Sunday, May 29, 2011
Caritas Internationalis General Assembly: Curia Officials Address Meeting
And Father Cantalamessa Reflects on Gift Before Duty
ROME, MAY 27, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Peter Turkson, Cardinal Robert Sarah and Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa were among those addressing the Caritas general assembly meeting in Rome this week, illustrating various facets of the Christian call to love.
Speaking on the opening day of the assembly, Cardinal Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, recalled the Gospel account of the Good Samaritan, describing it as the earliest and greatest field report of Caritas in action.
The 62-year-old Ghana native outlined for the assembly the necessary requirements for the work of Caritas to succeed.
Firstly, the Church’s charitable organizations, from the local to the international level, must make a strong effort to provide the resources and personnel required, he said. Secondly, those caring for the needy should be professionally competent and committed to care. But thirdly, and most importantly, the cardinal emphasized, Caritas personnel need humanity, heartfelt concern, and "a formation of the heart."
"The program of the Good Samaritan, the program of Jesus," Cardinal Turkson explained, "is a heart which sees."
"The turning-point," he said, "is found in compassion, it is the experience of 'suffer with,' just as mercy, misericordia, also is both divine and human."
Just as Jesus instructed the lawyer who first heard the parable of the Samaritan, we too must "Go and do the same" by carrying out Jesus' mission, the Vatican official affirmed.
Beautiful witness
The president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Holy See office that coordinates Catholic charitable organizations including Caritas, continued with this theme in his address Monday.
Cardinal Robert Sarah, another Curial official from Africa, spoke of the witness of Caritas as a counter to the "humanism without God [that] seems to have become an integral and lasting part of the prevailing culture," and the "silent apostasy" spoken of so often by Benedict XVI.
"Since the beginning of his papacy," the 65-year-old Guinea native told the participants, "Pope Benedict XVI has considered this 'religious indifference' and 'silent apostasy' as the major challenge the Church has to take up today in her relations with the modern world."
"Therefore," Cardinal Sarah continued, "he is more determined than ever to make our minds more aware and our faith more visible and more active, in order to show the world that the Church's mission is deeply rooted in faith in God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
Caritas is a visible manifestation of that faith, the cardinal declared. "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
But, he asked, "how can we help faithful laypeople and religious engaged on the front lines of emergency situations ... to know how to 'say' every day, in a credible way, the freshness of the evangelical proclamation in what they are and what they do?"
"All those calling themselves disciples of Christ won't find a neutral space in the work of serving other people," the cardinal answered, "or even less a hindrance to this unique Love, but rather will be able to see within it a concrete fulfillment of their personal encounter with Jesus, and the spread of their faith and love for God."
The cardinal concluded by describing Benedict XVI's encyclical "Deus Caritas Est" as the "reference and guidance document for all the charitable activities of the Catholic Church today."
In the encyclical, the Holy Father points out that the source of charity is God, whose incarnated Son reveals the charity of the Father. The Church's sole mission, Cardinal Sarah elaborated, is to continue the mission of Jesus.
"The Church makes the light of her faith shine before us so that we may see her good works and glorify God," he said. "The witness of charity, the privileged way of the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus, takes place through the shining of the beauty of the heart in the actions of Christ's disciples inwardly transfigured by the Spirit."
Loving first
The preacher of the Pontifical Household offered another reflection: Christians do not set out telling others what they must do to be saved, as with other faiths, but rather by proclaiming "what God has done for them."
"Gift," he observed, "comes before duty."
The Capuchin addressed the assembly on different meanings of the expression "love of God."
One meaning speaks of the "duty" to love God, another of the love "of" God.
"The most important thing, when speaking of the love of God, is not, therefore, that man loves God, but that God loves man and that He loved him 'first,'" said the preacher.
This knowledge of the primacy of God's love for us, the principle of Christian charity, affects the way we Christians carry out our "duty" to love our neighbor.
Father Cantalamessa offered the assembly a theological reflection on the relationship between the Gospel and the social sphere in order to better understand the task of those who work in Caritas Internationalis.
"It is not only to let the poor hear the voice of the Church," Father Cantalamessa explained, "but also [to] make the voice of the poor heard in the Church."
