Catholic Charities. Providing Help. Creating Hope.
Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. (Ps 104:30)
On Sunday, (Pentecost Sunday: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/060814-day-mass.cfm ) we read from the Gospel of John about Jesus’s appearance to His disciples on that Easter morning, wherein he wished them “peace” and “he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.” Today we celebrate that moment when the Church entered into the world to continue that ministry of Jesus. Pentecost, after 50 days of Jesus’s Resurrection and 10 days after his Ascension, celebrates that coming of the Holy Spirit as our Advocate, Guide and Light. With great joy, we join the Church as we sing/read/pray a powerful hymn to the Spirit: VENI, SANCTE SPIRITUS…...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqkR-4l73CI
Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Alleluia.
Catholic Charities (http://www.ccdoy.org), confirmed in our faith in the Holy Spirit, continues to offers various “forms of service” all for the same Lord. Catholic Charities works to provide quality services that empower persons and families; Catholic Charities offers advocacy on behalf of and with those whose voice maybe unheard; Catholic Charities convenes the Church and others of good will to do the same. The three fold mission of Catholic Charities -- empowered by the Holy Spirit -- aims to live out the stanza in the Veni, Sancte Spiritus, (http://youtu.be/ak4a-fu-R-c or http://youtu.be/Eaet60_DuFY ) which proclaims:
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
We also celebrate today that our 2014 Catholic Charities and the Bishop’s Appeal (https://15181.thankyou4caring.org/) has reached its current goal. Your gifts are always welcomed to help bring this Good News to the poor. Thanks for your on-going support.
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
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.html
56. While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation. Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of control. A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules. Debt and the accumulation of interest also make it difficult for countries to realize the potential of their own economies and keep citizens from enjoying their real purchasing power. To all this we can add widespread corruption and self-serving tax evasion, which have taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits. In this system, which tends to devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule.
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.
FRIDAY, JUNE 13. St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231)
The gospel call to leave everything and follow Christ was the rule of Anthony’s life. Over and over again God called him to something new in his plan. Every time Anthony responded with renewed zeal and self-sacrificing to serve his Lord Jesus more completely.
His journey as the servant of God began as a very young man when he decided to join the Augustinians in Lisbon, giving up a future of wealth and power to be a servant of God. Later, when the bodies of the first Franciscan martyrs went through the Portuguese city where he was stationed, he was again filled with an intense longing to be one of those closest to Jesus himself: those who die for the Good News.
So Anthony entered the Franciscan Order and set out to preach to the Moors. But an illness prevented him from achieving that goal. He went to Italy and was stationed in a small hermitage where he spent most of his time praying, reading the Scriptures and doing menial tasks.
The call of God came again at an ordination where no one was prepared to speak. The humble and obedient Anthony hesitantly accepted the task. The years of searching for Jesus in prayer, of reading sacred Scripture and of serving him in poverty, chastity and obedience had prepared Anthony to allow the Spirit to use his talents. Anthony’s sermon was astounding to those who expected an unprepared speech and knew not the Spirit’s power to give people words.
Recognized as a great man of prayer and a great Scripture and theology scholar, Anthony became the first friar to teach theology to the other friars. Soon he was called from that post to preach to the Albigensians in France, using his profound knowledge of Scripture and theology to convert and reassure those who had been misled by their denial of Christ's divinity and of the sacraments..
After he led the friars in northern Italy for three years, he made his headquarters in the city of Padua. He resumed his preaching and began wrtiting sermon notes to help other preachers.
Patron Saint of: Lost items, Poor, Travelers
For daily readings, visit USCCB Website (http://usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month)
CHARITIES NEWSBYTES
Spring Storm Relief Fund
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Youngstown, working in collaboration with Catholic Charities USA – the official domestic disaster agency of the US Catholic Bishops – is accepting donations to assist families and communities that have been impacted by the recent storms and tornadoes. Visit http://ccdoy.org/locations/accepts-donations/ for more information or on line donations.
PAPAL INTENTIONS:
June
- Unemployed. That the unemployed may receive support and find the work they need to live in dignity.
- Faith in Europe. That Europe may rediscover its Christian roots through the witness of believers.
Corporal Works of Mercy: The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor
|
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)
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