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 (22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, http://www.usccb.org/nab/082910.shtml) we read in the Gospel of Luke how Jesus responds at a dinner party of a local leader. He reminds the attendees that one should always exhibit humility and sit at the lowest place. He tells those who are hosts: "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you." Jesus' point is clear: we must always be humble and open to the other, especially to those who can never repay us.
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org, we must always have our door open to those who are in need and can never repay. Sometimes a person coming for help will demand much of us. We are challenged to remain humble and attentive to their voice and needs, as hard as it is sometimes. Oftentimes surprises may occur when a person we helped will send a very nice thank you note or even a donation. But that is never the motivating factor for our work. Rather, like the Palmist, we are the home for the poor who can never repay us...and we rejoice in a God who is "The father of orphans and the defender of widows . . .God gives a home to the forsaken; he leads forth prisoners to prosperity." We are glad to be a sign of such a home.
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate
"In the context of this discussion, it is helpful to observe that business enterprise involves a wide range of values, becoming wider all the time. The continuing hegemony of the binary model of market-plus-State has accustomed us to think only in terms of the private business leader of a capitalistic bent on the one hand, and the State director on the other. In reality, business has to be understood in an articulated way. There are a number of reasons, of a meta-economic kind, for saying this. Business activity has a human significance, prior to its professional one. It is present in all work, understood as a personal action, an 'actus personae', which is why every worker should have the chance to make his contribution knowing that in some way 'he is working ‘for himself''. With good reason, Paul VI taught that 'everyone who works is a creator'. It is in response to the needs and the dignity of the worker, as well as the needs of society, that there exist various types of business enterprise, over and above the simple distinction between 'private' and “public”. Each of them requires and expresses a specific business capacity. In order to construct an economy that will soon be in a position to serve the national and global common good, it is appropriate to take account of this broader significance of business activity. It favours cross-fertilization between different types of business activity, with shifting of competences from the 'non-profit' world to the 'profit' world and vice versa, from the public world to that of civil society, from advanced economies to developing countries." (par. 41a)
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
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. St Rose of Viterbo (1233-1251) Rose achieved sainthood in only 18 years of life. Even as a child Rose had a great desire to pray and to aid the poor. While still very young, she began a life of penance in her parents’ house. She was as generous to the poor as she was strict with herself. At the age of 10 she became a Secular Franciscan and soon began preaching in the streets about sin and the sufferings of Jesus.
Viterbo, her native city, was then in revolt against the pope. When Rose took the pope’s side against the emperor, she and her family were exiled from the city. When the pope’s side won in Viterbo, Rose was allowed to return. Her attempt at age 15 to found a religious community failed, and she returned to a life of prayer and penance in her father’s home, where she died in 1251. Rose was canonized in 1457.
SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.
Fair Trade is connected to my Catholic faith? Yes! Come learn about the Fair Trade’s connection to Catholic Social
Teaching at the Ohio Fair Trade Expo on Saturday, October 9, 9 AM to 4:30 PM, at John Carroll University in University Heights. The Expo offers workshops, speakers, and shopping! Learn more and register at www.ohiofairtrade.com. Receive an early‐registration discount before September 1st!
Have you made a pledge to the 2010 Bishop’s Appeal for Catholic Charities and Church? If you haven’t, it’s not too late. Catholic Charities receives 2/3 of the funds raised through this important diocesan effort to support its ministry to your neighbors in need. Visit www.doystewardship.org to view this year’s campaign brochure and make a donation online, or call the diocesan Development Office at 330-744-8451 to make a gift over the phone.
Catholic Relief Services Responds to Floods in Pakistan
visit ccdoy.org for more information on donations.
God of Compassion, open us up to invite all of the world’s poor to our banquet of abundance, especially the people of Pakistan in their time of distress. Help us to show them your mercy through our works of relief and offers of aid.
PAPAL INTENTIONS:
AUGUST 2010
The Unemployed and the Homeless
General: That those who are without work or homes or who are otherwise in serious need may find understanding and welcome, as well as concrete help in overcoming their difficulties.
Victims of Discrimination, Hunger and Forced Emigration
Missionary: That the Church may be a “home” for all people, ready to open its doors to any who are suffering from racial or religious discrimination, hunger, or wars forcing them to emigrate to other countries.
SEPTEMBER 2010
The Word of God as Sign of Social Development
General: That in less developed parts of the world the proclamation of the Word of God may renew people’s hearts, encouraging them to work actively toward authentic social progress.
The End of War
Missionary: That by opening our hearts to love we may put an end to the numerous wars and conflicts which continue to bloody our world.
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
FACEBOOK FAN
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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