Sunday, March 30, 2014

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of March 30, 2014


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) 





The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. (PS 23:1)


On Sunday, (Fourth Sunday of Lent http://usccb.org/bible/readings/033014.cfm   ) we read from the Gospel of  John about Jesus’s encounter with a blind man, who He healed and gave  “sight” on the Sabbath day.  Such an action created such havoc.  Leaders would not believe that this man born blind had been healed; others rejected any good could occur from a person who “worked” on the Sabbath.  But here we have a blind man, made whole, who could now see.  The blind man’s encounter with Jesus led him to see the world in many new ways; more importantly, this blind man now “saw” the Son of Man made present: Jesus the Son of God.  So too let us pray that we can be healed of our “blindness” and “see” Jesus as God’s presence among us.

http://images.catholic.org/ins_news/2011040444jesus_and_the_blind_man.jpg
Catholic Charities  (http://www.ccdoy.org)  helps many persons and families “see” their realities and find ways to change to the best of their abilities.  Sometimes a simple budget lesson can help a family stretch their limited incomes.  Sometimes as simple session with a caseworker can give new insight into how to deal with a troubled spouse or child.  Sometimes  a simple monetary grant can help families see the end of the tunnel while in a crisis situation.  Sometimes help from our domestic violence workers can help a person/family “see” their way through an emergency.  Catholic Charities is committed to give help and provide hope so that others can “see” better.  We are able to do this because of our deep belief that we are a continuation of the ministry of Jesus to bring abundant life and joy.   Your gifts of time, treasure and talent through Catholic Charities and the Bishop’s Appeal (https://15181.thankyou4caring.org/)   help the Church be there for each person, family and community bringing light and hope in each encounter. Thanks.


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' Lenten Message 2014

"The Gospel is the real antidote to spiritual destitution"


The Gospel is the real antidote to spiritual destitution: wherever we go, we are called as Christians to proclaim the liberating news that forgiveness for sins committed is possible, that God is greater than our sinfulness, that he freely loves us at all times and that we were made for communion and eternal life. The Lord asks us to be joyous heralds of this message of mercy and hope! It is thrilling to experience the joy of spreading this good news, sharing the treasure entrusted to us, consoling broken hearts and offering hope to our brothers and sisters experiencing darkness. It means following and imitating Jesus, who sought out the poor and sinners as a shepherd lovingly seeks his lost sheep. In union with Jesus, we can courageously open up new paths of evangelization and human promotion.






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.





For daily readings, visit USCCB Website (http://usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month)  

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2.  St Francis of Paola (1416-1507).

Francis of Paola was a man who deeply loved contemplative solitude and wished only to be the "least in the household of God." Yet, when the Church called him to active service in the world, he became a miracle-worker and influenced the course of nations.

http://sanfrancisco.asu.edu/Art/PaolaL.jpg

After accompanying his parents on a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, he began to live as a contemplative hermit in a remote cave near Paola, on Italy's southern seacoast. Before he was 20, he received the first followers who had come to imitate his way of life. Seventeen years later, when his disciples had grown in number, Francis established a Rule for his austere community and sought Church approval. This was the founding of the Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi, who were approved by the Holy See in 1474.

In 1492, Francis changed the name of his community to "Minims" because he wanted them to be known as the least (minimi) in the household of God. Humility was to be the hallmark of the brothers as it had been in Francis's personal life. Besides the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, Francis enjoined upon his followers the fourth obligation of a perpetual Lenten fast. He felt that heroic mortification was necessary as a means for spiritual growth.

It was Francis's desire to be a contemplative hermit, yet he believed that God was calling him to the apostolic life. He began to use the gifts he had received, such as the gifts of miracles and prophecy, to minister to the people of God. A defender of the poor and oppressed, Francis incurred the wrath of King Ferdinand of Naples for the admonitions he directed toward the king and his sons.

Following the request of Pope Sixtus IV, Francis traveled to Paris to help Louis XI of France prepare for his death. While ministering to the king, Francis was able to influence the course of national politics. He helped to restore peace between France and Brittany by advising a marriage between the ruling families, and between France and Spain by persuading Louis XI to return some disputed land.
Francis died while at the French court.


Stories:

The King of France, Louis XI, was slowly dying after an apoplectic seizure. He sent a messenger to Italy to beg Francis to come and heal him, making many promises to assist him and his order. Francis refused, until the king appeal to the pope, who ordered Francis to go. Louis fell on his knees and begged Francis to heal him. The saint replied that the lives of kings are in rhe hands of God and have their appointed limits: Prayer should be addressed to God.
Many meetings followed. Though Francis was an unlearned man, those who heard him testified that his words were so full of wisdom that all present were convinced the Holy Spirit wa speaking through him. By prayer and example he brought about a change of heart in the king, who died peacefully in his arms.


