We begin this New Year, 2009, with a little more pessimism than we have known in years past. Many people both here and throughout the country have lost their jobs. Others have lost their homes or live in fear of losing them.
That They May All
Be One
Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
Many have had to downsize their budgets, while others are concerned about their retirement plans as well as their personal investments. Our state government is looking at making big cuts in its own budget. And most of us wonder if we have really seen the bottom of this economic decline.
To be honest, we have to acknowledge that this situation came about by those living lifestyles beyond their means to pay for them and then depending on credit to make up the difference. Suddenly, the bubble has burst and the day of reckoning is at hand.
Archbishop Nienstedt's Calendar
» Friday, Aug. 20 to Friday, Sept. 3: Spanish course offered by the International Institute for Culture in Puebla, Mexico.
» Tuesday, Sept. 7: 8:30 a.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Scheduling meeting with staff.
9:30 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Archbishop’s Council meeting.
noon, St. Paul, Chancery: Presbyteral Council meeting.
» Wednesday, Sept. 8: 5 p.m., St. Paul, St. Mary’s Chapel at St. Paul Seminary: Opening Mass for academic year with faculty’s Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity and banquet.
» Thursday, Sept. 9: 9 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Report on schools.
11 a.m., St. Paul, Chancery: Meeting in preparation for Presbyteral Council meeting.
6 p.m., St. Paul, Archbishop’s Residence: Dinner for 2010 new investees to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Pushing us together
But it is also important to point out that the economy is not merely
about money, it’s about people. As men and women made in God’s image
and likeness, our ultimate destiny is not tied to the stock market, but
to our faith.
That faith informs us of a loving Father who watches over us and calls
us, through his son, into a family of believers who are charged with
helping one another. As the U.S. bishops said last November in their
statement on the economy, these difficult times can either pull us
apart as a people or push us together. Hopefully, we can achieve the
latter.
Most important, however, it is essential during this difficult time not
to forget the poor who are always with us and ever in need of our
assistance. Unfortunately, bad economic news means empty food shelves,
less government subsidy and fewer volunteer donations.
It is for this reason that Catholic Charities, along with many other charitable agencies, needs our help now more than ever.
Each year, Catholic Charities serves more than 40,000 people in this
metro area through its family, housing and emergency services, along
with its important children’s services. Its aim is to provide the
basic human needs of food, shelter and child care in a way that ensures
the dignity of each person served — each person, that is, created in
the image of God with inviolable dignity.
Last year, through Catholic Charities’ “Housing First” program, 97
percent of those who moved out of shelters and into their own rental
housing retained stability for six months or more. Seventy-eight
homeless men and women, of whom 62 percent had mental health issues,
were housed in their own apartments.
In the same year, 1,337 children entered St. Joseph’s Home for Children
to receive meals, clothing and medical care as they waited for
placement. Happily, 100 percent of the children in the residential
treatment program demonstrated academic growth.
Their prenatal services last year provided low-cost care for 575
low-income mothers. Ninety-three percent of the babies delivered with
their help were born at a healthy birth weight, above the national
average.
Through Catholic Charities’ parenting services, 92 percent of teenage
parents graduated or remained in school. And 97 percent of the fathers
who came for assistance are now in the process of determining, or have
already established, paternity.
Serving the common good
In the 2008 calendar year, all of these good works, and more besides,
involved the dedicated effort of almost 11,000 community workers and
volunteers.
It is not hard to imagine how the common good of this metro area would
be adversely affected were it not for the ministry of Catholic
Charities and its programs.
So, please, if you are looking for a way to make a difficult situation
better, get in touch with Catholic Charities today. I promise you it
will make your New Year one worth remembering.
