Simple Ways to Fight Hunger this Summer in Your Community

With Memorial Day weekend upon us and summer fun ahead, Catholic Charities remains dedicated to serving those in need within our communities. Feeding America reports more than 31 million kids depend on free and reduced price school meals programs to help them grow and thrive – this includes school-age children in your very own neighborhood who will face days of hunger this summer unless someone intervenes on their behalf.

If you are looking for a simple way for your family to make a difference this summer, a small donation of fresh produce or canned and boxed items will be a huge help to a family in need.

Donations can be made to the Crisis Office in Indianapolis, the Terre Haute Catholic Charities Foodbank, or to Martin’s Cloak Food Pantry in Tell City.

If you do not live near one of these locations, we encourage you to find your local food bank or food pantry and make a much-needed contribution to help a struggling neighbor today. Your compassionate generosity will not go unnoticed by the Lord.

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.' – Acts 20:35

Working Together

"Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons…” – Philippians 1:1

In this short opening of Paul's letter to the churches at Philippi, make note of all the togetherness.

Paul and Timothy.

To all the saints.

Together with the overseers and deacons.

Those words and phrases represent real relationships that existed between real people. They represent God's design for us – to do life together in authentic, loving, life-changing relationships.

This togetherness is at the heart of our mission at Catholic Charities. We work together day after day on behalf of people who are struggling in our communities. Whether they face homelessness or food insecurity (not enough to eat); childlessness or an unplanned pregnancy; day care needs or senior care needs – and more; we continually partner with local businesses, passionate individuals, other non-profit organizations, as well as local government agencies to help real people in real need. And we do it all together.

God designed us for relationship, and he desires to see each of us reach out in some way to make an impact in the life of someone around us. Together, we can create a ripple effect of providing help and creating hope as we reach out to serve all.

Learn more about Catholic Charities here.

The Transforming Power of the Resurrection

“What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter said to them. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” Acts of the Apostles 2: 37b-39.

We, as the body of Christ, are not always obedient or faithful in our relationship with our Lord, particularly when we are walking along a path that brings us tests, challenges, and lessons. My dear 90-year young Gram Jo, who serves as a community spiritual mentor, says this is “our cross and part of answering the call as true believers.” Being tested, challenged, and learning is connected to our livelihood as the body of Christ. We just need to trust that Our Father will always hold us in these periods.Through humility, he begets us to repentance, healing and change.

“She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni,’ which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, ‘Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them,‘I am going to my Father and your Father,  to my God and your God.’” John 20: 16b-17

I am humbled by John 20:11-18. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first. Every day our Catholic Charities network collectively supports the gift of new life for people and communities, bringing to light the blessing to be besieged in the essence of grace that can only be through Our Lord, Our God.

I am inspired by our Catholic Charities network: parish social ministers, community organizers, educators, social workers, youth, elderly, and others who minister daily for and in partnership with others in collective visioning--ensuring that all people can engage meaningfully and gain the tools needed to build and live with dignity in a just and sustainable world. 

The promise of the Resurrection is transformative. Through healing and change, we are strengthened by our witness and are able to see the face of Jesus in the people we serve and support.

Written by Christina Baldera
Training Manager, Parish Social Ministry; Catholic Charities USA

Are you ready to throw stones?

Both Jeremiah and Jesus experienced scrutiny of their every word and deed. Jeremiah was ridiculed and beaten for his prophecy of doom and destruction. Jesus’ countrymen picked up rocks to stone him (Jeremiah 20: 10-13; John 10: 31-42). They claimed their actions were a response to blasphemy – that Jesus, a mere human, claimed to be the Son of God. Jesus encouraged them to believe him not because of his claim to be the Son of God but because of his good works done in the name of his Father.

Like the Jews in Jeremiah’s and Jesus’ time, do we ever find ourselves ready to “cast stones” based on our harsh judgments of other peoples’ motives? Though there may be 99 good reasons for the word or deed of another, we may all too readily ascribe the one evil intention. We may not say something aloud but simply cast a withering glance. I remember a lesson from my youth when my aspirant directress told me: “If looks could kill, the person you are looking at would be dead.” That is what you might call “an evil eye.”

At times, like Jeremiah and Jesus, we may receive harsh judgments from others. When giving “handouts” in charity we may be criticized for not giving a “hand up.” (Mother Teresa of Calcutta suffered such an indictment.) When working diligently to change unjust systems we may be chastised for not instead fulfilling the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. How do we respond to such criticism? Do we, like Jeremiah, complain to God about our suffering? Or do we, like Jesus, leave for a quiet and holy place where we can center ourselves and consider who we are before God – God’s Beloved.

Written by Sr. Sally Ann Brickner

 

Just Love Each Other

Large, captivated crowds. People hanging on his every word – some in awe and some in anger. Rowdy children laughing, playing, complaining to mom they are bored or hungry or both. Hopeful parents pressing through the crowd desiring for this man to touch and bless their squirming child. Meanwhile the disgruntled followers of this up-and-coming leader are shooing the kids away in annoyance. But then…

Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children."

