VISION: Believing in the presence of God in our midst, we proclaim the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the person by sharing in the mission of Jesus given to the Church. To this end, Catholic Charities works with individuals, families, and communities to help them meet their needs, address their issues, eliminate oppression, and build a just and compassionate society.
MISSION: To provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire Church and other people of good will to do the same.
GOALS: Catholic Charities is devoted to helping meet basic human needs, strengthening families, building communities and empowering low-income people. Committed to work to reduce poverty in half by 2020.
KEY VALUE: Hospitality
On Sunday (30th Ordinary Time Sunday Cycle A ) we read in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus' statement of the greatest commandments: "He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." We hear in the Book of Exodus, very concretely, more about who our neighbor is: "You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan."
Permit me to provide some quotes from Father Cantalamessa, OFM, the Preacher of the Papal Household, who provides a very powerful commentary on this week's readings:
"Love your neighbor as yourself." Adding the words "as yourself," Jesus puts us in front of a mirror before which we cannot lie; he has given us an infallible measure for determining whether we love our neighbor. We know well in every circumstance what it means to love ourselves and how we want others to treat us. Note well that Jesus does not say: "What the other person does to you, do to him." This would be the law of talion: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." He says rather: as you would like others to treat you, treat them in same way (cf. Matthew 7:12). . .
Charity must be "without pretense," in other words, it must be sincere (literally, "without hypocrisy") (Romans 12:9); you must love "from a true heart" (1 Peter 1:22). Indeed, you can do "charitable" acts and give alms for motives that do not have anything to do with love: to impress, to look like a do-gooder, to earn heaven, to ease your conscience.... You can lack charity even in "doing charity"!This interior charity, or charity of the heart, is charity that can be exercised by all and always, it is universal. It is not a charity that only a few -- the rich and the healthy -- bestow, and others -- the poor and the sick -- receive. All can give and receive. Furthermore, it is very concrete. It is a matter of beginning to look with a new eye upon the situations and people with which we live. What is this new eye? It’s simple: it is the eye with which we would like God to look upon us! The eye of mercy, of benevolence, of understanding, of mercy. . .
This interior charity, or charity of the heart, is charity that can be exercised by all and always, it is universal. It is not a charity that only a few -- the rich and the healthy -- bestow, and others -- the poor and the sick -- receive. All can give and receive. Furthermore, it is very concrete. It is a matter of beginning to look with a new eye upon the situations and people with which we live. What is this new eye? It’s simple: it is the eye with which we would like God to look upon us! The eye of mercy, of benevolence, of understanding, of mercy. . .
When this happens all our relationships change. As if by a miracle, all the prejudice and hostility that kept us from loving a certain person falls away and we begin to open up to what he is in reality: a poor human being who suffers from his weaknesses and limits, like you, like everyone. It is as if the mask that people and things placed over his face has begun to slip and the person appears to us as he truly is."
We in Catholic Charities are called upon to help others to live out this message, by our witness, our actions and our formation of hearts -- our own and others.
Thanks for a great VOICE OF HOPE Dinner.!!!!!!
Some important date(s) this week:
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31. Vigil of Feast of All Saints (Halloween)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1. Feast of All Saints. The earliest certain observance of a feast in honor of all the saints is an early fourth-century commemoration of "all the martyrs." In the early seventh century, after successive waves of invaders plundered the catacombs, Pope Boniface IV gathered up some 28 wagonloads of bones and reinterred them beneath the Pantheon, a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods. The pope rededicated the shrine as a Christian church. According to Venerable Bede, the pope intended "that the memory of all the saints might in the future be honored in the place which had formerly been dedicated to the worship not of gods but of demons" (On the Calculation of Time).
But the rededication of the Pantheon, like the earlier commemoration of all the martyrs, occurred in May. Many Eastern Churches still honor all the saints in the spring, either during the Easter season or immediately after Pentecost. How the Western Church came to celebrate this feast in November is a puzzle to historians. The Anglo-Saxon theologian Alcuin observed the feast on November 1 in 800, as did his friend Arno, Bishop of Salzburg. Rome finally adopted that date in the ninth century.
PAPAL INTENTIONS:
OCTOBER 2008
General:
That the Synod of Bishops may help bishops and theologians as well as catechists and pastoral workers engaged in the service of the Word of God transmit with courage the truth of the faith in communion with the entire Church.
Mission:
That in this month dedicated to the missions, through the promotional activities of the Pontifical Missionary Works and other organisms, the Christian may feel the need to participate in the Church’s universal mission with prayer, sacrifice and concrete help.
NOVEMBER 2008
General:
That the testimony of love offered by the Saints, may fortify Christians in their service to God and neighbour, imitating Christ who came not to be served but to serve.
Mission:
That Christian communities in Asia, contemplating the face of Christ, may find the most suitable way to announce Him in full fidelity to the Gospel to the peoples of that vast continent so rich in culture and ancient forms of spirituality.
Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor
Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit those in prison
Bury the dead
See our website at www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.org for links to the our ministries and services.
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at: http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment