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 (Corpus Christi: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Cycle C, http://www.usccb.org/nab/060610.shtml ) we read in Luke's Gospel that Jesus shows us how to share. In the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 men (not including women and children), we hear the disciples worry about feeding this multitude. Jesus tells them to feed them. They retort that they have only 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. The disciples, I suspect, are either tired themselves, or would rather be left alone and have the crowd go find their own food. But Jesus will have none of that: the multitude has come to be feed. Jesus then gives thanks, and by having the crowd sit in groups of fifty, all are feed with an abundance left over. It is amazing to see the power of love at work.
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org , we are there to help feed those who are in material and social need. Oftentimes we sense that there is just not enough food to go around. But our faith in the message and life of Jesus prevents us from closing our doors to those who knock. We know that with God, all things are possible. We know that God has given us an abundance of gifts; we help those who come to us in need to find their own gifts. Sometimes just being there and helping someone better understand their own gifts is all that it takes to help someone get through a rough spot. Other times a voucher or some form of material assistance brings needed relief. We are all called to share our gifts as this feast day reminds us of the great gift of love given to us by Jesus. "Go and feed them yourselves." Catholic Charities is there to help organize that love.
Corpus Christi Note (from DivineOffice.org) The Procession was common by the late 13th century, and in a hundred years was adopted in most countries. It centered on carrying the Blessed Sacrament, visible in a vessel called a monstrance (from the Latin monstrare , “to show”). People in the Middle Ages preferred to look at it rather than partake because of exaggerated unworthiness. The showing, led to the introduction of the elevation of the bread and cup during the Eucharistic Prayer and ultimately to public displays such as Benediction. Thomas Aquinas authored the prayers and hymns most associated with the day and sub sequentially used in Benediction devotion.
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate
"Because it is a gift received by everyone, charity in truth is a force that builds community, it brings all people together without imposing barriers or limits. The human community that we build by ourselves can never, purely by its own strength, be a fully fraternal community, nor can it overcome every division and become a truly universal community. The unity of the human race, a fraternal communion transcending every barrier, is called into being by the word of God-who-is-Love. In addressing this key question, we must make it clear, on the one hand, that the logic of gift does not exclude justice, nor does it merely sit alongside it as a second element added from without; on the other hand, economic, social and political development, if it is to be authentically human, needs to make room for the principle of gratuitousness as an expression of fraternity." (par. 34, b)
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
WEDNESDAY JUNE 9. St. Columba (patron of Diocese of Youngstown). 521-597 Born to the Irish royalty, the son of Fedhlimidh and Eithne of the Ui Neill clan. Bard. Miracle worker. Monk at Moville. Spiritual student of Saint Finnian. Priest. Itinerant preacher and teacher throughout Ireland and Scotland. Spiritual teacher of Saint Corbmac, SaintPhelim, Saint Drostan, and Saint Fergna the White. Travelled to Scotland in 563. Exiled to Iona on Whitsun Eve, he founded a monastic community there and served as its abbot for twelve years. He and the monks of Iona, including Saint Baithen of Iona and Saint Eochod, then evangelized the Picts, converting many, including King Brude. Attended the Council of Drumceat, 575. Legend says hewrote 300 books.
SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.
The Church at Home Combined Collection includes the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Catholic Communication and Catholic University/Newman Apostolate, and will be held the weekend of June 5/6. Please give generously to this collection which takes the place of three separate collections.
Through the first quarter of 2010, 472 people received services through Catholic Charities’ First Step programs across the diocese. This program offers material assistance and case management for pregnant women and families with children ages 0-3. If your parish participated in the 2010 First Step for Change Campaign: Thank You. Your support helps us to provide these important services for women, children and families.
Reflection: Receiving the very Body and Blood of Christ makes us holy, and being holy means we help others in need.
Intention: That we recognize Christ dwelling within us, and be Christ to one another.
PAPAL INTENTIONS: JUNE 2010
Respect for Human Life
General: That every national and transnational institution may strive to guarantee respect for human life from conception to natural death.
The Churches in Asia
Missionary: That the Churches in Asia, which constitute a “little flock” among non-Christian populations, may know how to communicate the Gospel and give joyful witness to their adherence to Christ.
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
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.
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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