A Caring Place...for Seniors

Nearly ten years ago, Sallie’s family began to notice what so many of us do in our older loved ones: her memory was faltering. 

It was the beginning stages of dementia. Although Sallie was still cooking, cleaning, and taking care of herself, it soon became apparent to Sallie’s family that she was no longer safe doing these things on her own. Her concerned son came to live with her full-time, but with Sallie’s inability to participate in many of the things she enjoyed before, she quickly became idle. The family made a concerted effort to take Sallie for walks and make sure she got to church, but they were unable to restore the joy of life Sallie once had.

It was about this time that a friend told Sallie’s family about A Caring Place and the many activities and opportunities for socialization. Recognizing this may be the place of love and activity their mother was craving, the family enrolled Sallie as a participant. 

Now 86-years old, Sallie enjoys companionship, singing, crafts, devotions, volleyball, and BINGO all offered at A Caring Place. Her time has been so beneficial that the family told the next-door neighbor, who is also diagnosed with dementia, about the program. Now both women, neighbors for over 30 years, attend together and are continuing their friendship and laughter at A Caring Place.   

Sallie’s daughter, Marilyn, reports that A Caring Place has been a tremendous resource for the whole family. “Mother is doing much better since she started at A Caring Place. She now has a sense of purpose,” Marilyn shares.  “We don’t have to worry about Mother’s safety while she is at A Caring Place. I can work and my brother can run his errands and not worry.” Sallie’s children also believe that the stimulation received at A Caring Place has slowed the progression of her dementia. Sallie looks forward to going to the program and it gives her something to do. In fact, Sallie’s son has to remind her to slow down, as she is known for running out the door when she hears the bus pull up!

If you or someone you love could benefit from the services provided by A Caring Place, please call 317.466.0015.

The Season of Sharing

As we approach the season of Advent in preparation for the celebration of Christmas, most of us will count numerous blessings for which to give thanks and shop for gifts to give our loved ones.

What each of us considers a blessing varies dramatically.

I remember my grandfather telling me that his Christmas morning was filled with joy when he would receive an orange and a new pair of socks under the Christmas tree. There would not be enough Kleenex in the world to mop up the tears at my house if this is what my children found waiting for them on Christmas morning!

Recently, I was dumbfounded to witness huge lines of people camped outside electronics stores to be the first to purchase the new Playstation 3. This brand new video game console costs $500 to $600, with each game adding an additional $60. These games are already featured on eBay for four to 10 times their original purchase price!

I began to reflect on the pure gluttony that has taken hold of many Americans. When many are willing to spend several hundred dollars on an entertainment device that adds nothing of value to society, I begin to worry about our priorities.

As the executive director of Catholic Charities, overseeing ministries serving the poorest of the poor, I can’t help but have these thoughts when so many we serve may truly only receive an orange and a new pair of socks.

I am not saying that video games are intrinsically evil or that entertainment is not a good thing. However, I would like to invite all of us to consider how we might share our blessings with those who have very few to count.

People experience poverty for a variety of reasons that are not self-inflicted: mental illness, physical handicaps, loss of a job, divorce, death of a spouse, poor educational opportunities, just to name a few. As Catholic Christians, we are called by God to share our blessings with our fellow brothers and sisters who have little. And this time of year affords us the perfect opportunity to give.

Catholic Charities seeks to ease the burden of poverty throughout the year; however, during this season of sharing, we reach out in additional ways.

Since the work of Catholic Charities is the work of the Church, and therefore all of our work, we invite you to consider how you might partner with us during the upcoming holiday season to ensure that many others will experience the joys of Christmas.

Catholic Charities operates two Christmas Stores, one in Indianapolis and the other in Terre Haute, where families are able to shop (free of charge) for brand new clothes, household items and toys.

We also house homeless families at Holy Family Shelter in Indianapolis and at the Bethany House in Terre Haute.

Many families will spend their Christmas at a homeless shelter, and it will be up to us to ensure that they receive gifts this Christmas. These are just a few services that need your help.

For more information, please visit our Website at www.CatholicCharitiesIndy.org or call 317-236-1500 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1500.

Caring for God's Creation

Everything on Earth was created by God, and as we read in the book of Genesis, God declares after each day that all that was created is good. On the sixth day after creating man, God declares him to be very good.

We read further in Genesis that human beings are to be given dominion over the Earth and all that is in it. This dominion is most appropriately described as a unique responsibility to care for the Earth—to practice good stewardship of all of creation. Just as a daughter would take exceptional care of a precious gift given by her mother, we are each called to take exceptional care of the gifts of nature that God has given us.

One does not have to be an “environmental extremist” or a “tree hugger” to appreciate the fantastic gifts of creation. I am sure that all of us have at one time or another marveled at a sunset, a gentle rain, a majestic mountain, the vastness of the stars or many other ways that God has demonstrated care for us.

To show our appreciation for these marvelous gifts, we are compelled to do all that we can to protect the resources that God has bestowed on us.

