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://devotionalchristian.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/bible-verses-about-love.jpg

On Sunday (Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year  A    http://usccb.org/bible/readings/102311.cfm   we read in the Gospel of Matthew how Jesus focuses like a laser beam into the heart of the Christian life:  love God and love neighbor.  Those who asked Jesus his opinion about the greatest commandment were trying to catch him in a trap.  But Jesus knows the truth of their hearts.  Jesus calls us to be faithful to God, and in so doing, loving and caring for our brothers and sisters.  We read in Exodus how God cares for the widow, the orphan and the stranger, and reminds us that we too were once strangers in a foreign land.  Jesus knows this reading from heart and challenges those around him then and today, to be compassionate and welcoming as God is compassionate.

In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org ,  we continue that ministry of Jesus to care for the widow, the orphan and the stranger in our land.  Through our ministries and services to care for women and children, and for new immigrants, migrants and refugees, we show the love of God to each person.  Just like Jesus was challenged about our core mission of loving God and neighbor, there are persons and groups today that think that the Church should not be doing work with pregnant and troubled women, youth at risk or leaving prison, men who are without direction, and certainly not help those without documents.  But as Jesus answered his critics, we too know that in the Tradition of the Church, we in Catholic Charities must continue to organize love to care for those in most need around us.



Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements

Political Responsibility: Election Year 2011
Catholic Conference of Ohio

In the Catholic tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue. The responsibility to make political choices rests with each person and his or her properly formed conscience.
Catholic voters are called to properly form their consciences in preparation for voting and for the continued advocacy for just laws and policies required after voting. This process should focus on moral principles, the defense of life, the needs of the weak, and the pursuit of the common good.  It requires constant prayer, understanding of Church teaching, and discernment that goes beyond campaign rhetoric and partisan politics.

In regards to ballot issues, each of us has a responsibility to carefully and prudently discern such initiatives to determine whether they are morally sound, well conceived, and practical. People of good will may differ regarding specific responses to compelling social problems, but we cannot differ on our moral obligation to help build a more just and peaceful world through promoting the common good.

For more information on the analysis and position of the Catholic Conference of Ohio on the State ballot issues, visit their website at http://www.ohiocathconf.org/home_frameset.htm





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.

http://www.claret.org.uk/images/img_clt_001.gif?0.39589393302765746

MONDAY OCTOBER 24.  St. Anthony Claret
(1807-1870)    The "spiritual father of Cuba" was a missionary, religious founder, social reformer, queen’s chaplain, writer and publisher, archbishop and refugee. He was a Spaniard whose work took him to the Canary Islands, Cuba, Madrid, Paris and to the First Vatican Council.
In his spare time as weaver and designer in the textile mills of Barcelona, he learned Latin and printing: the future priest and publisher was preparing. Ordained at 28, he was prevented by ill health from entering religious life as a Carthusian or as a Jesuit, but went on to become one of Spain’s most popular preachers.
He spent 10 years giving popular missions and retreats, always placing great emphasis on the Eucharist and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Her rosary, it was said, was never out of his hand. At 42, beginning with five young priests, he founded a religious institute of missionaries, known today as the Claretians.
He was appointed to head the much-neglected archdiocese of Santiago in Cuba. He began its reform by almost ceaseless preaching and hearing of confessions, and suffered bitter opposition mainly for stamping out concubinage and giving instruction to black slaves. A hired assassin (whose release from prison Anthony had obtained) slashed open his face and wrist. Anthony succeeded in getting the would-be assassin’s death sentence commuted to a prison term. His solution for the misery of Cubans was family-owned farms producing a variety of foods for the family’s own needs and for the market. This invited the enmity of the vested interests who wanted everyone to work on a single cash crop—sugar. Besides all his religious writings are two books he wrote in Cuba: Reflections on Agriculture and Country Delights.
He was recalled to Spain for a job he did not relish—being chaplain for the queen. He went on three conditions: He would reside away from the palace, he would come only to hear the queen’s confession and instruct the children and he would be exempt from court functions. In the revolution of 1868, he fled with the queen’s party to Paris, where he preached to the Spanish colony.
All his life Anthony was interested in the Catholic press. He founded the Religious Publishing House, a major Catholic publishing venture in Spain, and wrote or published 200 books and pamphlets.
At Vatican I, where he was a staunch defender of the doctrine of infallibility, he won the admiration of his fellow bishops. Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore remarked of him, "There goes a true saint." At the age of 63, he died in exile near the border of Spain.



SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.

October is Respect Life Month.  Catholic Charities is committed to working to protect and enhance human dignity and life through all of its services and ministries.  One area that we promote life and dignity is through our immigration and migrant services and ministries.  Catholic Charities offers legal assistance to those persons who require assistance with their immigration status.  Catholic Charities also offers outreach and pastoral care for new migrants in the region.

 PAPAL INTENTIONS:   October 2011

General Intention: That the terminally ill may be supported by their faith in God and the love of their brothers and sisters.

Missionary Intention: That the celebration of World Mission Day may foster in the People of God a passion for evangelization with the willingness to support the missions with prayer and economic aid for the poorest Churches.

Corporal Works of Mercy:  The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor Feed the hungry Give drink to the thirsty Clothe the naked Shelter the homeless Visit the sick Visit those in prison 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 www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.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/

Vatican Statement for World Day of Migrants and Refugees Jan 15 2012

MIGRATIONS AND NEW EVANGELISATION

VATICAN CITY, 19 OCT 2011 (VIS) - "Migrations and New Evangelisation" is the theme chosen by Benedict XVI for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2012, which will be celebrated on 15 January 2012. Extracts from the English-language edition of the text are given below:

  "Proclaiming Jesus Christ the one Saviour of the world 'constitutes the essential mission of the Church. It is a task and mission which the vast and profound changes of present-day society make all the more urgent'. Indeed, today we feel the urgent need to give a fresh impetus and new approaches to the work of evangelisation in a world in which the breaking down of frontiers and the new processes of globalisation are bringing people and peoples even closer. This is both because of the development of the means of social communication and because of the frequency and ease with which individuals and groups can move about today".

  "'Migrations and New Evangelisation' is the theme I have chosen this year for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. It originates from the aforesaid situation. The present time, in fact, calls upon the Church to embark on a new evangelisation also in the vast and complex phenomenon of human mobility. This calls for an intensification of her missionary activity both in the regions where the Gospel is proclaimed for the first time and in countries with a Christian tradition".

  "Internal or international migration, in fact, as an opening in search of better living conditions or to flee from the threat of persecution, war, violence, hunger or natural disasters, has led to an unprecedented mingling of persons and peoples, with new problems not only from the human standpoint but also from the ethical, religious and spiritual viewpoints. The current and obvious consequences of secularisation, the emergence of new sectarian movements, widespread insensitivity to the Christian faith and a marked tendency to fragmentation are obstacles to focusing on a unifying reference that would encourage the formation of 'one family of brothers and sisters in societies that are becoming ever more multiethnic and intercultural, where also people of various religions are urged to take part in dialogue, so that a serene and fruitful coexistence with respect for legitimate differences may be found'. ... Our time is marked by endeavours to efface God and the Church's teaching from the horizon of life, while doubt, scepticism and indifference are creeping in, seeking to eliminate all the social and symbolic visibility of the Christian faith.

  "In this context migrants who have known and welcomed Christ are not infrequently constrained to consider Him no longer relevant to their lives, to lose the meaning of their faith, no longer to recognise themselves as members of the Church, and often lead a life no longer marked by Christ and His Gospel. Having grown up among peoples characterised by their Christian faith they often emigrate to countries in which Christians are a minority or where the ancient tradition of faith, no longer a personal conviction or a community religion, has been reduced to a cultural fact. Here the Church is faced with the challenge of helping migrants keep their faith firm even when they are deprived of the cultural support that existed in their country of origin, and of identifying new pastoral approaches, as well as methods and expressions, for an ever vital reception of the Word of God".

  "Today's migration phenomenon is also a providential opportunity for the proclamation of the Gospel in the contemporary world. Men and women from various regions of the earth who have not yet encountered Jesus Christ or know Him only partially, ask to be received in countries with an ancient Christian tradition. It is necessary to find adequate ways for them to meet and to become acquainted with Jesus Christ and to experience the invaluable gift of salvation which, for everyone, is a source of 'life in abundance'".

