Sunday, September 2, 2012

MONDAY MORNING MISSION MEDITATION for the week of September 2, 2012



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) 






http://sothl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Doers-of-the-Word-1024x768.jpg
On Sunday, (Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, http://usccb.org/bible/readings/090212.cfm) we read from the Gospel of  Mark about Jesus’ confrontation with religious leaders of his time.  In the first reading from Deuteronomy regarding the importance of keeping all the detailed statutes and laws given to the people by God on Sinai.  Here in the Gospel reading, Jesus and his disciples do not observe all of the purity rituals, especially after working and preaching in the “marketplace.”  Jesus confronts these religious leaders who criticize him for not being religious enough.  Jesus challenges the people to understand that purity comes from within the human heart and is not adequately dealt with through purification rituals.  Rather a life lived in discipleship is the key.  In the second reading from St. James, he writes that followers of Jesus need to “be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org  is the organizing agency of the Church that helps baptised Catholics, and others of good will, to find ways to “be doers of the word....to care for orphans and widows in their affliction.”   Your support as an employee, volunteer, donor or client engages the Church in helping persons, families and communities to alleviate poverty.  Thank you so much for helping the Church be a “doer of the word.”


Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship - Part I - The U.S. Bishops’ Reflection On Catholic Teaching And Political Life

How Does the Church Help the Catholic Faithful to Speak About Political and Social Questions?


Caring for God's Creation

54. We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of God's creation. Care for the earth is a duty of our faith and a sign of our concern for all people. We should strive to live simply to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We have a moral obligation to protect the planet on which we live—to respect God's creation and to ensure a safe and hospitable environment for human beings, especially children at their most vulnerable stages of development. As stewards called by God to share the responsibility for the future of the earth, we should work for a world in which people respect and protect all of creation and seek to live simply in harmony with it for the sake of future generations.

55. These themes from Catholic social teaching provide a moral framework that does not easily fit ideologies of "right" or "left," "liberal" or "conservative," or the platform of any political party. They are not partisan or sectarian, but reflect fundamental ethical principles that are common to all people.

56. As leaders of the Church in the United States, we bishops have the duty to apply these moral principles to key public policy decisions facing our nation, outlining directions on issues that have important moral and ethical dimensions. More detailed information on policy directions adopted by our Bishops' Conference can be found in Part II of this document. We hope Catholics and others will seriously consider these policy applications as they make their own decisions in public life.

1) How many unborn children have lost their lives to abortion since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973?

A)  9 million
B) 27 million
C) 53 million
D) 89 million

1) ANSWER: C) 53 million.

There is currently no federal requirement to report abortions, and state reporting requirements also vary from one state to another. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Guttmacher Institute (GI) use different methods of data collection: GI (originally founded as Planned Parenthood's research arm) obtains its numbers from direct surveys of abortion providers, while CDC surveys state health departments. GI's figures, the basis for this estimate, are considered more complete.



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.



MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3.  Labor Day.  See USCCB Statement for Labor Day 2012  

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5.  Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

http://www.hanscomfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/blessed-mother-teresa-of-calcutta.jpg

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny woman recognized throughout the world for her work among the poorest of the poor, was beatified October 19, 2003. Among those present were hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, the Order she founded in 1950 as a diocesan religious community. Today the congregation also includes contemplative sisters and brothers and an order of priests.
Born to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, Macedonia (then part of the Ottoman Empire), Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children who survived. For a time, the family lived comfortably, and her father's construction business thrived. But life changed overnight following his unexpected death.
During her years in public school Agnes participated in a Catholic sodality and showed a strong interest in the foreign missions. At age 18 she entered the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. It was 1928 when she said goodbye to her mother for the final time and made her way to a new land and a new life. The following year she was sent to the Loreto novitiate in Darjeeling, India. There she chose the name Teresa and prepared for a life of service. She was assigned to a high school for girls in Calcutta, where she taught history and geography to the daughters of the wealthy. But she could not escape the realities around her—the poverty, the suffering, the overwhelming numbers of destitute people.
In 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling to make a retreat, Sister Teresa heard what she later explained as “a call within a call. The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” She also heard a call to give up her life with the Sisters of Loreto and, instead, to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”
After receiving permission to leave Loreto, establish a new religious community and undertake her new work, she took a nursing course for several months. She returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the slums and opened a school for poor children. Dressed in a white sari and sandals (the ordinary dress of an Indian woman) she soon began getting to know her neighbors—especially the poor and sick—and getting to know their needs through visits.
The work was exhausting, but she was not alone for long. Volunteers who came to join her in the work, some of them former students, became the core of the Missionaries of Charity. Other helped by donating food, clothing, supplies, the use of buildings. In 1952 the city of Calcutta gave Mother Teresa a former hostel, which became a home for the dying and the destitute. As the Order expanded, services were also offered to orphans, abandoned children, alcoholics, the aging and street people.
For the next four decades Mother Teresa worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor. Her love knew no bounds. Nor did her energy, as she crisscrossed the globe pleading for support and inviting others to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor. In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On September 5, 1997, God called her home.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 7.  Blessed Frederic Ozanam  (1813-1853)