Comment:

The life of Francis of Paola speaks plainly to an overactive world. He was a contemplative man called to active ministry and must have felt keenly the tension between prayer and service. Yet in Francis's life it was a productive tension, for he clearly utilized the fruits of contemplation in his ministry, which came to involve the workings of nations. He responded so readily and so well to the call of the Church from a solid foundation in prayer and mortification. When he went out to the world, it was not he who worked but Christ working through him—"the least in the household of God."

Patron Saint of:   Sailors




CHARITIES NEWSBYTES



http://www.crsricebowl.org/wp-content/themes/crsricebowl2014/images/crs-rice-bowl-logo.png

Lent is here.  Catholic Relief Services RICE BOWL created an APP for your smart phone/tablet.  (http://www.crsricebowl.org/app/)   Please consider using this guide for your daily acts of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  Consider an online donation at https://15181.thankyou4caring.org/orb







PAPAL INTENTIONS:  
March
  • Respect for Women.  That all cultures may respect the rights and dignity of women.
  • Vocations.  That many young people may accept the Lord’s invitation to consecrate their lives to proclaiming the Gospel.

April

  • Ecology and Justice.  That governments may foster the protection of creation and the just distribution of natural resources.
  • Hope for the Sick.  That the Risen Lord may fill with hope the hearts of those who are being tested by pain and sickness.






Corporal Works of Mercy:  The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

  1. Feed the hungry
  2. Give drink to the thirsty
  3. Clothe the naked
  4. Shelter the homeless
  5. Visit the sick
  6. Visit those in prison
  7. Bury the dead



Note: Please consider joining our

TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use. 

See our website at http://www.ccdoy.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

Sunday, March 23, 2014

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of March 23, 2014


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) 









If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (Ps 95:8)



On Sunday, (Third Sunday of Lent http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032314.cfm  ) we read from the Gospel of  John about Jesus’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well.  There, Jesus helps her to “see” that He is the living water that brings abundant life.  Her sharing the story of her encounter with Jesus compels the villagers to request Jesus to stay in their town for two more days.  As stories of encounter are shared, many in that town -- a place where no religious Jewish person in that time would ever dare stay for a host of reasons -- come to believe that Jesus is the “savior of the world.”   We hear in this story how people came to believe and their hearts were softened and opened to hear God’s voice, unlike in the first reading where they “grumbled” against Moses and God Himself (EX 17).  The true and living water comes from our encounter with Jesus, who died for us and in whom our “hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts” (ROM 5:5).




Catholic Charities  (http://www.ccdoy.org)  works each day to bring that “hope that does not disappoint” for many persons, families and communities in the six county area of the Diocese of Youngstown, besides working together in solidarity with Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services and Caritas Internationalis on many levels.  Because of our own encounter with Jesus, we too are willing and able to share that Good News with each person.  Our ability to provide physical, material, social and spiritual “help”  with those who seek that “hope” empowers our clients to live in dignity and with respect.  Your gifts of time, treasure and talent through Catholic Charities and the Bishop’s Appeal (https://15181.thankyou4caring.org/)   help the Church be there for each person, family and community we serve, bringing that Faith, Hope and Love that God shares with us so abundantly.  Thanks.



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' Lenten Message 2014

"The Gospel is the real antidote to spiritual destitution"



We might think that this "way" of poverty was Jesus’ way, whereas we who come after him can save the world with the right kind of human resources. This is not the case. In every time and place God continues to save mankind and the world through the poverty of Christ, who makes himself poor in the sacraments, in his word and in his Church, which is a people of the poor. God’s wealth passes not through our wealth, but invariably and exclusively through our personal and communal poverty, enlivened by the Spirit of Christ.


In imitation of our Master, we Christians are called to confront the poverty of our brothers and sisters, to touch it, to make it our own and to take practical steps to alleviate it. Destitution is not the same as poverty: destitution is poverty without faith, without support, without hope. There are three types of destitution: material, moral and spiritual. Material destitution is what is normally called poverty, and affects those living in conditions opposed to human dignity: those who lack basic rights and needs such as food, water, hygiene, work and the opportunity to develop and grow culturally. In response to this destitution, the Church offers her help, her diakonia, in meeting these needs and binding these wounds which disfigure the face of humanity. In the poor and outcast we see Christ’s face; by loving and helping the poor, we love and serve Christ. Our efforts are also directed to ending violations of human dignity, discrimination and abuse in the world, for these are so often the cause of destitution. When power, luxury and money become idols, they take priority over the need for a fair distribution of wealth. Our consciences thus need to be converted to justice, equality, simplicity and sharing.


