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 in Lent Year A http://www.usccb.org/nab/032711.shtml ) we read in the Gospel of John about the encounter between Jesus and a Samaritan woman retrieving water from the well of Jacob. She believes that she is doing a normal activity of getting water for daily life; Jesus’ presence changes that. He offers her - and us -- “living water.” This Samaritan woman is open to the invitation and finds out more about herself and about God’s love and abundance. With that acceptance, her life changes. She is transformed and knows hope first hand.
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org , we are called to give living water and hope to each person that comes to our places for assistance. We may provide some material aid to help persons get through the day, but as a ministry of the Church we go even further....we offer a glimpse of God’s generous love and hope by the hospitality we show, the kindness we display, the patience we practice, and the love that we give. Sometimes, sharing that hope and love in small and ordinary ways helps us and those we serve see the extraordinary abundance of God.
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate
Fruitful dialogue between faith and reason cannot but render the work of charity more effective within society, and it constitutes the most appropriate framework for promoting fraternal collaboration between believers and non-believers in their shared commitment to working for justice and the peace of the human family. In the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, the Council fathers asserted that “believers and unbelievers agree almost unanimously that all things on earth should be ordered towards man as to their centre and summit”. For believers, the world derives neither from blind chance nor from strict necessity, but from God's plan. This is what gives rise to the duty of believers to unite their efforts with those of all men and women of good will, with the followers of other religions and with non-believers, so that this world of ours may effectively correspond to the divine plan: living as a family under the Creator's watchful eye. A particular manifestation of charity and a guiding criterion for fraternal cooperation between believers and non-believers is undoubtedly the principle of subsidiarity, an expression of inalienable human freedom. Subsidiarity is first and foremost a form of assistance to the human person via the autonomy of intermediate bodies. Such assistance is offered when individuals or groups are unable to accomplish something on their own, and it is always designed to achieve their emancipation, because it fosters freedom and participation through assumption of responsibility. Subsidiarity respects personal dignity by recognizing in the person a subject who is always capable of giving something to others. By considering reciprocity as the heart of what it is to be a human being, subsidiarity is the most effective antidote against any form of all-encompassing welfare state. It is able to take account both of the manifold articulation of plans — and therefore of the plurality of subjects — as well as the coordination of those plans. Hence the principle of subsidiarity is particularly well-suited to managing globalization and directing it towards authentic human development. In order not to produce a dangerous universal power of a tyrannical nature, the governance of globalization must be marked by subsidiarity, articulated into several layers and involving different levels that can work together. Globalization certainly requires authority, insofar as it poses the problem of a global common good that needs to be pursued. This authority, however, must be organized in a subsidiary and stratified way, if it is not to infringe upon freedom and if it is to yield effective results in practice.. (par. 57)
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
See website for biographies of Saints and Blessed celebrated this week.
SEASON OF LENT:
In his 2011 Lenten Message http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/lent/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20101104_lent-2011_en.html, Pope Benedict XVI focuses on the Sacrament of Baptism. He notes: “By immersing ourselves into the death and resurrection of Christ through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are moved to free our hearts every day from the burden of material things, from a self-centered relationship with the ‘world’ that impoverishes us and prevents us from being available and open to God and our neighbor.”
Questions to Examine Conscience in the Light of Catholic Social Teaching http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/examine.shtml This examination can be used as a supplement to the traditional examination of conscience during Penance services or the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
OPERATION RICE BOWL: PRAY. FAST. GIVE. Weekly reflection
http://donate.crs.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=21965.0&printer_friendly=1
SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.
Catholic Relief Services http://www.crs.org is accepting donations to help Caritas Japan respond to the short and long term impact of the earthquake and tsunami. Please send check to Catholic Relief Services - Japan Disaster Relief, c/o Social Action Office 144 W. Wood Street Youngstown, OH 44503. You can donate directly on line at www.ccdoy.org. Thanks.
Catholic Charities served over 39,000 people in 2010, and provided compassionate information and referral services to an additional 29,000 people. Your support for the Annual Bishop’s Appeal helps Catholic Charities serve those individuals and families in need throughout the Diocese of Youngstown. Please be generous in your support for the 2011 Bishop’s Appeal
PAPAL INTENTIONS: March 2011
General Intention: That the nations of Latin America may walk in fidelity to the Gospel and be bountiful in social justice and peace.
Missionary Intention: That the Holy Spirit may give light and strength to the Christian communities and the faithful who are persecuted or discriminated against because of the Gospel.
April 2011
General Intention: That the Church may offer new generations, through the believable proclamation of the Gospel, ever-new reasons of life and hope.
Missionary Intention: That missionaries, with the proclamation of the Gospel and their witness of life, may bring Christ to all those who do not yet know Him.
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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