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)
Rest in God alone, my soul. (Ps 62:6a)
On Sunday, (Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time http://usccb.org/bible/readings/030214.cfm ) we read from the Gospel of Matthew about Jesus’s discourse about our daily challenge that one “cannot serve God and mammon.” Jesus reminds us that His Father “knows that you need them all” -- food, shelter, clothing, love -- and will respond in His time. Jesus reminds us that worrying about various issues cannot add “a single moment to your lifespan.” Jesus challenges us to focus on the one important thing: God’s love and call for us to be His disciples. If we do place God first, we will be there for each other -- like good and trustworthy stewards who act as servants (I Cor 4) -- as we are called to “love one another” and share with each other. Our choice to live as Jesus’s disciples opens a world of abundance. We live in the knowledge that God will never forget us and gives us abundant life.
Catholic Charities (http://www.ccdoy.org) commits itself, to the best of its ability, to live in accord with the prophet Isaiah’s call “can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” We are there when people need us; we are committed to help each person know that they are not “forgotten” in any way. We are there to remind each person that God loves them and as a ministry of the Church, we help to organize that love. Our First Step Pregnancy and Family Support http://ccdoy.org/first-step-pregnancy-and-family-support/ program is specifically designed to help those women and families with help in times of distress. Your gifts of time, treasure and talent through Catholic Charities and the Bishop’s Appeal (https://15181.thankyou4caring.org/) help the Church be there for each person, remembering them as God asks of us to be good servant-stewarts, and reminds us of His everlasting love. Thanks.
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
46. A Church which “goes forth” is a Church whose doors are open. Going out to others in order to reach the fringes of humanity does not mean rushing out aimlessly into the world. Often it is better simply to slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to see and listen to others, to stop rushing from one thing to another and to remain with someone who has faltered along the way. At times we have to be like the father of the prodigal son, who always keeps his door open so that when the son returns, he can readily pass through it.
47. The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open. One concrete sign of such openness is that our church doors should always be open, so that if someone, moved by the Spirit, comes there looking for God, he or she will not find a closed door. There are other doors that should not be closed either. Everyone can share in some way in the life of the Church; everyone can be part of the community, nor should the doors of the sacraments be closed for simply any reason. This is especially true of the sacrament which is itself “the door”: baptism. The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.[51] These convictions have pastoral consequences that we are called to consider with prudence and boldness. Frequently, we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators. But the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems.
48. If the whole Church takes up this missionary impulse, she has to go forth to everyone without exception. But to whom should she go first? When we read the Gospel we find a clear indication: not so much our friends and wealthy neighbours, but above all the poor and the sick, those who are usually despised and overlooked, “those who cannot repay you” (Lk 14:14). There can be no room for doubt or for explanations which weaken so clear a message. Today and always, “the poor are the privileged recipients of the Gospel”,[52] and the fact that it is freely preached to them is a sign of the kingdom that Jesus came to establish. We have to state, without mincing words, that there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. May we never abandon them.
49. Let us go forth, then, let us go forth to offer everyone the life of Jesus Christ. Here I repeat for the entire Church what I have often said to the priests and laity of Buenos Aires: I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and which then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures. If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life. More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: “Give them something to eat” (Mk 6:37).
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.
MONDAY MARCH 3. St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955)
If your father is an international banker and you ride in a private railroad car, you are not likely to be drawn into a life of voluntary poverty. But if your mother opens your home to the poor three days each week and your father spends half an hour each evening in prayer, it is not impossible that you will devote your life to the poor and give away millions of dollars. Katharine Drexel did that.
http://blogs.stthomas.edu/libraries/files/2012/05/st-katharine-drexel.jpg
http://blogs.stthomas.edu/libraries/files/2012/05/st-katharine-drexel.jpg
She was born in Philadelphia in 1858. She had an excellent education and traveled widely. As a rich girl, she had a grand debut into society. But when she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness, she saw that all the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or death, and her life took a profound turn.
She had always been interested in the plight of the Indians, having been appalled by what she read in Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor. While on a European tour, she met Pope Leo XIII and asked him to send more missionaries to Wyoming for her friend Bishop James O’Connor. The pope replied, “Why don’t you become a missionary?” His answer shocked her into considering new possibilities.
Back home, Katharine visited the Dakotas, met the Sioux leader Red Cloud and began her systematic aid to Indian missions.
She could easily have married. But after much discussion with Bishop O’Connor, she wrote in 1889, “The feast of St. Joseph brought me the grace to give the remainder of my life to the Indians and the Colored.” Newspaper headlines screamed “Gives Up Seven Million!”
After three and a half years of training, she and her first band of nuns (Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored) opened a boarding school in Santa Fe. A string of foundations followed. By 1942 she had a system of black Catholic schools in 13 states, plus 40 mission centers and 23 rural schools. Segregationists harassed her work, even burning a school in Pennsylvania. In all, she established 50 missions for Indians in 16 states.
Two saints met when Katharine was advised by Mother Cabrini about the “politics” of getting her Order’s Rule approved in Rome. Her crowning achievement was the founding of Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic university in the United States for African Americans.
At 77, she suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire. Apparently her life was over. But now came almost 20 years of quiet, intense prayer from a small room overlooking the sanctuary. Small notebooks and slips of paper record her various prayers, ceaseless aspirations and meditation. She died at 96 and was canonized in 2000.
