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 (Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082811.cfm we read in the Gospel of Matthew about Jesus’ confrontation with Simon Peter regarding the future direction of Jesus’ work. Jesus tells his followers that he must suffer and calls us to acknowledge, understand and follow him. His ways are not the ways of the world. Simon Peter asserts that he does not want Jesus to suffer. Jesus confronts Peter to understand that God’s ways are different than our ways. As Christians we are called to be servants as Jesus is a servant, willing to suffer for his mission: the breaking open of the Kingdom of God.
In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org , we too are called, like in the Letter to the Romans, to “not be conformed” to this world’s attitudes, but put on a new way of thinking and being. As Catholic Charities, we are called to be counter cultural and stand up for all of our clients, despite what the popular or majority opinion wants us to do. Yes, we must stand up for the pregnant mom who needs help; for the person without the ability to pay for their rent; for the senior citizen who needs a meal; for the immigrant who is seeking a better life; for the family searching for safety. Sometimes our positions may not be popular or understood. But as Catholic Charities we are called to be faithful to our mission, which continues that mission of Jesus: to build the Kingdom of God through love, service, compassion, mercy and justice.
Reflection from Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate
Paul VI had already recognized and drawn attention to the global dimension of the social question. Following his lead, we need to affirm today that the social question has become a radically anthropological question, in the sense that it concerns not just how life is conceived but also how it is manipulated, as bio-technology places it increasingly under man's control. In vitro fertilization, embryo research, the possibility of manufacturing clones and human hybrids: all this is now emerging and being promoted in today's highly disillusioned culture, which believes it has mastered every mystery, because the origin of life is now within our grasp. Here we see the clearest expression of technology's supremacy. In this type of culture, the conscience is simply invited to take note of technological possibilities. Yet we must not underestimate the disturbing scenarios that threaten our future, or the powerful new instruments that the “culture of death” has at its disposal. To the tragic and widespread scourge of abortion we may well have to add in the future — indeed it is already surreptiously present — the systematic eugenic programming of births. At the other end of the spectrum, a pro-euthanasia mindset is making inroads as an equally damaging assertion of control over life that under certain circumstances is deemed no longer worth living. Underlying these scenarios are cultural viewpoints that deny human dignity. These practices in turn foster a materialistic and mechanistic understanding of human life. Who could measure the negative effects of this kind of mentality for development? How can we be surprised by the indifference shown towards situations of human degradation, when such indifference extends even to our attitude towards what is and is not human? What is astonishing is the arbitrary and selective determination of what to put forward today as worthy of respect. Insignificant matters are considered shocking, yet unprecedented injustices seem to be widely tolerated. While the poor of the world continue knocking on the doors of the rich, the world of affluence runs the risk of no longer hearing those knocks, on account of a conscience that can no longer distinguish what is human. God reveals man to himself; reason and faith work hand in hand to demonstrate to us what is good, provided we want to see it; the natural law, in which creative Reason shines forth, reveals our greatness, but also our wretchedness insofar as we fail to recognize the call to moral truth. (par. 75)
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.
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Wednesday, August 31. Sts. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus
The actions of these two influential Jewish leaders give insight into the charismatic power of Jesus and his teachings—and the risks that could be involved in following him.
Joseph was a respected, wealthy civic leader who had become a disciple of Jesus. Following the death of Jesus, Joseph obtained Jesus' body from Pilate, wrapped it in fine linen and buried it. For these reasons Joseph is considered the patron saint of funeral directors and pallbearers. More important is the courage Joseph showed in asking Pilate for Jesus' body. Jesus was a condemned criminal who had been publicly executed. According to some legends, Joseph was punished and imprisoned for such a bold act.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and, like Joseph, an important first-century Jew. We know from John's Gospel that Nicodemus went to Jesus at night—secretly—to better understand his teachings about the kingdom. Later, Nicodemus spoke up for Jesus at the time of his arrest and assisted in Jesus' burial. We know little else about Nicodemus.
SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.
Have you purchased your tickets for the 2011 Catholic Charities Voice of Hope Dinner? If not, go to our website, www.ccdoy.org to purchase your tickets online, or call Catholic Charities’ Fund Raising Specialist, Nikole Baringer, at 330-744-8451, ext. 323.
PAPAL INTENTIONS: August 2011
General Intention: World Youth Day. That World Youth Day in Madrid may encourage young people throughout the world to have their lives rooted and built up in Christ.
Missionary Intention: Western Christians. That Western Christians may be open to the action of the Holy Spirit and rediscover the freshness and enthusiasm of their faith.
September 2011
General Intention: That all teachers may know how to communicate love of the truth and instill authentic moral and spiritual values.
Missionary Intention: That the Christian communities of Asia may proclaim the Gospel with fervor, witnessing to its beauty with the joy of faith.
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/
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