post #3 religion.

When Malcolm was at his lowest point, physically and mentally, during his time in prison...one thing had saved him. That one thing had turned out to be religion. While in his prison cell, his brother Reginald, and other family members had been trying to preach to him about becoming a Muslim. This religion managed to transform Malcolm into a totally different person...cleansing his mind, body, and spirit. I wanted to become more familiar with how the religion managed to be so influential by reaching out to Malcolm and placing him back where he started, when I realized that in hard times people don't only turn to Islam specifically, they turn to RELIGION. in an article I found, i justified the well-known fact on how when times get tough...people are apt to turn towards some kind of higher being for hope and encouragement. The article is called, "Gloom Spells Boom for Religion", and clearly shows how people really do need to find an escape where optimism is abundant, when everything else in their life seems shattered. 

This past weekend I attended a 24 hour confirmation retreat at my church, and had an unforgettable experience. This retreat managed to purify me as a person, and opened my eyes in order to see what mattered to me in life. This experience was similar to Malcolm's due to the fact that my faith in Catholicism became stronger, just as it did for him in converting to Islam. On this retreat, there were about 80 kids, some who were friends of mine, and we all were dreading it lol. But, once i arrived, the inspiration i gained was priceless. The weekend mostly consisted of hearing talks by teens who had received their confirmation about 2 years ago, and had been through tragedies, but managed to turn towards God for strength. Some of the experiences that these teens had been through really touched me, and their relationship to God was inspiring. After each talk, we would get into small groups in order to discuss topics such as the strength of prayer, and what being a Catholic meant. After the weekend was over, I had received lessons that really caused me to think about who i am as a person. Religion seems to have that effect on people...causing them to escape from their lives and reflect on the people we care the most about <3.