http://www.cathsoc.org/images/ozanam.jpg 

A man convinced of the inestimable worth of each human being, Frédéric served the poor of Paris well and drew others into serving the poor of the world. Through the St. Vincent de Paul Society, his work continues to the present day.
Frédéric was the fifth of Jean and Marie Ozanam’s 14 children, one of only three to reach adulthood. As a teenager he began having doubts about his religion. Reading and prayer did not seem to help, but long walking discussions with Father Noirot of the Lyons College clarified matters a great deal.
Frédéric wanted to study literature, although his father, a doctor, wanted him to become a lawyer. Frédéric yielded to his father’s wishes and in 1831 arrived in Paris to study law at the University of the Sorbonne. When certain professors there mocked Catholic teachings in their lectures, Frédéric defended the Church.
A discussion club which Frédéric organized sparked the turning point in his life. In this club Catholics, atheists and agnostics debated the issues of the day. Once, after Frédéric spoke about Christianity’s role in civilization, a club member said: "Let us be frank, Mr. Ozanam; let us also be very particular. What do you do besides talk to prove the faith you claim is in you?"
Frédéric was stung by the question. He soon decided that his words needed a grounding in action. He and a friend began visiting Paris tenements and offering assistance as best they could. Soon a group dedicated to helping individuals in need under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul formed around Frédéric.
Feeling that the Catholic faith needed an excellent speaker to explain its teachings, Frédéric convinced the Archbishop of Paris to appoint Father Lacordaire, the greatest preacher then in France, to preach a Lenten series in Notre Dame Cathedral. It was well attended and became an annual tradition in Paris.
After Frédéric earned his law degree at the Sorbonne, he taught law at the University of Lyons. He also earned a doctorate in literature. Soon after marrying Amelie Soulacroix on June 23, 1841, he returned to the Sorbonne to teach literature. A well-respected lecturer, Frédéric worked to bring out the best in each student. Meanwhile, the St. Vincent de Paul Society was growing throughout Europe. Paris alone counted 25 conferences.
In 1846, Frédéric, Amelie and their daughter Marie went to Italy; there he hoped to restore his poor health. They returned the next year. The revolution of 1848 left many Parisians in need of the services of the St. Vincent de Paul conferences. The unemployed numbered 275,000. The government asked Frédéric and his co-workers to supervise the government aid to the poor. Vincentians throughout Europe came to the aid of Paris.
Frédéric then started a newspaper, The New Era, dedicated to securing justice for the poor and the working classes. Fellow Catholics were often unhappy with what Frédéric wrote. Referring to the poor man as "the nation’s priest," Frédéric said that the hunger and sweat of the poor formed a sacrifice that could redeem the people’s humanity
In 1852 poor health again forced Frédéric to return to Italy with his wife and daughter. He died on September 8, 1853. In his sermon at Frédéric’s funeral, Lacordaire described his friend as "one of those privileged creatures who came direct from the hand of God in whom God joins tenderness to genius in order to enkindle the world."
Frédéric was beatified in 1997. Since Frédéric wrote an excellent book entitledFranciscan Poets of the Thirteenth Century and since Frederick’s sense of the dignity of each poor person was so close to the thinking of St. Francis, it seemed appropriate to include him among Franciscan "greats."



CHARITIES NEWSBYTES

VOICE OF HOPE

Catholic Charities will be hosting its 15th Annual Voice of Hope Dinner at the Maronite Center, Youngstown, on Friday, September 14, 2012. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m., with a gourmet buffet dinner provided by Mr. Anthony’s at 6:30 p.m. This year’s program features a Chinese auction, live entertainment and the presentation of the Voice of Hope Awards to the following:

Mrs. Dorothy Stoessner, Ravenna
SS. Cyril & Methodius Parish, Warren
SS. John & Paul School, Ashtabula
Sister Edwardine Baznik, SJSM, Louisville

For tickets or sponsorship information, visit Catholic Charities’ website atwww.ccdoy.org.
ll questions can be directed to Nikole Baringer, Catholic Charities’ Fund Raising Specialist, at  330-744-8451, ext. 323.


FIRST STEP FOR CHANGE
Catholic Charities will launch its 9th annual First Step for Change campaign the weekend of September 8-9, 2012. Participating families are asked to return their bottles to church the weekend of October 13-14, 2012. (dates are flexible)  All Catholic Charities Service sites are approved drop-off locations. Please store bottles and/or money and checks in a safe location and contact Nikole Baringer, 330-744-8451 ext. 323 to make arrangements for pick-up by the Diocesan Office. Parishes are encouraged but not required to count and roll the change. We have coin counters at our office to do so as needed.

 PAPAL INTENTIONS:   
September 2012

General Intention: That politicians may always act with honesty, integrity, and love for the truth.

Missionary Intention: Help for the Poorest Churches. That Christian communities may have a growing willingness to send missionaries, priests, and lay people, along with concrete resources, to the poorest Churches.


Corporal Works of Mercy:  The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor

  1. Feed the hungry
  2. Give drink to the thirsty
  3. Clothe the naked
  4. Shelter the homeless
  5. Visit the sick
  6. Visit those in prison
  7. 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 http://www.ccdoy.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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