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, ( Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time http://usccb.org/bible/readings/020313.cfm) we read from the Gospel of Luke about Jesus’ encounter with his friends in his own home town of Nazareth; just last week we read how Jesus entered into his home town synagogue, read from the prophet Isaiah, and proclaimed that His mission statement was now fulfilled in their hearing. The people were amazed and enthralled. Right after that scene, his neighbors begin to doubt: who is this man? Why does he not do the same miracles in His home town? Jesus then reminds his local friends that even the prophets of old did not respond as predicted but rather healed and assisted even the Gentiles -- outsiders. The people grow furious; how can this carpenter’s son teach them about the need to care and respond to outsiders? They are about to throw Him from the hill on which Nazareth is built. His friends and neighbors are not ready to hear the Good News that God is in their midst, for all. St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Christian community at Corinth that love is the key message of the Christian; without love, nothing is worth it. God’s love is made concrete in our hearing and knowing the message and person of Jesus.
Catholic Charities (http://www.ccdoy.org) works to bring love to life in our communities. Our main work is to “organize love” in all places for all persons. While I was visiting Caritas Jordan’s offices near Amman, a sign in the office serving thousands of refugees stated that “Caritas (love) is not a job, it is a mission.” No matter what our work entails, Catholic Charities brings love to life in each encounter. Like in St. Paul’s letter, we know that love is patient, is kind, is humble, and is the greatest gift. Catholic Charities, along with Caritas agencies around the world, continue to witness to that love.
Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements
http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/year-of-faith/images/year-of-faith-logo-montage.jpg
ZE13013008 - 2013-01-30
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-36442?l=english
US BISHOPS WELCOME '1ST STEP' TO IMMIGRATION REFORM
Seek Bipartisan Cooperation for 'Just, Humane Legislation'
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 30, 2013 (Zenit.org).Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Migration, welcomed principles set forth this week by a group of eight U.S. Senators as a blueprint for reform of the nation's immigration system."I welcome the introduction of a bipartisan framework to help guide Congress on immigration reform," Archbishop Gomez said Monday."It is an important first step in the process and sets a bipartisan tone."The framework would include a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million "undocumented" people in the nation. It also would reduce family backlogs in the immigration system, which require family members to wait years to reunite with their loved ones."It is vital that the framework includes a path to citizenship, so that undocumented immigrants can come out of the shadows and into the light and have a chance to become Americans," Archbishop Gomez said. "It gives hope to millions of our fellow human beings."Archbishop Gomez noted that the framework leaves room for improvement, as it fails to restore due process protections to immigrants lost in the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) or address the root causes of migration, such as the absence of living-wage employment in sending communities or protection for refugees fleeing persecution.Nevertheless, he pledged the support of the USCCB in pushing sound immigration legislation forward and working with Congress to create an immigration system that respects basic human rights and dignity while also ensuring the integrity of our borders."A reformed system can protect human dignity and the homeland at the same time," he concluded.
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On the Net:
More information can be found at www.justiceforimmigrants.org.
Some important date(s) this week:
See website http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/ByDate.aspx for biographies of Saints and Blessed celebrated this week.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6hxOfP8t9DtiFMKqrDIHVOKaTvUbyH8VP20QsMAe4WZWTT9Z0pS0jr1hPbFMs64gFsvQwzxFkMeA_FKtqbfXbZSvf-Gzjijs2XJi0-noem1Dz6IlWzky2sWkB2tfOUqe_xw_2zelp2M0/s400/St.+Jerome+Emiliani,+stain+glass.jpg
FRIDAY February 8 St. Jerome Emiliani (1481?-1537)
A careless and irreligious soldier for the city-state of Venice, Jerome was captured in a skirmish at an outpost town and chained in a dungeon. In prison Jerome had a lot of time to think, and he gradually learned how to pray. When he escaped, he returned to Venice where he took charge of the education of his nephews—and began his own studies for the priesthood.
In the years after his ordination, events again called Jerome to a decision and a new lifestyle. Plague and famine swept northern Italy. Jerome began caring for the sick and feeding the hungry at his own expense. While serving the sick and the poor, he soon resolved to devote himself and his property solely to others, particularly to abandoned children. He founded three orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes and a hospital.
Around 1532 Jerome and two other priests established a congregation, the Clerks Regular of Somasca, dedicated to the care of orphans and the education of youth. Jerome died in 1537 from a disease he caught while tending the sick. He was canonized in 1767. In 1928 Pius Xl named him the patron of orphans and abandoned children.
For Daily Readings http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
CHARITIES NEWSBYTES
Portage County’s MEN WHO COOK, February 9. http://ccdoy.org/slider/portages-6th-annual-men-who-cook/
PAPAL INTENTIONS:
FEBRUARY 2013
Migrant Families. That migrant families, especially the mothers, may be supported and accompanied in their difficulties.
Peace. That the peoples at war and in conflict may lead the way in building a peaceful future.
Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor
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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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