"The first thing to do in relation to the poor is to break through the double glazing, to overcome our indifference and insensitivity," he said. "We need to let our defenses down and be overwhelmed by a healthy anxiety in face of the fearful misery there is in the world."
One of the priority tasks of Caritas, the priest continued, "is to remind us all of this call to conversion, and to be ruthless in breaking through the security of our 'double glazing.'"
Charity workers are only able to fully realize that job if they love from the heart, the preacher reminded, or, as St. Paul says, "Let love be genuine!"
"The first 'charity' we are called upon to give to our neighbor, even when distributing food and medicines," Father Cantalamessa told the Caritas representatives, "is to transmit to them the love of God. This is impossible, unless we ourselves are filled with that love, or at least strive to grow in it. The fundamental vocation of a Caritas worker is no different from that of any other Christian: a vocation to holiness!"
Saturday, May 28, 2011
MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of May 29, 2011
Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope.
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 (Sixth Sunday of Easter Year A http://usccb.org/nab/052911.shtml) we read in the Gospel of John about Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit who will be our Advocate and Guide. We hear in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles about how the early Church spread and that the leaders were blessed and filled with the Holy Spirit. This Spirit is of love and hope.
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org , we continue that tradition of the Church of healing and giving hope. We not only provide material and psychological aid, but we are also committed to being advocates for our clients -- advocate so that our clients will obtain services from other agencies they can obtain, advocate to governmental agencies for benefits, advocate in social policy for more just social legislation. As Catholic Charities we are reliant upon the Holy Spirit for strength in order to share the love and joy we have received to those who come to our doors each day.
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate
No consideration of the problems associated with development could fail to highlight the direct link between poverty and unemployment. In many cases, poverty results from a violation of the dignity of human work, either because work opportunities are limited (through unemployment or underemployment), or “because a low value is put on work and the rights that flow from it, especially the right to a just wage and to the personal security of the worker and his or her family”. For this reason, on 1 May 2000 on the occasion of the Jubilee of Workers, my venerable predecessor Pope John Paul II issued an appeal for “a global coalition in favour of ‘decent work”', supporting the strategy of the International Labour Organization. In this way, he gave a strong moral impetus to this objective, seeing it as an aspiration of families in every country of the world. What is meant by the word “decent” in regard to work? It means work that expresses the essential dignity of every man and woman in the context of their particular society: work that is freely chosen, effectively associating workers, both men and women, with the development of their community; work that enables the worker to be respected and free from any form of discrimination; work that makes it possible for families to meet their needs and provide schooling for their children, without the children themselves being forced into labour; work that permits the workers to organize themselves freely, and to make their voices heard; work that leaves enough room for rediscovering one's roots at a personal, familial and spiritual level; work that guarantees those who have retired a decent standard of living. (par. 63)
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.
TUESDAY MAY 31. VISITATION. This is a fairly late feast, going back only to the 13th or 14th century. It was established widely throughout the Church to pray for unity. The present date of celebration was set in 1969 in order to follow the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) and precede the Nativity of John the Baptist (June 24).
Like most feasts of Mary, it is closely connected with Jesus and his saving work. The more visible actors in the visitation drama (see Luke 1:39-45) are Mary and Elizabeth. However, Jesus and John the Baptist steal the scene in a hidden way. Jesus makes John leap with joy—the joy of messianic salvation. Elizabeth, in turn, is filled with the Holy Spirit and addresses words of praise to Mary—words that echo down through the ages.
It is helpful to recall that we do not have a journalist’s account of this meeting. Rather, Luke, speaking for the Church, gives a prayerful poet’s rendition of the scene. Elizabeth’s praise of Mary as “the mother of my Lord” can be viewed as the earliest Church’s devotion to Mary. As with all authentic devotion to Mary, Elizabeth’s (the Church’s) words first praise God for what God has done to Mary. Only secondly does she praise Mary for trusting God’s words.
Then comes the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Here Mary herself (like the Church) traces all her greatness to God.
SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.
