MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of June 19, 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 (The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year A http://usccb.org/nab/061911.shtml) we read in the Gospel of John about the great gift from God: his only begotten Son who has come to bring life, abundant life, to the world. We get a preview of this act of God in the first reading wherein Moses hears the “name” of God. We no longer just hear God’s’ Name, but now we encounter God himself through Jesus. Through this encounter, St Paul tells us how to live: “Brothers and sisters, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another,agree with one another, live in peace”

In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org , as a ministry of the Church, we continue to help people see and hear and touch God by living out the work of Jesus to heal, serve and show compassion. Each of our clients, made in the image of God him/herself, helps us to encounter God anew. In Catholic Charities, to the best of our ability and through whatever means we have at our disposal, we help to give others an experience of more abundant life. Sometimes a smile, a word of comfort, a touch of concern, to a person in distress can bring great joy. In so many ways, we share in this everlasting love of God in our love of neighbor.


Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate

Both the regulation of the financial sector, so as to safeguard weaker parties and discourage scandalous speculation, and experimentation with new forms of finance, designed to support development projects, are positive experiences that should be further explored and encouraged, highlighting the responsibility of the investor. Furthermore, the experience of micro-finance,which has its roots in the thinking and activity of the civil humanists — I am thinking especially of the birth of pawnbroking — should be strengthened and fine-tuned. This is all the more necessary in these days when financial difficulties can become severe for many of the more vulnerable sectors of the population, who should be protected from the risk of usury and from despair. The weakest members of society should be helped to defend themselves against usury, just as poor peoples should be helped to derive real benefit from micro-credit, in order to discourage the exploitation that is possible in these two areas. Since rich countries are also experiencing new forms of poverty, micro-finance can give practical assistance by launching new initiatives and opening up new sectors for the benefit of the weaker elements in society, even at a time of general economic downturn. (par. 65b)

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.

SUNDAY JUNE 19. Father’s Day in the United States. Happy Father’s Day.



http://www.monasteryicons.com/graphics/products/regular/434.jpg
WEDNESDAY JUNE 22. St. Thomas More. (1478-1535) His belief that no lay ruler has jurisdiction over the Church of Christ cost Thomas More his life.
Beheaded on Tower Hill, London, July 6, 1535, he steadfastly refused to approve Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage and establishment of the Church of England.
Described as “a man for all seasons,” More was a literary scholar, eminent lawyer, gentleman, father of four children and chancellor of England. An intensely spiritual man, he would not support the king’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Nor would he acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church in England, breaking with Rome and denying the pope as head.
More was committed to the Tower of London to await trial for treason: not swearing to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy. Upon conviction, More declared he had all the councils of Christendom and not just the council of one realm to support him in the decision of his conscience.



SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.

Mark your calendar! The 2011 Catholic Charities Voice of Hope Dinner will be held on Friday, September 16, 2011 at the Maronite Center in Youngstown. The event will begin with hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, Chinese auction and musical entertainment at 5:30 p.m. Contact Nikole Baringer at Catholic Charities, 330-744-8451, ext. 323 or nbaringer@youngstowndiocese.org for more information.


PAPAL INTENTIONS: 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/