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 (Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/020611.shtml) we read in the Gospel of Matthew about Jesus challenge to his apostles and disciples to be "salt of the earth" and "light to the world." Jesus tells us to be witnesses to his love; as we have encountered him, we need to share that love and joy. One way that we share that encounter with the Lord is by our very actions and work. We read from the Prophet Isaiah that we are called to "share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own." The fruits of our faith is found in the way we live our lives.
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org , we too are called to be witnesses to Jesus' encounter with us. As ministers of the Church we provide the professional outreach to those who are in need in our communities. However, we just don't see clients because we are required to do so by governmental grants or philanthropic promises. Rather, we see each person as an image and likeness of God. We want to share our love and joy with each person through our efforts -- from a referral, to direct service, to advocacy on their behalf. As Catholic Charities workers we help to organize the corporate love of the church, helping individuals and parishes "share our bread, shelter the oppressed and homeless; clothe the naked" and welcoming each person. We are privileged to be there to help each person in need in order to share the love and joy we have as ministers of Jesus. The salt and light we add is that love and joy; we want to share all we have received.
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate
One of the deepest forms of poverty a person can experience is isolation. If we look closely at other kinds of poverty, including material forms, we see that they are born from isolation, from not being loved or from difficulties in being able to love. Poverty is often produced by a rejection of God's love, by man's basic and tragic tendency to close in on himself, thinking himself to be self-sufficient or merely an insignificant and ephemeral fact, a “stranger” in a random universe. Man is alienated when he is alone, when he is detached from reality, when he stops thinking and believing in a foundation. All of humanity is alienated when too much trust is placed in merely human projects, ideologies and false utopias. Today humanity appears much more interactive than in the past: this shared sense of being close to one another must be transformed into true communion.The development of peoples depends, above all, on a recognition that the human race is a single family working together in true communion, not simply a group of subjects who happen to live side by side. (par. 53a)
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
Friday, FEBRUARY 11. Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and World Day of the Sick
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus. A little more than three years later, on February 11, 1858, a young lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. This began a series of visions. During the apparition on March 25, the lady identified herself with the words: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
Bernadette was a sickly child of poor parents. Their practice of the Catholic faith was scarcely more than lukewarm. Bernadette could pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Creed. She also knew the prayer of the Miraculous Medal: “O Mary conceived without sin.”
During interrogations Bernadette gave an account of what she saw. It was “something white in the shape of a girl.” She used the word aquero, a dialect term meaning “this thing.” It was “a pretty young girl with a rosary over her arm.” Her white robe was encircled by a blue girdle. She wore a white veil. There was a yellow rose on each foot. A rosary was in her hand. Bernadette was also impressed by the fact that the lady did not use the informal form of address (tu), but the polite form (vous). The humble virgin appeared to a humble girl and treated her with dignity.
Through that humble girl, Mary revitalized and continues to revitalize the faith of millions of people. People began to flock to Lourdes from other parts of France and from all over the world. In 1862 Church authorities confirmed the authenticity of the apparitions and authorized the cult of Our Lady of Lourdes for the diocese. The Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became worldwide in 1907.
See Pope Benedict XVI's Statement for World Day of the Sick http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/sick/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20101121_world-day-of-the-sick-2011_en.html
SUNDAY February 13. Annual White Mass, Cathedral of St. Columba, 10:30 AM All are welcome to celebrate and pray for those who care for the sick.
SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.
Last minute donations for the 2011 Keep the Kids Warm campaign can be sent to Catholic Charities, P. O. Box 614, Youngstown, Ohio 44501. Thank you for supporting this cause!
Hope Works Offer New Series
Starting Tuesday, January 18th at 6:30 p.m. and continuing every Tuesday evening through February 22, Blessed Sacrament Parish in Warren will be hosting a six-session series, "The ABC's of Getting the Job You Deserve." The series will give those in attendance an action plan that will bring success, and help them stand out from other job seekers. There are professional speakers each week and success stories that will help get everyone through the winter darkness. These sessions will be held at Blessed Sacrament Parish’s Regan Hall, 3020 Reeves Road, NE, Warren. Please call the parish at 330-372-2215 to speak to Terry about registering and for more information. There is no charge for this session.
Hope Works is sponsored by Trumbull County Catholic Parishes and with Sharing Hope in Tough Times, a project of Catholic Charities
PAPAL INTENTIONS: February 2011
General Intention: That the family may be respected by all in its identity and that its irreplaceable contribution to all of society be recognized.
Missionary Intention: That in the mission territories where the struggle against disease is most urgent, Christian communities may witness to the presence of Christ to those who suffer.
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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