Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope.
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:
Rooted in the Mission of the Diocese of Youngstown "to minister to the
people in the six counties of northeastern Ohio . . .(and) to the world
community", we are called 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. Working to reduce poverty in half by 2020.
KEY VALUE: Hospitality
WHAT WE DO: Organizing Love. "As a community, the Church must practise love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community" (Deus Caritas Est, par. 20)
On Sunday, (Sixth Sunday of Easter http://usccb.org/bible/readings/050513.cfm ) we
read from the Gospel of John about Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit,
which will “remind” us of all that He told us. This Holy Spirit, the
Advocate, will also help to sustain that peace which Jesus alone can
give. This Holy Spirit provides the grace to help us continue to spread
the Good News of Jesus’ life, passion, death, resurrection and
ascension. It is that Spirit which empowers us to share that love of
God that informs and enlivens the Trinity and radiates out to each one
of us as “adopted children” of God.
http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/.a/6a00d8341c3e3953ef016766a69414970b-400wi
Catholic Charities (http://www.ccdoy.org)
continues to share that love that radiates from God’s grace. Each time
a person or family visits our agency, it is our hope that in this
encounter we all experience that love of God made manifest in Jesus,
sustained by the Spirit, reflecting the Father. Catholic Charities
further aims in being an agent for peace in our communities and
neighborhoods. Our work with various parishes and community groups aims
to build just and nonviolent communities. Our work with prisoners,
their families, and persons returning from prison also aim at helping
people know the peace and love of God in their midst. Thanks to your
generous support to the Annual Bishop’s Appeal for Catholic Charities
and Church (http://www.doy.org) we continue to give persons, families and communities opportunities to experience the love and peace of God each day.
Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements
http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/images/year-of-faith-logo-montage.jpg
http://cmsimg.news-press.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A4&Date=20130315&Category=OPINION&ArtNo=303150023&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Editorial-Pope-Francis-unique-chance
Pope Francis: On Christ's Second Coming
Vatican City, April 24, 2013 (Zenit.org)
Here
is the translation of the Holy Father’s weekly General Audience address
in St. Peter’s Square where he continued the cycle of catechesis
dedicated to the Year of Faith.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning!
In
the Creed we profess that Jesus "will come again in glory to judge the
living and the dead." Human history begins with the creation of man and
woman in the image and likeness of God and ends with the final judgment
of Christ. Often these two poles of history are forgotten, and, above
all, faith in the return of Christ and the last judgment sometimes is
not so clear and steadfast in the hearts of Christians. Jesus, during
his public life, often focused on the reality of his last coming. Today I
would like to reflect on three Evangelical texts that help us enter
this mystery: that of the ten virgins, the talents and the final
judgment. All three are part of the Jesus' discourse on the end of
times, in the Gospel of St. Matthew.
First
of all remember that, with the Ascension, the son of God brought to the
Father our humanity that he took on and he wants to draw all men to
himself, to call the whole world to be welcomed into the open arms of
God, so that, at the end of history, all of reality will be handed over
to the Father. There is, though, this "intermediate time" between the
first coming of Christ and the last, which is precisely the time that we
are living. The parable of the ten virgins is placed within this
context (cf. Mt 25:1-13). It involves ten girls who are waiting for the
arrival of the bridegroom, but he delays and they fall asleep. At the
sudden announcement that the bridegroom is coming, all prepare to
welcome him, but while five of them, who were wise, have oil to trim
their lamps, the others, who are foolish, are left with unlit lamps
because they have no oil; and while they go out to find some, the groom
arrives and the foolish virgins find the door closed that leads to the
bridal feast. They knocking persistently, but it is too late, the groom
replies: I do not know you. The groom is the Lord, and the waiting time
of arrival is the time He gives us, all of us with mercy and patience,
before his final coming, it is a time to be vigilant; a time in which we
need to keep lit the lamps of the faith, hope and charity, a time in
which to keep the heart open to the good, to beauty and to the truth; a
time to live according to God, because we know neither the day nor the
hour of Christ's return. What is asked of us is to be prepared for this
encounter – prepared for an encounter, for a beautiful encounter, the
encounter with Jesus - which means being able to see the signs of his
presence, to keep alive our faith through prayer, with the sacraments,
to be vigilant in order not to sleep, not to forget God. The Christian
life asleep is a sad life, it isn’t a happy life. The Christian must be
happy, have the joy of Jesus. Let’s not fall asleep!
The
second parable, that of the talents, makes us reflect on the
relationship between how we use the gifts received from God and his
return, when he will ask READ MORE....http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/on-christ-s-second-coming
Some important date(s) this week:
See website http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/ByDate.aspx for biographies of Saints and Blessed celebrated this week.
THURSDAY, MAY 9. Ascension Thursday http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050913-ascension.cfm
FRIDAY MAY 10. St. Damien Joseph de Veuster of Moloka’i (1840-1889).
When
Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in
Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy (Hansen's disease). By the
time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about
this disease because of him. They knew that human compassion could
soften the ravages of this disease.
Forced
to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, Joseph entered the
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later,
taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. When his
brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was
unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly
volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his
new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to
the island of Hawaii.
In
1873, he went to the Hawaiian government's leper colony on the island
of Molokai, set up seven years earlier. Part of a team of four chaplains
taking that assignment for three months each year, Damien soon
volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical,
medical and spiritual needs. In time, he became their most effective
advocate to obtain promised government support.
Soon
the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage.
Morale improved considerably. A few years later he succeeded in getting
the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope (January
23), to help staff this colony in Kalaupapa.
Damien
contracted Hansen's disease and died of its complications. As
requested, he was buried in Kalaupapa, but in 1936 the Belgian
government succeeded in having his body moved to Belgium. Part of
Damien's body was returned to his beloved Hawaiian brothers and sisters
after his beatification in 1995.
Damien
was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. When Hawaii
became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two
representatives in the Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol.
For Daily Readings http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
CHARITIES NEWSBYTES
Please continue to help us fill Harriet’s Cupboard!
http://ccdoy.org/slider/please-continue-to-fill/
Catholic
Charities Regional Agency is asking you to continue to help fill
Harriet’s Cupboard. We have had several donations since this program
launched in January. Your generosity is amazing and greatly
appreciated.
2013 Annual Bishop’s Appeal for Catholic Charities and Church.
The
in Church/parish appeal is now underway. Please consider a gift to
help support the work of Catholic Charities and other ministries of the
Diocese of Youngstown https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=450afc
PAPAL INTENTIONS:
MAY 2013
Administrators of Justice. That administrators of justice may act always with integrity and right conscience.
Seminaries.
That seminaries, especially those of mission churches, may form pastors
after the Heart of Christ, fully dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel.
Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor
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Note: Please consider joining our
FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catholic-Charities-Diocese-of-Youngstown/138817639487339
TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use.
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at: http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com
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