 to 400 word essay in response to the following:

This year the Diocese of Oklahoma is celebrating it's centennial. The theme is:
"Seeds of Faith, Works of Love, Harvest of Hope" What does this mean to you? What does it say about the life of the Church? How should I be living my life so as to reflect this theme?

This was to be an original work written in their own words, stating their own thoughts, opinions and ideas.

1st Place Winner
Lisa Kriegh
7th Grade
Mustang Middle School
Holy Spirit Catholic Church
Mustang

    "Seeds of Faith, Works of Love, Harvest of Hope" These words explain how faith works to me. First, is "Seed's of Faith." 'The first seed of faith is usually given to us 6y our parents when we are small children. For those people whose parents have no faith, the seed can be planted by a close friend, or even just seeing people who claim Christianity and watching how those people act.
    When people first start to believe, faith often has to be explained and witnessed.One Human trait is doubt. It is much easier to believe in God when you see works of love, instead of the hate that is so often showed. When you look around and see so much pain, it is hard to believe in a greater good. It is also hard to believe that God made all people and all people are good at heart.
    Now then, to be extremely literal, faith -works like a seed. A seed, if left in the packet, will not grow. The plant inside will lay dormant indefinitely. The seed must be planted, with plenty of water, nutrients, and warmth, to grow.
    "Works of Love" are the nutrients needed to help us grow in faith. Also, as we grow in faith, we perform works of love. 'We help others daily, half of the time -without even realizing it. eventually, Helping people Becomes something that is the natural and obvious thing to do. So, faith is something in which people help each other out, sort of reinforcing each other. "We lean on someone for support, white at the same time holding an arm out to support somebody else. In the same way, other people can test or even destroy our faith if we let them.
    The last part, "Harvest of' Hope", means the most to me. Faith gives people hope in times of need. That hope comes from the fact that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. It is the hope, and the promise, of resurrection. 'Why should we fear anything in life, or death, with the promise of "Heaven?
    The more faith we have, the more hope we harvest. In times of need we pray for help from God. Even when God takes back that which is given, it is comforting to know that the people we love go to a better place. 'Hope is what keeps people going on in their bitterest moments. Jesus is the origin of all hope, and the faith, hope, and love that Jesus' actions bestowed upon us are all that we need.

2nd Place Winner
Morgan Weatherspoon
Seventh Grade
St. Philip Neri School & Church
Midwest City

"Seeds of Faith, Works of Love, Harvest of Hope"

    Our relationship with God is a progressing, step-by-step process. With faith, love, and hope our process can finish with a harvest of good works, tons of faith and love, and a trusting relationship with God and others.
    Seeds of faith are the beginning of our relationship with God. Seeds are the little works of your faith like prayer and going to church. By doing these things your relationship is growing stronger and more trusting and ready to move on to the next step.
    The next step is works of love. Works of love are the things to keep building your relationship. These works of love could be helping someone, doing something extra for someone, or little works of love done with love. These works build up your relationship and keep you moving closer to God.
    Harvest of hope is our next step. To harvest hope means to keep our relationship strong and held together by keeping hope and trust in our life. Hope is always good to have because it never lets you give up. So your relationship keeps going and you always have complete trust in God.
    What this phrase says about the life of the church is it is like a parable, just like one of Jesus's. It tells a message without saying it straight out and can mean different things to different people. It has all the things our church tells us on how we should live.
    It also shares lessons our family, friends, and teachers have taught us; how to be a good person and have faith, hope and love in God. How I should be living my life to reflect this phrase is by keeping prayer in my life, doing good works such as: helping others, doing extra chores, helping out more, and baby sit without complaining. Having hope and trust in God can help me do all of these things and keep my relationship with God close and compassionate.
    By using seeds of faith, doing works of love, and keeping a harvest of hope. God will be closer than ever to you and your life will fell better and a little less hectic.

3^rd Place Winner
Hayley Scott
6^th Grade
Rosary School
St. Francis of Assisi Church

“Seeds of Faith, Works of Love, Harvest of Hope”

    What does this mean to me? What does this say about the life of the Church? How should I be living my life so as to reflect this theme?
    This year the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is celebrating it centennial. That is an example of how a seed of faith can create something great, like the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, and have such a strong effect on the people surrounding it. This shows myself and other people that one person, group, or organization can spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. Setting a good example can even show others that your life is full of some great joy, and they will be eager to know what the joy is.
    To me, going to church, helping people in need and praising God with all our hearts, minds and souls is how I believe God wants us to live our lives as Christians. I also think that works of love are continuously preformed by you, me and the Church. The Church is the true house of the Lord where seeds of faith are planted in people who have not yet come to know Christ. Priests, bishops, nuns and other people who have answered God’s call to devote their lives to Him are examples to all of us. They preach about the Lord, pray constantly and listen to their consciences. They do what they know God wants them to do, but even they sin. Everyone messes up. Ever since Adam and Eve took a bite from the forbidden apple, sinning is all our society seems to do. People do not realize that if they ask for forgiveness, God will forgive.
    We as a community can harvest the hope of the future for the Church through missionaries and examples of love towards one another. We can expose people who do not know about God to the Gospel and show them that someone out there loves and cares about them. It is a reassurance to the poor that there is hope and we, as Christians can harvest that hope and introduce them to the Church and show them how God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins so that we could live forever with Him in heaven.
    To reflect on seeds of faith, harvest of hope, and works of love, I should be living my life to the fullest and should be trying to fulfill my purpose on Earth. I should respect others and share the Good News with everyone. Trying to get myself and others more involved in the Church, doing good deeds that are not expected of me and going to church are ways I should live my life. I think that others should also live their live like this because if we do not live life to the fullest or hold grudges, then we will have many regret in life. We should not let jealousy take hold on our lives and we should thank Him for all the gifts He has provided us with.
    When we sin, we should pray and ask God for forgiveness and try harder next time to think before we act. God should be put above everything-money, popularity, fame-and thank His that we are alive and for the gift of life. I believe that if we have faith in God, we will grow spiritually, have a stronger relationship with Him and we will realize that everyone is equal in God’s eyes. We also realize that we are all put on this earth for a reason.