The top priority for Catholic Charities remains emergency assistance. Last year, 17,581 people received help with food, utilities, prescriptions, clothing, and other basic needs. Included in this number are those individuals receiving specific assistance at back-to-school and Christmas events.
PAPAL INTENTIONS: May 2011
General Intention: That those who work in the media may always respect truth, solidarity and the dignity of each person.
Missionary Intention: That the Lord may grant the Church in China the capacity to persevere in fidelity to the Gospel and to grow in unity.
June 2011
General Intention: That priests, united to the Heart of Christ, may always be true witnesses of the caring and merciful love of God.
Missionary Intention: That the Holy Spirit may bring forth from our communities numerous missionary vocations, willing to fully consecrate themselves to spreading the Kingdom of God.
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 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catholic-Charities-Diocese-of-Youngstown/138817639487339
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/
Friday, May 20, 2011
MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for week of May 22, 2011
Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope.
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 Easter Year A http://usccb.org/nab/052211.shtml) we read in the first reading about an argument in the early Church: the Greek and Hebrew communities had a disagreement about how their widows were being cared for by the Church leadership.. The Church was known for its care and compassion for the poor and marginalized, continuing Jesus’ work and ministry. An outcome of this debate was that the Church decided to create the order of deacons -- "Diakonia” -- to provide service “at the table”and care for the needy among them. We also see in this reading that praying, the ministry of the word, and now service are seen as essential elements of the Christian community. We also hear in the Gospel of St John about Jesus asking his disciples to believe and know that He is carrying out the will of his Father, and that He and the Father are one. Jesus challenges his followers to see the works that the Father is doing through him, and says “whoever believes in me will do the works that I do.” Certainly, throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, one area of “works” that Jesus was known for was his care, compassion, healing and welcoming touch to all persons, but especially his love for the poor, those in need and on the margins of society.
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org , we continue in that great tradition of the early Church. The Church’s decision to establish the diakonia not only created modern deacons, but is really the establishment of the Church’s official ministry to those in need. Today we call that Catholic Charities or Caritas. Catholic Charities is the organized social outreach and social justice ministries of the local Bishop. Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Youngstown and its affiliate agencies served 40,602 people last year at eleven sites throughout the Diocese of Youngstown. Of those served, 83% reported receiving public assistance, including TANF, SSI, food stamps and Medicaid benefits; and 90% reported incomes below the poverty line, which was $22,050 for a family of four in 2010.
Catholic Charities provided well over $1.5 million in direct assistance to clients last year. Services at Catholic Charities in 2010 were provided by a staff of 100 employees. Additionally, two hundred sixty-three (263) people volunteered a total of 6,687 hours to Catholic Charities last year.
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate
Another aspect of integral human development that is worthy of attention is the phenomenon of migration. This is a striking phenomenon because of the sheer numbers of people involved, the social, economic, political, cultural and religious problems it raises, and the dramatic challenges it poses to nations and the international community. We can say that we are facing a social phenomenon of epoch-making proportions that requires bold, forward-looking policies of international cooperation if it is to be handled effectively. Such policies should set out from close collaboration between the migrants' countries of origin and their countries of destination; it should be accompanied by adequate international norms able to coordinate different legislative systems with a view to safeguarding the needs and rights of individual migrants and their families, and at the same time, those of the host countries. No country can be expected to address today's problems of migration by itself. We are all witnesses of the burden of suffering, the dislocation and the aspirations that accompany the flow of migrants. The phenomenon, as everyone knows, is difficult to manage; but there is no doubt that foreign workers, despite any difficulties concerning integration, make a significant contribution to the economic development of the host country through their labour, besides that which they make to their country of origin through the money they send home. Obviously, these labourers cannot be considered as a commodity or a mere workforce. They must not, therefore, be treated like any other factor of production. Every migrant is a human person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance. (par. 62)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.
http://www.caritas.org/includes/img/logo_caritas_footer.gif
SUNDAY MAY 22. A General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis will take place from 22 to 27 May on the premises of the Domus Mariae Palazzo Carpegna Hotel in Rome. About 300 delegates will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the confederation. Participants will be received in an audience by the Pope and, on the assembly's opening day, the Cardinal Secretary of state will preside over a Eucharistic celebration.