Comment:
Saints have always said the same thing: Pray, be humble, accept the cross, love and forgive. But it is good to hear these things in the American idiom from one who, for instance, had her ears pierced as a teenager, who resolved to have “no cake, no preserves,” who wore a watch, was interviewed by the press, traveled by train and could concern herself with the proper size of pipe for a new mission. These are obvious reminders that holiness can be lived in today’s culture as well as in that of Jerusalem or Rome.
Quote:
“The patient and humble endurance of the cross—whatever nature it may be—is the highest work we have to do.” “Oh, how far I am at 84 years of age from being an image of Jesus in his sacred life on earth!” (St. Katharine Drexel)
http://fpgoshen.org/wp-content/uploads/ash-wednesday.jpg
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5. ASH WEDNESDAY
SATURDAY, MARCH 8. St. John of God (1495-1550)
Having given up active Christian belief while a soldier, John was 40 before the depth of his sinfulness began to dawn on him. He decided to give the rest of his life to God’s service, and headed at once for Africa, where he hoped to free captive Christians and, possibly, be martyred.
He was soon advised that his desire for martyrdom was not spiritually well based, and returned to Spain and the relatively prosaic activity of a religious goods store. Yet he was still not settled. Moved initially by a sermon of St. John of Avila (May 10), he one day engaged in a public beating of himself, begging mercy and wildly repenting for his past life.
Committed to a mental hospital for these actions, John was visited by St. John, who advised him to be more actively involved in tending to the needs of others rather than in enduring personal hardships. John gained peace of heart, and shortly after left the hospital to begin work among the poor.
He established a house where he wisely tended to the needs of the sick poor, at first doing his own begging. But excited by the saint’s great work and inspired by his devotion, many people began to back him up with money and provisions. Among them were the archbishop and marquis of Tarifa.
Behind John’s outward acts of total concern and love for Christ’s sick poor was a deep interior prayer life which was reflected in his spirit of humility. These qualities attracted helpers who, 20 years after John’s death, formed the Brothers Hospitallers, now a worldwide religious order.
John became ill after 10 years of service but tried to disguise his ill health. He began to put the hospital’s administrative work into order and appointed a leader for his helpers. He died under the care of a spiritual friend and admirer, Lady Ana Ossorio.
Stories:
The archbishop called John of God to him in response to a complaint that he was keeping tramps and immoral women in his hospital. In submission John fell on his knees and said: "The Son of Man came for sinners, and we are bound to seek their conversion. I am unfaithful to my vocation because I neglect this, but I confess that I know of no bad person in my hospital, except myself alone, who am indeed unworthy to eat the bread of the poor." The archbishop could only trust in John's sincerity and humility, and dismissed him with deep respect.
Comment:
The utter humility of John of God, which led to a totally selfless dedication to others, is most impressive. Here is a man who realized his nothingness in the face of God. The Lord blessed him with the gifts of prudence, patience, courage, enthusiasm and the ability to influence and inspire others. He saw that in his early life he had turned away from the Lord, and, moved to receive his mercy, John began his new commitment to love others in openness to God’s love.
Quote:
The archbishop called John of God to him in response to a complaint that he was keeping tramps and immoral women in his hospital. In submission John fell on his knees and said: “The Son of Man came for sinners, and we are bound to seek their conversion. I am unfaithful to my vocation because I neglect this, but I confess that I know of no bad person in my hospital except myself alone, who am indeed unworthy to eat the bread of the poor.” The archbishop could only trust in John’s sincerity and humility, and dismissed him with deep respect.
Patron Saint of: Booksellers, Firefighters, Heart patients, Hospitals, Nurses, Printers, Sick
For daily readings, visit USCCB Website (http://usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month)
CHARITIES NEWSBYTES
http://www.crsricebowl.org/wp-content/themes/crsricebowl2014/images/crs-rice-bowl-logo.pngLent starts on Ash Wednesday, March 5. Catholic Relief Services RICE BOWL created an APP for your smart phone/tablet. (http://www.crsricebowl.org/app/) Please consider using this guide for your daily acts of prayer, fasting and almsgiving
POVERTY & PRAYER FILM PRESENTATION
Thursday, March 13
from 7-9 pm
at Christ Our Savior Parish - St. Nicholas Church
764 5th St Struthers, OH 44471
Gerard Straub, a Los Angeles filmmaker, will share clips of his films about the most desperate of human situations around the world. Mr. Straub weaves clips of his films together with his inspiring and hopeful Franciscan spiritual narrative about these realities. A former network producer/director of soap operas, Mr. Straub underwent a profound conversion experience while in Rome to write a book about St. Francis. That drove him back to his Franciscan roots in the New Jersey parish of his growing-up. Since then he has devoted himself to documenting not only poverty but the heroic work of people of faith ministering to the people affected by it. Mr. Straub founded and leads Pax et Bonum Communications in Burbank, CA. No admission; free will offering; limited seating. Reservations for groups will be accepted at 330-755-9819
330-755-9819. This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Social Action of Catholic Charities.
330-755-9819. This event is co-sponsored by the Office of Social Action of Catholic Charities.
PAPAL INTENTIONS:
March
- Respect for Women. That all cultures may respect the rights and dignity of women.
- Vocations. That many young people may accept the Lord’s invitation to consecrate their lives to proclaiming the Gospel.
Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor
|
Note: Please consider joining our
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.
For more information on Catholic Social Doctrine and its connection to our ministries, visit my blog at: http://corbinchurchthinking.blogspot.com
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment