Deus Caritas Est and care for others

What is the mission of Catholic Charities and what does the Church ask of us in fulfilling that mission? Our mission statement at Catholic Charities reads as follows: Catholic Charities is committed to providing professional mental health therapy/counseling and support to individuals, families, and children consistent with Christ's teachings and to promoting awareness of social justice issues.

What does the Church ask of us in our mission as a faith based organization sponsored by the Church? We don't really need to look any further than to the first encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI for the answer. In fact, the Pope has gone so far as to invite all directors of Catholic Charities with the financial resources available in the Western Hemisphere for a series of spiritual exercises this summer in Mexico based on the encyclical. The following are statements from the encyclical about what the Church asks of us.

"Those who practice charity in the Church's name will never seek to impose the Church's faith upon others. They realize that a pure and generous love is the best witness to the God in whom we believe and by whom we are driven to love. A Christian knows when it is better to say nothing and to let the love speak alone." Page 19 Encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God is love) Benedict XVI

"This love does not simply offer people material help, but refreshment and care for their souls, something which is even more necessary than material support." Page 16 Deus Caritas Est.

"We are dealing with human beings, and human beings always need more than technically proper care. They need heartfelt concern. Those who work for the Church's charitable organizations must be distinguished by the fact that they do not merely meet the needs of the moment, but they dedicate themselves to others with heartfelt concern, enabling them to experience the richness of humanity." Page 18 Deus Caritas Est.

"Charity, furthermore, cannot be used as a means of engaging in what is nowadays considered proselytism. Love is free: it is not practiced as a way of achieving other ends." Page 19 Deus Caritas Est

"This proper way of serving others also leads to humility. The one who serves does not consider himself superior to the one served, however miserable his situation at the moment may be. Christ took the lowest place in the world - on the cross- and by this radical humility he redeemed us and constantly comes to our aid." Page 20 Deus Caritas Est

Just as these statements are being shared with you, they have been shared with our board and with our staff at Catholic Charities and mesh beautifully with our mission and what we seek to fulfill as the staff of Catholic Charities. We work with people of all faiths, and we respect and honor the faith of others while using our faith to bring out the best in us while bringing out the best in others for the common good of all.

Our faith teaches us that we are all in this life together, facing with humility the many challenges that confront each of us. We can't change what has happened but we can reach out with love and understanding recognizing that we can still achieve what God wants for us all as human beings.

I had the opportunity to go to the White House for the arrival ceremony with Pope Benedict XVI and listened to, or read, what he shared in the various speeches he made while in the United States and had all of this reaffirmed for me. In addition I had a sense that the Pope, particularly in his speech at the White House, was encouraging all of us to rekindle in our spirits those lofty, seemingly idealistic, goals of our founding fathers that are so very consistent with what God wants for all of us as human beings.

To me putting the commandment "to love one another" with the idealism of our founding fathers needs to become the new practical reality of the present if we are to ever have a better future for humanity. The progress we need now is in the development of our humanity, love and respect for one another in our very diverse and too easily negatively divided world and society.

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