Caritas Internationalis gathers together 165 national Caritas groups and aims primarily at coordinating their intervention in emergencies and crises. It is currently chaired by Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In 2004, Pope John Paul II granted the organization public canonical legal status both by reason of the nature of the national and diocesan Caritas organizations, which are the official organs of the bishops' charitable efforts, as well as in recognition of the great service that the confederation has expressed for decades for the good of the entire Church as well as for humanity.
Granting the organization public canonical legal status entailed the need to adapt its statutes so that they would reflect the nature and purpose of Caritas Internationalis and its mission. The assembly will be an important moment for presenting its work carried out in that field and, under the new statues now in force, to proceed to renew the confederation's governing offices. Caritas Internationalis's plan of action for the next four years will also be reflected on during the meeting.
Catholic Charities in the United States will be represented by Fr. Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities USA. VIS 20110520 (240)
SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown shares the mission of Catholic Charities USA: 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. Visit www.ccdoy.org to learn more about Catholic Charities’ mission-driven programs and services.
PAPAL INTENTIONS: May 2011
General Intention: That those who work in the media may always respect truth, solidarity and the dignity of each person.
Missionary Intention: That the Lord may grant the Church in China the capacity to persevere in fidelity to the Gospel and to grow in unity.
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=461833870606FACEBOOK FAN
TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOYfor 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/
Saturday, May 14, 2011
MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of May 15, 2010
Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope.
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)
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On Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Easter Year A http://www.usccb.org/nab/051511.shtml ) we read in the Gospel of John about Jesus’ promise that he is the Good Shepherd that has come to give life, and to give life more abundantly. Jesus tells his followers that others have come before him, and did not give life but came as a thief or robber. The sheep did not recognize their voices. But with Christ, the Good Shepherd, we hear his voice and know that we are safe and willingly follow. We know that Jesus is the gate that we are to follow to experience true and loving abundant life.
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org , we are called to be that safe place for people to come to find the loving embrace of God despite their fears and worries. We provide each person and family who comes to our “gate” with a welcome filled with hope. It is our responsibility as a ministry of the Church to help each person know that they are loved and can find in our place, more abundant life. That is one way how we live out our mission.
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate
An illustration of the significance of this problem is offered by the phenomenon of international tourism, which can be a major factor in economic development and cultural growth, but can also become an occasion for exploitation and moral degradation. The current situation offers unique opportunities for the economic aspects of development — that is to say the flow of money and the emergence of a significant amount of local enterprise — to be combined with the cultural aspects, chief among which is education. In many cases this is what happens, but in other cases international tourism has a negative educational impact both for the tourist and the local populace. The latter are often exposed to immoral or even perverted forms of conduct, as in the case of so-called sex tourism, to which many human beings are sacrificed even at a tender age. It is sad to note that this activity often takes place with the support of local governments, with silence from those in the tourists' countries of origin, and with the complicity of many of the tour operators. Even in less extreme cases, international tourism often follows a consumerist and hedonistic pattern, as a form of escapism planned in a manner typical of the countries of origin, and therefore not conducive to authentic encounter between persons and cultures. We need, therefore, to develop a different type of tourism that has the ability to promote genuine mutual understanding, without taking away from the element of rest and healthy recreation. Tourism of this type needs to increase, partly through closer coordination with the experience gained from international cooperation and enterprise for development.(par. 61b)
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.
MAY 15. Anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Youngstown
MAY 15. Anniversary of the publication of Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 on labor issues and modern economics
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MAY 15. St. Isidore the Farmer (1070-1130) Isidore has become the patron of farmers and rural communities. In particular he is the patron of Madrid, Spain, and of the United States National Rural Life Conference.
When he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, Isidore entered the service of John de Vergas, a wealthy landowner from Madrid, and worked faithfully on his estate outside the city for the rest of his life. He married a young woman as simple and upright as himself who also became a saint—Maria de la Cabeza. They had one son, who died as a child.
Isidore had deep religious instincts. He rose early in the morning to go to church and spent many a holiday devoutly visiting the churches of Madrid and surrounding areas. All day long, as he walked behind the plow, he communed with God. His devotion, one might say, became a problem, for his fellow workers sometimes complained that he often showed up late because of lingering in church too long.