  "Pastoral workers - priests, religious and lay people - play a crucial role in the demanding itinerary of the new evangelisation in the context of migration. They work increasingly in a pluralist context: in communion with their ordinaries, drawing on the Church's Magisterium. I invite them to seek ways of fraternal sharing and respectful proclamation, overcoming opposition and nationalism. For their part, the Churches of origin, of transit and those that welcome the migration flows should find ways to increase their cooperation for the benefit both of those who depart and those who arrive, and, in any case, of those who, on their journey, stand in need of encountering the merciful face of Christ in the welcome given to the neighbour".

  "Asylum seekers, who fled from persecution, violence and situations that put their life at risk, stand in need of our understanding and welcome, of respect for their human dignity and rights, as well as awareness of their duties. Their suffering pleads with individual States and the international community to adopt attitudes of reciprocal acceptance, overcoming fears and avoiding forms of discrimination, and to make provisions for concrete solidarity also through appropriate structures for hospitality and resettlement programmes. All this entails mutual help between the suffering regions and those which, already for years, have accepted a large number of fleeing people, as well as a greater sharing of responsibilities among States.

  "The press and the other media have an important role in making known, correctly, objectively and honestly, the situation of those who have been forced to leave their homeland and their loved ones and want to start building a new life.

  "Christian communities are to pay special attention to migrant workers and their families by accompanying them with prayer, solidarity and Christian charity, by enhancing what is reciprocally enriching, as well as by fostering new political, economic and social planning that promotes respect for the dignity of every human person, the safeguard of the family, access to dignified housing, to work and to welfare".

  "Lastly, I would like to call to mind the situation of numerous international students who are facing problems of integration, bureaucratic difficulties, hardship in the search for housing and welcome structures. Christian communities are to be especially sensitive to the many young men and women who, precisely because of their youth, need reference points in addition to cultural growth, and have in their hearts a profound thirst for truth and the desire to encounter God. Universities of Christian inspiration are to be, in a special way, places of witness and of diffusion of the new evangelisation, seriously committed to contributing to social, cultural and human progress in the academic milieu. They are also to promote inter-cultural dialogue and enhance the contribution that international students can give".

MESS/                                                                                                         VIS20111019 (1120)

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://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/JesusPharisees.jpg

On Sunday (Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year  A  http://usccb.org/bible/readings/101611.cfm     we read in the Gospel of Matthew how Jesus responds to people trying to set him up.  He knows of their unfaithfulness and duplicity.  Jesus reminds his listeners that what belongs to Caesar is Caesar’s; what belongs to God is God’s.  One lesson that we might be able to glean from this story is our own need to be faithful to the Gospel of the Lord by knowing how God fits into our lives, and doing the best we can to live that faith out daily.  

In Catholic Charities http://www.ccdoy.org ,  we are called to be signs of truth and love in all of our interactions.  We must remain faithful to our mandate to serve others in the name of the Church and of Jesus himself.  When our clients come to our doors or call us, they expect a difference than a response they might get from another agency.  We are called to be that sign of God’s love in the world, because we do not only follow the regulations and rules of being a transparent nonprofit social service agency.  We bear the marks of the Church at work, each day.

Reflection from Church Documents and Official Statements

Political Responsibility: Election Year 2011
USCCB Releases Updated Introduction to 2007 Statement

In advance of the 2012 elections, the U.S. bishops reaffirmed their 2007 document, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, in this coming election cycle and beyond, as the “continuing teaching of our Bishops’ Conference and our guidance for Catholics in the exercise of their rights and duties as participants in our democracy.”

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), joined the chairs of nine USCCB committees in offering an Introductory Note to the document. The bishops discussed this action at their June meeting and authorized it at the September meeting of the USCCB Administrative Committee. Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship was approved overwhelmingly by the U.S. bishops in 2007.
“We urge our Catholic pastors and people to continue to use this important statement to help them form their consciences, to contribute to civil and respectful public dialogue, and to shape their choices in the coming election in the light of Catholic teaching,” the bishops wrote. “It does not offer a voter’s guide, scorecard of issues or direction on how to vote. It applies Catholic moral principles to a range of important issues and warns against misguided appeals to ‘conscience’ to ignore fundamental moral claims, to reduce Catholic moral concerns to one or two matters, or to justify choices simply to advance partisan, ideological or personal interests.”
The Introductory Note does not modify or interpret the document itself and emphasizes the importance of religious freedom. It raises six “current and fundamental problems, some involving opposition to intrinsic evils and others raising serious moral questions.” These are: abortion and threats to the lives and dignity of the vulnerable, sick or unwanted; threats to Catholic ministries, including health care, education and social services, to violate their consciences or stop serving those in need; intensifying efforts to redefine marriage; unemployment, poverty and debt; immigration; and wars, terror and violence, particularly in the Middle East.

