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BISHOP THOMAS J. OLMSTED
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Journey with CRS through Lent
“The worst thing is to feel abandoned, but this is not the case,” said Fr. Manuel Rivero, a Dominican priest serving in Haiti. Despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives and over a million lost their homes, many in Haiti have not felt abandoned because of the outpouring of love that has come to them from Christians and others around the world and from the firsthand assistance that has been offered to them in their own land.
One of the first to respond, not surprisingly, was Catholic Relief Services. These charitable efforts have kept hope alive in this earthquake-ravaged nation.
The gift of solidarity
When earthquakes occur — or tsunamis, floods or other natural disasters — when war breaks out or family violence erupts, or when disease or grinding poverty bring terrible suffering, it is easy to be overwhelmed by these tragedies. We can feel helpless to make any difference, or even tempted to despair. But as Catholics, we know Christ has given us many means by which to respond. Each means of responding derives from the profound communion we share in Christ, which allows us to reach out in loving solidarity.
In his landmark encyclical, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (“On Social Concerns,” #38), Pope John Paul II said of solidarity that it “is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.” There is nothing vague or shallow about the solidarity that Christ places in our hearts and that moves His followers to decisive, compassionate acts of love.
Along similar lines, Pope Benedict XVI said in Caritas in Veritate (#78), “Openness to God makes us open towards our brothers and sisters and towards an understanding of life as a joyful task to be accomplished in a spirit of solidarity.”
CRS: Solidarity in action
Sixty-seven years ago, the bishops of the United States founded a global humanitarian initiative that was aimed at reaching out in solidarity to people beyond our national borders. While other programs serve the poor and needy in America, CRS serves in other countries. In two-thirds of a century, it has grown to serve more than 100 countries throughout the world, touching the lives of more than 100 million people each year.
This charitable initiative, CRS, is the primary means by which Catholics in America respond in timely and effective ways to tragedies like the Haitian earthquake. It is our Church’s avenue for extending God’s love to those who find themselves in the greatest need in other lands. In the Diocese of Phoenix, as a result of special collections in our parishes and schools, $323,000 has already been sent through CRS to help our Haitian brothers and sisters. More is still coming in.
Through CRS the Church provides not only emergency relief in the wake of disasters, both natural and man-made, but also offers hope for the future through development projects that help people to rebuild and start over. Wherever CRS is at work, you will see projects to help the poor realize their human dignity, achieve improved and sustainable standards of living, and experience the love of God through solidarity.
CRS and Lent 2010
This Lenten Season, I invite you to be a part of the mission of CRS by participating in Operation Rice Bowl and in the Bishops’ annual Catholic Relief Services collection on Laetare Sunday, March 14.
Donations to CRS are efficient and effective: 93 percent of the agency’s expenditures go directly to programs that benefit the poor overseas. Compare this with other charitable agencies, and you will see why CRS is so highly respected by nations and institutions around the world.
Of course, it is important that our solidarity with those in need go beyond financial support. In addition to the work of CRS, the Lord calls us to express our communion in Christ through prayer and fasting. We can also make ourselves more aware of the plight of the poor through study and research. The Catholic Sun can help us in this regard. In addition, we can shop responsibly, focusing on fair trade that ensures that farmers, artisans and other workers receive fair wages. To assist you in these endeavors, I invite you to take advantage of CRS action alerts and the USCCB’s Catholics Confront Global Poverty campaign.
Our call to solidarity with our brothers and sisters stems from our recognition of God’s love for every person He created. As Pope Benedict says, “Charity is love received and love given. It is ‘grace’. Its source is the wellspring of the Father’s love for the Son, in the Holy Spirit… As the objects of God’s love, men and women become subjects of charity, they are called to make themselves instruments of grace, so as to pour forth God’s charity and to weave networks of charity. This dynamic of charity received and given is what gives rise to the Church’s social teaching, which is caritas in veritate in re sociali: the proclamation of the truth of Christ’s love in society (Caritas in Veritate, #5).”
Join me this Lenten Season in bearing witness to Christ’s love for our brothers and sisters around the world by generously supporting the work of Catholic Relief Services.
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