He was known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isidore’s supplying them miraculously with food. He had a great concern for the proper treatment of animals.
He died May 15, 1130, and was declared a saint in 1622 with Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri. Together, the group is known in Spain as “the five saints.”
SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.
Catholic Charities is counting on you! Have you made your pledge to the 2011 Bishop’s Appeal for Catholic Charities and Church? Sixty-six percent of the money raised through this important effort funds the work of Catholic Charities throughout the six-counties of the diocese.
PAPAL INTENTIONS: May 2011
General Intention: That those who work in the media may always respect truth, solidarity and the dignity of each person.
Missionary Intention: That the Lord may grant the Church in China the capacity to persevere in fidelity to the Gospel and to grow in unity.
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/
Saturday, May 7, 2011
MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of May 8, 2011
Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope.
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 Year A http://usccb.org/nab/050811.shtml ) we read in the Gospel of Luke about Jesus’ encounter with two disciples who are walking back to Emmaus on that Easter day. These day persons seemed down and out; discouraged; beaten; though with some sense of possibility and hope. They had heard that Jesus had appeared to some of their friends. With0ut “seeing” Jesus yet, He tells them how the Scriptures have been fulfilled. Then, at a meal, he breaks bread...and they “see” and “recognize” Him. They run back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples, recalling how it “burned” in them as He had spoken to them, that Jesus is alive, and that they “recognized” Him in the “breaking of the bread.”
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org , we too must be “burning” with Good News to each person we work with in our daily encounters. Jesus is alive and continues to share the story of hope and joy. Sometimes, we too like those two disciples may feel a bit frustrated and down; but also like them, we know that we are nourished in the Eucharist and in knowing that we can “see” and “recognize” Him with us. Even more powerfully, we in Catholic Charities have the honor to “see” Jesus in each and every person that we assist and encounter.
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate
Greater solidarity at the international level is seen especially in the ongoing promotion — even in the midst of economic crisis — of greater access to education, which is at the same time an essential precondition for effective international cooperation. The term “education” refers not only to classroom teaching and vocational training — both of which are important factors in development — but to the complete formation of the person. In this regard, there is a problem that should be highlighted: in order to educate, it is necessary to know the nature of the human person, to know who he or she is. The increasing prominence of a relativistic understanding of that nature presents serious problems for education, especially moral education, jeopardizing its universal extension. Yielding to this kind of relativism makes everyone poorer and has a negative impact on the effectiveness of aid to the most needy populations, who lack not only economic and technical means, but also educational methods and resources to assist people in realizing their full human potential. (par. 61a)
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.
MAY 10. St. Damien of Molokai (1840-1889) When Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy (Hansen's disease). By the time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about this disease because of him. They knew that human compassion could soften the ravages of this disease.
Forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, Joseph entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later, taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. When his brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to the island of Hawaii.
In 1873, he went to the Hawaiian government's leper colony on the island of Molokai, set up seven years earlier. Part of a team of four chaplains taking that assignment for three months each year, Damien soon volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical and spiritual needs. In time, he became their most effective advocate to obtain promised government support.
Soon the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage. Morale improved considerably. A few years later he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope (January 23), to help staff this colony in Kalaupapa.
Damien contracted Hansen's disease and died of its complications. As requested, he was buried in Kalaupapa, but in 1936 the Belgian government succeeded in having his body moved to Belgium. Part of Damien's body was returned to his beloved Hawaiian brothers and sisters after his beatification in 1995.
Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009.
When Hawaii became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two representatives in the Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol.
SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.
The majority of those living in poverty are women and children. This Mother’s Day weekend, pray for women who struggle each day to provide for their families and build a better life for their children. Remember also women and children who are victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, and other forms of exploitation.
PAPAL INTENTIONS: May 2011
General Intention: That those who work in the media may always respect truth, solidarity and the dignity of each person.
Missionary Intention: That the Lord may grant the Church in China the capacity to persevere in fidelity to the Gospel and to grow in unity.
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
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