The USCCB is launching a new website for Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/. It will offer a wide range of web-based and written materials and tools to assist pastors, parishes, Catholic organizations and individuals.

The document with the new Introductory Note will be available in print by the end of October and is already available online: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/upload/Forming-Consciences-for-Faithful-Citizenship-2011.pdf


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.

http://www.bridgebuilding.com/images/nmjopx.jpg



SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22.  Blessed John Paul II
1920-2005
“Open wide the doors to Christ,” urged John Paul II during the homily at the Mass when he was installed as pope in 1978.

Born in Wadowice, Poland, Karol Jozef Wojtyla had lost his mother, father and older brother before his 21st birthday. Karol’s promising academic career at Krakow’s Jagiellonian University was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. While working in a quarry and a chemical factory, he enrolled in an “underground” seminary in Kraków. Ordained in 1946, he was immediately sent to Rome where he earned a doctorate in theology.

Back in Poland, a short assignment as assistant pastor in a rural parish preceded his very fruitful chaplaincy for university students. Soon he earned a doctorate in philosophy and began teaching that subject at Poland’s University of Lublin.

Communist officials allowed him to be appointed auxiliary bishop of Krakow in 1958, considering him a relatively harmless intellectual. They could not have been more wrong!

He attended all four sessions of Vatican II and contributed especially to its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. Appointed as archbishop of Krakow in 1964, he was named a cardinal three years later.

Elected pope in October 1978, he took the name of his short-lived, immediate predecessor. Pope John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. In time, he made pastoral visits to 124 countries, including several with small Christian populations.

He promoted ecumenical and interfaith initiatives, especially the 1986 Day of Prayer for World Peace in Assisi. He visited Rome’s Main Synagogue and the Western Wall in Jerusalem; he also established diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel. He improved Catholic-Muslim relations and in 2001 visited a mosque in Damascus, Syria.

The Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, a key event in John Paul’s ministry, was marked by special celebrations in Rome and elsewhere for Catholics and other Christians. Relations with the Orthodox Churches improved considerably during his ministry as pope.

“Christ is the center of the universe and of human history” was the opening line of his 1979 encyclical, Redeemer of the Human Race. In 1995, he described himself to the United Nations General Assembly as “a witness to hope.”

His 1979 visit to Poland encouraged the growth of the Solidarity movement there and the collapse of communism in central and eastern Europe 10 years later. He began World Youth Day and traveled to several countries for those celebrations. He very much wanted to visit China and the Soviet Union but the governments in those countries prevented that.

One of the most well-remembered photos of his pontificate was his one-on-one conversation in 1983 with Mehmet Ali Agca, who had attempted to assassinate him two years earlier.

In his 27 years of papal ministry, John Paul wrote 14 encyclicals and five books, canonized 482 saints and beatified 1,338 people.  In the last years of his life, he suffered from Parkinson’s disease and was forced to cut back on some of his activities.  Pope Benedict XVI beatified John Paul II on May 1, 2011, Divine Mercy Sunday.


SHARING HOPE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.

October is Respect Life Month.  Catholic Charities is committed to working to protect and enhance human dignity and life through all of its services and ministries.  One area that we promote life and dignity is through our guardianship and payeeship programs.  Catholic Charities of Ashtabula County provides this important service by helping persons who are in need of support.

 PAPAL INTENTIONS:   October 2011

General Intention: That the terminally ill may be supported by their faith in God and the love of their brothers and sisters.

Missionary Intention: That the celebration of World Mission Day may foster in the People of God a passion for evangelization with the willingness to support the missions with prayer and economic aid for the poorest Churches.

Corporal Works of Mercy:  The seven practices of charity toward our neighbor Feed the hungry Give drink to the thirsty Clothe the naked Shelter the homeless Visit the sick Visit those in prison 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 www.catholiccharitiesyoungstown.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/