This seventh principle of Catholic social teaching overlaps in some very profound ways with several other social principles. For instance, our respect for human life, to be consistent, extends to our care of creation since all of creation was given by God to sustain and enhance human life.

It is most often the poor and powerless who most directly bear the burden of environmental carelessness. The neighborhoods and lands of the poor are the most likely to contain toxic waste dumps. They are more likely to be polluted and where children are vulnerable to the long-term, harmful effects of exposure to these dangerous environments.

As Catholics, this important principle of our social teaching should serve as a guide for us as we make decisions about our habits as consumers of the world’s resources and how our own lives affect the environment, and therefore, the lives of others in the human family in this generation and all future generations. Let us care for one another by caring for God’s creation.

We are one family

Scripture tells us the beautiful truth that each of us is made in the image and likeness of God the Creator. 

As much as we try as human beings to distinguish ourselves from one another by differences in color, nationality, religion, etc., we cannot ignore the fact that in reality, we all have one parent in the Creator and are therefore all related as brother and sister. When we truly grasp the full reality of this fact, it has tremendous implications for how we are called to relate to one another.

In the Gospel of Luke (10:29), we hear of an expert in the law who asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus’ reply was the story of the Good Samaritan, teaching us that our neighbor is anyone in need, and we are called to respond. The world may tell us that we are not our brother or sister’s keeper, but the Lord would tell us otherwise.

This may leave you feeling a bit overwhelmed! How can one person possibly be concerned about the entire human family?

We can each begin by taking stock of our own unique gifts, talents, and ability to give. Then, through discernment with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we decide where we are called to relieve suffering and improve a part of our family.

There are some who take a very broad view of our world and look at the public policies established by governments and institutions, and work as advocates for the poor and vulnerable to create or change policies that relieve suffering.

Others get involved in very personal ways with individuals and families who are in need through their own initiatives or initiatives established by Church communities, neighborhood organizations or larger institutions, such as hospitals, Catholic Charities, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul or Catholic Relief Services.

We are blessed to belong to the Catholic Church that has taken very seriously this lesson of solidarity and has established many ways for us to take part in ministries that meet the needs of our human family. We can each look to the organizations named above and many others, and discover how we can have the greatest impact.

When one member of the family suffers, we all suffer. Let’s help relieve the pain.

Work Hard to Make Work Holy

In 1891, at the beginning of the industrialization of society, Pope Leo XIII wrote an encyclical titled Rerum Novarum (“On capital and labor”).

This encyclical has been seen as so important that it has been revised every decade by each pope since 1931, and Pope John Paul II updated the encyclical on its 100-year anniversary in 1991.
This instruction has laid the foundation for the fifth principle of Catholic social teaching that is referred to as “the dignity of work and the rights of workers.”

Pope Leo XIII explained that work is seen as much more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation. The encyclical rejects socialism and instead asks for justice.

We are called to do what we can to ensure the protection of the dignity of work, as well as to respect the basic rights of workers. Further, we are instructed that everyone has a right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, and to own private property.

The theory and practical implications are that when people are given work that fulfills them, and in which they have some input, it enhances their human dignity. To feel valued is one of the most basic of all human needs.

Workers should not be misused as things to pursue profit. The good of their souls must be considered as business decisions are made.

There are many examples of corporations that work hard to strike a balance between making a profit and caring for their workers, the environment, and society in general. These companies should be held out as models of what is possible, good, and right.

When Pope Leo XIII published his encyclical over 120 years ago, he could never have imagined the tremendous power wielded by huge multinational corporations and the ultra-wealthy. And he never could have imagined the mass consumerism that has gripped many nations—most notably the United States.

All of us need to be a voice crying out in the wilderness to ask the tough questions of our employers about how decisions made by companies will affect workers, and to do what we can to influence public policy that supports and sustains employees who are vulnerable to abuse.

Let’s work hard to make work holy.

Follow the Leader…to the Poor and Vulnerable

In the Gospel of Matthew, we find the well-known, powerful truth that whatever we do to or for those considered by society as the “least among us,” we do to or for Jesus.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus identifies himself again and again with the lepers, the orphaned, the widowed, the stranger, the lost, the lonely and all those rejected by society. He tells us that when we reach out to these vulnerable people, we are sharing the very essence of who God is: love.

This principle is summarized in our Catholic social teaching with the statement that we are to have a “preferential option for the poor and vulnerable.”

Several years ago Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, returned from a trip to the Vatican, where he met with his peers from throughout the world who oversee their country’s charitable efforts administered in the name of the Church.

Father Snyder shared the story of being told several times that he must feel lucky overseeing charity in the U.S. since we do not really have any poor people.

If only this were true. Currently in the United States, 46.2 million people live below the official poverty line – that’s nearly 1 in six Americans. More than half of the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day, and more than 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day.

But it certainly could be true. Through serving the needs of the most vulnerable, we bring them hope. And hope shines a light into the soul, making room for God to make a home and dwell there.
Jesus, our leader, certainly demonstrated a preference for the poor. Let’s play follow the leader.