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 (Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle C, http://www.usccb.org/nab/041810.shtml) we read how the Apostles praised God for empowering them to witness to the name of Jesus. We hear how Jesus, according to John's Gospel, appears to his Apostles again, for the third time. In this encounter, those engaged in their daily work of fishing find no catch in the watch of the night. But as the morning dawns, Jesus engages them to toss the nets over on the other side. With their acknowledgement that "it is the Lord," the men catch an abundance of fish. Then Jesus, ever the practical man, enjoins the disciples to eat breakfast with them -- a sharing and breaking of bread as a remembrance of his dying and rising. Then Peter stands there: will Jesus remember his three time denials in the courtyard? What will Jesus say to him? Is it over? Rather we see the Risen Lord calling upon Peter to love him and to follow him. Jesus forgives and loves in abundance...just like that incredible catch of fish. Jesus brings abundance with every encounter. We are called, in turn, to "follow" Him and do the same.
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org we too continue to witness to the Lord's abundance. Maybe we are not able to give exactly what every person/family who comes to our door wants or may even need, but we aim to provide an abundance of care, concern and love. We continue Jesus' command to "follow" Him by being that sign of the Church of the healing presence of the Risen Christ, being ever practical to the point of asking: come eat breakfast, have a cup of coffee, what can we do for you today? We are glad that we are partners with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in many areas of the Diocese in order to help each person/family that comes to our door.
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate:
"In this context, the theme of integral human development takes on an even broader range of meanings: the correlation between its multiple elements requires a commitment to foster the interaction of the different levels of human knowledge in order to promote the authentic development of peoples. Often it is thought that development, or the socio-economic measures that go with it, merely require to be implemented through joint action. This joint action, however, needs to be given direction, because 'all social action involves a doctrine'. In view of the complexity of the issues, it is obvious that the various disciplines have to work together through an orderly interdisciplinary exchange. Charity does not exclude knowledge, but rather requires, promotes, and animates it from within. Knowledge is never purely the work of the intellect. It can certainly be reduced to calculation and experiment, but if it aspires to be wisdom capable of directing man in the light of his first beginnings and his final ends, it must be 'seasoned' with the 'salt' of charity. Deeds without knowledge are blind, and knowledge without love is sterile. Indeed, 'the individual who is animated by true charity labours skilfully to discover the causes of misery, to find the means to combat it, to overcome it resolutely'. Faced with the phenomena that lie before us, charity in truth requires first of all that we know and understand, acknowledging and respecting the specific competence of every level of knowledge. Charity is not an added extra, like an appendix to work already concluded in each of the various disciplines: it engages them in dialogue from the very beginning. The demands of love do not contradict those of reason. Human knowledge is insufficient and the conclusions of science cannot indicate by themselves the path towards integral human development. There is always a need to push further ahead: this is what is required by charity in truth. Going beyond, however, never means prescinding from the conclusions of reason, nor contradicting its results. Intelligence and love are not in separate compartments: love is rich in intelligence and intelligence is full of love."
(par. 30)
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.htm
Some important date(s) this week: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/ByDate.aspx
MONDAY, APRIL 19. Blessed Luchesio and Buonadonna d. 1260. Luchesio and his wife Buonadonna wanted to follow St. Francis as a married couple. Thus they set in motion the Secular Franciscan Order.
Luchesio and Buonadonna lived in Poggibonzi where he was a greedy merchant. Meeting Francis—probably in 1213—changed his life. He began to perform many works of charity. At first Buonadonna was not as enthusiastic about giving so much away as Luchesio was. One day after complaining that he was giving everything to strangers, Buonadonna answered the door only to find someone else needing help. Luchesio asked her to give the poor man some bread. She frowned but went to the pantry anyway. There she discovered more bread than had been there the last time she looked. She soon became as zealous for a poor and simple life as Luchesio was. They sold the business, farmed enough land to provide for their needs and distributed the rest to the poor.
To meet this desire, Francis set up the Secular Franciscan Order. Francis wrote a simple Rule for the Third Order (Secular Franciscans) at first; Pope Honorius III approved a more formally worded Rule in 1221.
The charity of Luchesio drew the poor to him, and, like many other saints, he and Buonadonna seemed never to lack the resources to help these people.
TUESDAY, APRIL 20. St. Conrad of Parzham, 1818-1894. Conrad spent most of his life as porter in Altoetting, Bavaria, letting people into the friary and indirectly encouraging them to let God into their lives. As porter he dealt with many people, obtaining many of the friary supplies and generously providing for the poor who came to the door. He treated them all with the courtesy Francis expected of his followers. Conrad also developed a special rapport with the children of the area. He enthusiastically promoted the Seraphic Work of Charity, which aided neglected children.
SATURDAY, APRIL 24. St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, 1577-1622. If a poor man needed some clothing, Fidelis would often give the man the clothes right off his back. Complete generosity to others characterized this saint's life. Born in 1577, Mark Rey (Fidelis was his religious name) became a lawyer who constantly upheld the causes of the poor and oppressed people. Nicknamed "the poor man's lawyer," Fidelis soon grew disgusted with the corruption and injustice he saw among his colleagues. He left his law career to become a priest, joining his brother George as a member of the Capuchin Order. His wealth was divided between needy seminarians and the poor.
As a follower of Francis, Fidelis continued his devotion to the weak and needy. Once, during a severe epidemic in a city where he was guardian of a friary, Fidelis cared for and cured many sick soldiers.
Note: Please consider joining our
FACEBOOK CAUSE http://apps.facebook.com/causes/106889
FACEBOOK GROUP http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=461833870606
TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use.
Sharing Hope In Tough Times: Catholic Charities Responds to Families Facing Economic Crisis
Last year, Catholic Charities provided fiscal literacy and money management education to 1,893 people.
PAPAL INTENTIONS: APRIL 2010
Fundamentalism and Extremism
General: That every tendency to fundamentalism and extremism may be countered by constant respect, by tolerance and by dialogue among all believers.
Persecuted Christians
Missionary: That Christians persecuted for the sake of the Gospel may persevere, sustained by the Holy Spirit, in faithfully witnessing to the love of God for the entire human race.
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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