MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for week of January 17, 2010

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 (Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C) we read about Jesus' first "sign" in the Gospel of John: Jesus brings about the choicest wine from water at the wedding feast; (see http://www.comeandseeicons.com/icxc/inp166.htm) the best has arrived. We hear in the prophet Isaiah that a new moment has broken through time: no longer will the land be considered barren but great joy and abundance has broken into reality. This Presence, this new reality, this abundance is Jesus. Paul's letter to the Corinthians tells us that the Spirit of God continues to permeate our world with gifts of the Spirit, distributed throughout the community in order to announce and live the Kingdom of God here and to come.

In Catholic Charities our gift of the Spirit to the Church and community is our healing presence to those who are in need. We bring hope to many persons and families in need of material, spiritual, emotional, and psychological help. As Catholic Charities we are connected to Caritas agencies throughout the world. Our prayers go out to the leaders of Caritas Haiti and Caritas Port-Au-Prince as they struggle amid their own pain and suffering to care for those impacted by the recent earthquake. One of the US members of Caritas Internationalis (along with Catholic Charities USA), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been asked by the Pontifical Council COR UNUM to provide leadership in the recovery and reconstruction assisting Caritas agencies in Haiti. CRS has been in Haiti since 1955; CRS had 45 staff persons already working in Haiti prior to the earthquake. Please consider giving to CRS in their Haitian Earthquake relief. Visit www.ccdoy.org for more information and/or to give on-line. Thanks

A Prayer After the Earthquake in Haiti
Lord, at times such as this, when we realize that the ground beneath our feet is not as solid as we had imagined, we plead for your mercy.
As the things we have built crumble about us, we know too well how small we truly are on this ever-changing, ever-moving, fragile planet we call home.Yet you have promised never to forget us.
Do not forget us now.
Today, so many people are afraid.They wait in fear of the next tremor.They hear the cries of the injured amid the rubble.They roam the streets in shock at what they see. And they fill the dusty air with wails of grief and the names of missing dead.
Comfort them, Lord, in this disaster.Be their rock when the earth refuses to stand still, and shelter them under your wings when homes no longer exist.
Embrace in your arms those who died so suddenly this day.
Console the hearts of those who mourn,
and ease the pain of bodies on the brink of death.
Pierce, too, our hearts with compassion, we who watch from afar, as the poorest on this side of the earth find only misery upon misery. Move us to act swiftly this day, to give generously every day, to work for justice always, and to pray unceasingly for those without hope.
And once the shaking has ceased, the images of destruction have stopped filling the news,
and our thoughts return to life’s daily rumblings,
let us not forget that we are all your children
and they, our brothers and sisters.
We are all the work of your hands.
For though the mountains leave their place and the hills be tossed to the ground, your love shall never leave us, and your promise of peace will never be shaken.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever. Amen.
Copyright © 2010, Diana Macal intal. Permission is given to reprint.


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:

SUNDAY January 17. Holy Father's Message for the ninety-sixth World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The Day, due to be celebrated on 17 January 2010, has as its theme: "Underage migrants and refugees". http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/migration/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20091016_world-migrants-day_en.html


JANUARY is POVERTY AWARENESS MONTH. Visit Catholic Campaign for Human Development site at http://www.usccb.org/cchd/povertyusa/index.htm


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


Is your parish looking for a winter project? Are you interesting in helping out? Call your local Catholic Charities agency to see how you can help stock their pantry, collect specific items and volunteer to make a difference in the lives of those who look to Catholic Charities for help and hope in their time of need... For more information, visit www.ccdoy.org.

PAPAL INTENTIONS:

JANUARY 2010
Young people and Social Communications Media
General: That young people may learn to use modern means of social communication for their personal growth and to better prepare themselves to serve society.

Christian Unity
Missionary: That every believer in Christ may be conscious that unity among all Christians is a condition for more effective proclamation of the Gospel.



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/