The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children. This should excite us! What are the children like?

Well, children naturally trust people and accept differences in others. Children are teachable and eager to learn – and they are amazingly quick to forgive. But one of the most endearing and fun attributes of a child is their tendency to take things literally.

Take, for example, this workbook page completed by a precious 3-year-old. This little one knows how to cut-to-the-chase and not spend valuable time messing around with bothersome details. She listens to instructions – and does exactly what she is told.

It makes so much sense, doesn't it? This small child points us to the biblical picture of a sweet lamb following its Shepherd. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. (John 10)

Now if only we were quick to follow the clear and literal instructions of our Shepherd instead of trying to cut corners or veer off in the wrong direction – leading to a dead end.

Jesus literally means it when he says:

Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. - John 13

If we take it literally when our Shepherd says "love each other," the rest of the details will fall into place. As children who belong to his Kingdom, let’s keep striving to follow his clear and literal instructions. Love each other. We can't go wrong with that.

Forty Days of Learning to Let Go

Lent is intended to be a time for self-reflection and repentance before the celebration of Christ’s resurrection – a spring cleaning, if you will, before the joy of Easter. This time of preparation and purification has Biblical roots – In the synoptic Gospels, we hear about Jesus’ solitary journey to the desert for a period of forty days before entering his public ministry.

Our own forty-day journey to Easter can be an opportunity for us to reflect on our call to serve as public witnesses of God’s love for every one of our brothers and sisters, particularly those on the margins of society. Our holy father, Pope Francis, reflects on our role as missionaries of charity and justice in his message for Lent: “What does this invitation to poverty, a life of evangelical poverty, mean for us today?”

This notion of “evangelical poverty” may sound strange, but Pope Francis goes on to explain that we are invited to partake in a life of radical simplicity and humility to better serve those suffering from material and spiritual poverty. By emptying ourselves of our attachment to the things of this world, we are able to meet others in their need with open hearts and understanding. A spirit of evangelical poverty enables us to go into the world and see the dignity and worth of everyone we come in contact with, especially those with no one else to turn to.

There is no better time in the year than Lent to undertake a period of self-reflection, to examine our own attachments and what is preventing us from more deeply being servants bringing the message of hope and love to all of God’s children. In these forty days, we have the opportunity to strengthen our resolve to innovating, education, and acting to bring about a society that provides opportunity for everyone to achieve their full potential. As our Holy Father says:

“The Church offers her help, her diakonia [servant ministry], in meeting these needs and binding these wounds which disfigure the face of humanity. In the poor and outcast we see Christ’s face; by loving and helping the poor, we love and serve Christ.”

As Catholic Charities agencies, we are the tangible expression of this commitment to bind wounds and alleviate injustice. Let us use this Lenten season as an opportunity to let go of whatever prevents us from fully following our Lord’s call, and, with both arms free, fully embrace what it means to love and serve the poor and marginalized in our community.

Father Larry Snyder

President of Catholic Charities USA

Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:12-18, 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

“But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door…”  Matthew 6:6

When I would go to my listening place,
closing the door to be alone in the quiet,
the whole world would come knocking,
banging to be let in.
The more I resisted,
the louder the knocking,
till one night, I relented.

Throwing wide the door I spoke to the night air, “Come on in, there’s room enough in here!”

To my surprise I found there was ample room on the inside,
and along with the world’s woes came wonders
and I was visited by the sacred silence I had sought.

 “…return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments…”
Joel 2: 12-13

The discipleship path,
the way of the cross, is not a dissecting path.
It is an intersecting path.

“It is a delusion to suppose that the disturbing questions will,
if ignored, go away, if suppressed be forgotten,
or that by hiding ourselves like naked Adam (and Eve) we can escape them.” 
Alan Eccelstone

As we turn our lives to the crosswalk
of Lent’s dark journey,
let us locate ourselves in the intersection
and there open a holding space
to welcome the world.

Over these next weeks
exercise your holding heart
and make room for the world.

Go to your listening place.
Open up, within you,
open up around you,
a space wide and deep.

And in the quiet,
let the whole world
tumble in.

All the hurts and hopes of loved ones,
of enemies, of neighbors,
let them all in.

The complex tangles
of struggles personal and global,
let them in.

Summon the most ravaged and despairing.
Find room for those who are sorely afflicted.
Let them all come. Bar none!

Let this space hold and enfold them!
Let the expansive mystery of God’s love envelop
all that is confounding, disturbing, unresolved or unrealized.

Hold it, hold it all till it fills you.

Lift the brimming pitcher
and empty yourself into the vast vessel,
that is the Sacred Heart.

“…Then the LORD was stirred to concern for the land
and took pity on the people.” Joel 2: 18

Kyrie, Christe, Kyrie Eleison!

Joe Grant
Director of Programs, JustFaith Ministries 
Louisville, KY