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: 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 (Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B ) we read from the Gospel of
John about the continuing story of Jesus' feeding his followers. Jesus responds to the multitudes who are seeking a sign. They remind Jesus that Moses had feed Israel with manna in the desert. Jesus proclaims that He is the living bread and that all who partake of Him with have everlasting life.
In Catholic Charities we continue to provide care and nourishment to many who seek help and a sign of God's love. By our service and compassion, and hospitality, we help those who come for social support see a genuine sign from God. That they in fact are loved and welcomed. Like all of us, those who seek a food voucher or utility assistance or housing counseling are seeking a sign of God's presence in their lives. Catholic Charities staff and volunteers are one of those signs that God is truly among us. We share with them the hope of everlasting life and joy, but not in some future distant time, but here and now, in this place (as the lyrics to the song "Gather Us In" remind us).
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate: Because it is filled with truth, charity can be understood in the abundance of its values, it can be shared and communicated. Truth, in fact, is lógos which creates diá-logos, and hence communication and communion. Truth, by enabling men and women to let go of their subjective opinions and impressions, allows them to move beyond cultural and historical limitations and to come together in the assessment of the value and substance of things. Truth opens and unites our minds in the lógos of love: this is the Christian proclamation and testimony of charity. In the present social and cultural context, where there is a widespread tendency to relativize truth, practising charity in truth helps people to understand that adhering to the values of Christianity is not merely useful but essential for building a good society and for true integral human development. A Christianity of charity without truth would be more or less interchangeable with a pool of good sentiments, helpful for social cohesion, but of little relevance. In other words, there would no longer be any real place for God in the world. Without truth, charity is confined to a narrow field devoid of relations. It is excluded from the plans and processes of promoting human development of universal range, in dialogue between knowledge and praxis.
(Caritas in Veritate, par 4).
N.B. Note: Please consider joining our new Twitter account, CCDOY, for current updates and calls to action that we can all use. http://twitter.com/CCDOY
Some important date(s) this week:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6. TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8. The Mexican Consulate will be processing papers and identifications for Mexican nations at the Cathedral of St. Columba Parish all day. Thanks to George Garchar, Naomi Hokky, Adrian Labra and Joe Miles in coordinating this visit by the Mexican Consulate.
Sharing Hope In Tough Times: Catholic Charities Responds to Families Facing Economic Crisis
August 1-2, 2009 – Did you know that Catholic Charities has 15 service sites throughout the Diocese of Youngstown? Visit us on the web at www.ccdoy.org to find the location nearest you.
PAPAL INTENTIONS:
August 2009
General: That public opinion may be more aware of the problem of millions of displaced persons and refugees and that concrete solutions may be found for their often tragic situation.
Mission: That those Christians who are discriminated against and persecuted in many Countries because of the name of Christ may have their human rights, equality and religious freedom recognized, in order to be able to live and profess their own faith freely.
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/
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