No less a concern is moral destitution, which consists in slavery to vice and sin. How much pain is caused in families because one of their members – often a young person - is in thrall to alcohol, drugs, gambling or pornography! How many people no longer see meaning in life or prospects for the future, how many have lost hope! And how many are plunged into this destitution by unjust social conditions, by unemployment, which takes away their dignity as breadwinners, and by lack of equal access to education and health care. In such cases, moral destitution can be considered impending suicide. This type of destitution, which also causes financial ruin, is invariably linked to the spiritual destitution which we experience when we turn away from God and reject his love. If we think we don’t need God who reaches out to us through Christ, because we believe we can make do on our own, we are headed for a fall. God alone can truly save and free us.







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.



TUESDAY, MARCH 25.  ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD  http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032514.cfm
The feast of the Annunciation, now recognized as a solemnity, was first celebrated in the fourth or fifth century. Its central focus is the Incarnation: God has become one of us. From all eternity God had decided that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity should become human. Now, as Luke 1:26-38 tells us, the decision is being realized. The God-Man embraces all humanity, indeed all creation, to bring it to God in one great act of love. Because human beings have rejected God, Jesus will accept a life of suffering and an agonizing death: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).





Mary has an important role to play in God’s plan. From all eternity God destined her to be the mother of Jesus and closely related to him in the creation and redemption of the world. We could say that God’s decrees of creation and redemption are joined in the decree of Incarnation. Because Mary is God’s instrument in the Incarnation, she has a role to play with Jesus in creation and redemption. It is a God-given role. It is God’s grace from beginning to end. Mary becomes the eminent figure she is only by God’s grace. She is the empty space where God could act. Everything she is she owes to the Trinity.


She is the virgin-mother who fulfills Isaiah 7:14 in a way that Isaiah could not have imagined. She is united with her son in carrying out the will of God (Psalm 40:8-9; Hebrews 10:7-9; Luke 1:38).


Together with Jesus, the privileged and graced Mary is the link between heaven and earth. She is the human being who best, after Jesus, exemplifies the possibilities of human existence. She received into her lowliness the infinite love of God. She shows how an ordinary human being can reflect God in the ordinary circumstances of life. She exemplifies what the Church and every member of the Church is meant to become. She is the ultimate product of the creative and redemptive power of God. She manifests what the Incarnation is meant to accomplish for all of us.



Comment:


Sometimes spiritual writers are accused of putting Mary on a pedestal and thereby discouraging ordinary humans from imitating her. Perhaps such an observation is misguided. God did put Mary on a pedestal and has put all human beings on a pedestal. We have scarcely begun to realize the magnificence of divine grace, the wonder of God’s freely given love. The marvel of Mary—even in the midst of her very ordinary life—is God’s shout to us to wake up to the marvelous creatures that we all are by divine design.


Quote:


“Enriched from the first instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique holiness, the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding angel, by divine command, as ‘full of grace’ (cf. Luke 1:28). To the heavenly messenger she replies: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word’ (Luke 1:38). Thus the daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the Mother of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly and impeded by no sin to God’s saving will, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with him, serving the mystery of redemption, by the grace of Almighty God” (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 56).




For daily readings, visit USCCB Website (http://usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month)  




CHARITIES NEWSBYTES



http://www.crsricebowl.org/wp-content/themes/crsricebowl2014/images/crs-rice-bowl-logo.png

Lent is here.  Catholic Relief Services RICE BOWL created an APP for your smart phone/tablet.  (http://www.crsricebowl.org/app/)   Please consider using this guide for your daily acts of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  Consider an online donation at https://15181.thankyou4caring.org/orb








PAPAL INTENTIONS:  
March
  • Respect for Women.  That all cultures may respect the rights and dignity of women.
  • Vocations.  That many young people may accept the Lord’s invitation to consecrate their lives to proclaiming the Gospel.





Corporal Works of Mercy:  The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor


  1. Feed the hungry
  2. Give drink to the thirsty
  3. Clothe the naked
  4. Shelter the homeless
  5. Visit the sick
  6. Visit those in prison
  7. Bury the dead




Note: Please consider joining our


TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use. 


See our website at http://www.ccdoy.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