MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for week of October 25, 2009

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 (Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B) we read from the Gospel of Mark that Jesus welcomes, heals, and invites a blind man to follow him. Bartimaeus' faith opened his eyes to a new reality and a new calling. So too with us, we must be open to God's power of healing and invitation to follow Him.

In Catholic Charities clients call us and come to our office for some form of "healing." Sometimes persons visiting us are open to the healing presence of the Lord, which we at Catholic Charities continue to provide. But regardless of the client's faith, Catholic Charities continues to be a witness to God's love in the world. By a simple word, a food voucher, a referral to other services, time spent listening, or assistance with rent, Catholic Charities staff and volunteers see the face of God in each person we serve.

Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate: "The link between Populorum Progressio and the Second Vatican Council does not mean that Paul VI's social magisterium marked a break with that of previous Popes, because the Council constitutes a deeper exploration of this magisterium within the continuity of the Church's life. In this sense, clarity is not served by certain abstract subdivisions of the Church's social doctrine, which apply categories to Papal social teaching that are extraneous to it. It is not a case of two typologies of social doctrine, one pre-conciliar and one post-conciliar, differing from one another: on the contrary, there is a single teaching, consistent and at the same time ever new. It is one thing to draw attention to the particular characteristics of one Encyclical or another, of the teaching of one Pope or another, but quite another to lose sight of the coherence of the overall doctrinal corpus. Coherence does not mean a closed system: on the contrary, it means dynamic faithfulness to a light received. The Church's social doctrine illuminates with an unchanging light the new problems that are constantly emerging. This safeguards the permanent and historical character of the doctrinal “patrimony” which, with its specific characteristics, is part and parcel of the Church's ever-living Tradition. Social doctrine is built on the foundation handed on by the Apostles to the Fathers of the Church, and then received and further explored by the great Christian doctors. This doctrine points definitively to the New Man, to the “last Adam [who] became a life-giving spirit” (1 Cor 15:45), the principle of the charity that “never ends” (1 Cor 13:8). It is attested by the saints and by those who gave their lives for Christ our Saviour in the field of justice and peace. It is an expression of the prophetic task of the Supreme Pontiffs to give apostolic guidance to the Church of Christ and to discern the new demands of evangelization. For these reasons, Populorum Progressio, situated within the great current of Tradition, can still speak to us today." (Caritas in Veritate, par 12).

N.B. Note: Please consider joining our new Twitter account, CCDOY, for current updates and calls to action that we can all use.



Some important date(s) this week:

SATURDAY OCTOBER 31. Vigil of the Feast of All Saints (November 1). It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year.


OCTOBER IS RESPECT LIFE MONTH:


Read and learn about the US Catholic Bishops' position on health care reform.


Sharing Hope In Tough Times: Catholic Charities Responds to Families Facing Economic Crisis

Reflection: Who is calling out to you for help? Their plea may not be as loud as that of Bartimaeus but they need you kind word or action just as much.

Prayer Intention: That the pleas of those in need will reach the ears of someone who can assist them.

PAPAL INTENTIONS:

October 2009
General: That Sunday may be lived as the day on which Christians gather to celebrate the risen Lord, participating in the Eucharist.

Mission: That the entire People of God, to whom Christ entrusted the mandate to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, may eagerly assume their own missionary responsibility and consider it the highest service they can offer humanity.


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/