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)
Lord, come and save us. ( Is 35:4)
On Sunday, (Third Sunday of Advent http://usccb.org/bible/readings/121513.cfm ) we read from the Gospel of Mathew about an encounter between Jesus and John the Baptist while he was in prison. John asks Jesus through an intermediary: “are you the One?” Jesus replies:
“Go and tell John what you hear and see:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”
Jesus reiterates the message of the Prophet that His messenger is before Him, preparing His way. The kingdom of God is breaking open. The time is at hand. We hear again in the Prophet Isaiah’s vision of the time of God’s kingdom when “the eyes of the blind be open, the ears of the deaf be cleared.” Jesus announces the Good News: The Lord God keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, sets captives free, protects strangers, the fatherless and the widow he sustains (Ps 146). This is Good News indeed. With the whole Church -- and all of creation -- “we rejoice” this Third Sunday of Advent “with joyful song” (Is 35).
Catholic Charities (http://www.ccdoy.org) continues to be that beacon of hope and joy for each person and family that comes for help and support. Through our ministries and services, Catholic Charities provides the healing touch of Jesus because we believe that Emmanuel has come and is among us, now. We are that presence of Christ in the world. Your gift of time, talent and treasure empowers us to give help and provide hope. For those gifts we are truly grateful and “rejoice” that God is with us.
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
http://cmsimg.news-press.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A4&Date=20130315&Category=OPINION&ArtNo=303150023&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Editorial-Pope-Francis-unique-chance
POPE FRANCIS: EVANGELII GAUDIUM (The Joy of the Gospel) Apostolic Exhortation, November 26, 2013
6. There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter. I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. I understand the grief of people who have to endure great suffering, yet slowly but surely we all have to let the joy of faith slowly revive as a quiet yet firm trust, even amid the greatest distress: “My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is… But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness… It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lam 3:17, 21-23, 26).
7. Sometimes we are tempted to find excuses and complain, acting as if we could only be happy if a thousand conditions were met. To some extent this is because our “technological society has succeeded in multiplying occasions of pleasure, yet has found it very difficult to engender joy”. I can say that the most beautiful and natural expressions of joy which I have seen in my life were in poor people who had little to hold on to. I also think of the real joy shown by others who, even amid pressing professional obligations, were able to preserve, in detachment and simplicity, a heart full of faith. In their own way, all these instances of joy flow from the infinite love of God, who has revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ. I never tire of repeating those words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very heart of the Gospel: “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction”.
8. Thanks solely to this encounter – or renewed encounter – with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being. Here we find the source and inspiration of all our efforts at evangelization. For if we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others?
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.
THE SEASON OF ADVENT: USCCB DAILY CALENDAR (http://usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/advent/upload/advent-christmas-family-calendar.pdf)
TUESDAY DECEMBER 17. St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179).
Hildegard was a most remarkable woman, and one of the greatest figures of the 12th century. This German mystic was a poet and a prophet, a physician and a moralist. She fearlessly rebuked popes and bishops, princes and lay people.
Becoming a nun at 15, Hildegard led an uneventful life for the next 17 years. But more and more she found herself foretelling the future in her conversations. After she became prioress of her community she felt the need to begin writing down the visions and revelations that were coming to her. The archbishop of Mainz examined her writings and declared, “These visions come from God.” Encouraged, she began her greatest work, 26 visions dealing with God and man, creation, redemption and the Church. Full of apocalyptic language, warnings and prophesies, the writing took 10 years to complete. Pope Eugenius III examined the results and cautiously told Hildegard to continue to write whatever the Holy Spirit told her to publish.
With the blessing of the pope, Hildegard, overcoming much opposition, built a larger monastery for her nuns in a place that had been revealed to her in a vision. The new monastery had such things as running water for the 50 women religious who resided there. And Hildegard was able to entertain the community with hymns and canticles for which she wrote both the music and the words. She composed a sacred cantata and wrote 50 allegorical homilies to be used for community reading.
Her more than 300 letters, written to popes and kings, to clergy and abbesses, are full of warnings and prophecies. As was to be expected, she was widely criticized by some, including her own nuns, while others valued her counsel. Despite sickness, she continued to write. One book was on natural history, another on medicine. Some of her ideas on blood circulation and mental illness were far ahead of her time.
For Daily Readings http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
CHARITIES NEWSBYTES
Catholic Diocese of Youngstown responds to Typhoon Haiyan.
The Office of Social Action, on behalf of Catholic Relief Services, is currently accepting monetary donations for emergency relief and long term development related to the recent devastation experienced in the Philippines and the surrounding region due to Typhoon Haiyan. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) continues to work with local Church and other related institutions to provide emergency shelter, water and sanitation, household relief items (blankets, kitchen items, cookware), potable water and toilets.
To support their work, donate here: http://ccdoy.org/social-action/disaster-relief-efforts/
USCCB Call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform:
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is asking you to urge your member of the House of Representatives to pass comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) legislation that reflects our Catholic values. You can join the U.S. Catholic Bishops in this effort by sending an electronic postcard to Washington, DC that asks your Representative to pass just and compassionate immigration reform legislation. We are asking that you consider contacting your Congressional Representative. The postcard and more information can be found at www.justiceforimmigrants.org. You can also write directly to your Congressional Representative by visiting http://www.house.gov/ for more information.
A Prayer For The People Of Syria
Almighty eternal God, source of all compassion,
the promise of your mercy and saving help fills our hearts with hope.
Hear the cries of the people of Syria;
bring healing to those suffering from the violence,
and comfort to those mourning the dead.
Empower and encourage Syria’s neighbors
in their care and welcome for refugees.
Convert the hearts of those who have taken up arms,
and strengthen the resolve of those committed to peace.
O God of hope and Father of mercy,
your Holy Spirit inspires us to look beyond ourselves and our own needs.
Inspire leaders to choose peace over violence
and to seek reconciliation with enemies.
Inspire the Church around the world with compassion for the people of Syria,
and fill us with hope for a future of peace built on justice for all.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace and Light of the World,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
Petition:
For the people of Syria, that God may strengthen the resolve of leaders to end the fighting and choose a future of peace.
We pray to the Lord…
[This prayer is adapted from Catholics Confront Global Poverty. . . , a collaborative effort of USCCB and Catholic Relief Services; http://usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers/prayer-for-peace-in-syria.cfm]
2013 Annual Bishop’s Appeal for Catholic Charities and Church.
The in Church/parish appeal is now underway. Please consider a gift to help support the work of Catholic Charities and other ministries of the Diocese of Youngstown https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=450afc
PAPAL INTENTIONS: DECEMBER
Victimized Children. That children who are victims of abandonment or violence may find the love and protection they need.
Prepare the Savior's Coming. That Christians, enlightened by the Word incarnate, may prepare humanity for the Savior's coming.
Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor
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TWITTER account, CCDOY, http://twitter.com/CCDOY
for current updates and calls to action that we can all use.
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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