5 simple Summery things to do!

As the summer vacation season begins, many people make a big mistake.  They take a vacation from Jesus!

Let's have a different type of summer this year.  Let's realize that this is a great time to grow in our faith and to share it. 

Here are five simple Summery things you can do:

1. Feed your faith first.  Discover a nearby summer parish while on vacation and worship there on Sundays with your new vacation community.  After all, we are called "catholic" (which means "universal" in Greek) because we are everywhere. In particular, pray for the poor and those who will never have a vacation from their labor. Use your vacation to "give back" a bit - volunteer, or give a summer offering to Catholic Relief Services or Catholic Charities, for example.

2. Sign up for tweets from Pope Francis @pontifex.  Read what he has to say each day on your smartphone. Retweet him now and again.  Also, check out his daily homilies at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/cotidie/2013/index_en.htm  They are short and to the point.  Please let your family and friends know about these tidbits of papal wisdom.

3. Use your summer vacation to write little notes to your children and grandchildren about how much you love them!  Include a few sentences about how much you pray for them (you do, right?).  Let them know why your Catholic Faith has been so important to you through the years. And don't forget to always begin your writings (emails too!) with JMJ - Jesus, Mary and Joseph - or AMDG - Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam - for the greater glory of God - or some other phrase showing that God is first in your life.

4. Are you "connected" to the internet on vacation?  if so, maybe "disconnect" for a few days.  Chances are good that you will feel more peaceful and more attuned to the beauty around you.  Tell your internet friends the results when you "reconnect."  Give God online credit for these gifts when you reconnect.  After all, God is the maker of all good things - it is His peace and beauty you are rediscovering on vacation! 

5. Show your faith.  Wear your beautiful cross necklace.  Pray the rosary in your Adirondack chair.  Get that religious tattoo you've thought about for years - a cross, the Holy Face of Jesus, Our Lady of Guadalupe, etc. (assuming you're over 18!). Read the Bible in your cottage.  Make a summer commitment to daily morning (lauds) or evening (vespers) prayer with the Church. Read at least one religious book. When people ask you about these things, mention how much your faith means to you.  Be willing to follow up with them or refer them to someone who can answer their questions.


In a previous blog post we gave a great prayer  to say often during summer - (the Benedicite from the Book of Daniel).

Have a truly blessed summer!

Make KONY Famous - Catholics CRS

Uganda gone viral

Anyone with a Twitter stream, Facebook account or familiar with YouTube has probably seen the viral video "Make KONY Famous." In short, it is a plea to stop sex trafficking in Uganda and to hold those responsible accountable in a court of law.

This is an admirable thing to do. More power to the internet for shedding light on the horrors that go on in this part of the world.

Many people, however, may not be familiar with the quiet work that Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Caritas have been doing in Uganda since 1965. As Catholics, we can be proud of the commitment CRS has made to fight AIDS, malnutrition, corruption and the ravages of war. Ours is a deep, long-standing, on the ground, effort to be the "hands of Christ" in Uganda. Here is CRS's official "take" on the KONY phenomenon http://newswire.crs.org/the-crs-take-on-kony-2012/

Uganda is about 42% Catholic (the USA is about 25% Catholic). As with all Catholic charities, Ugandans are served by CRS and Caritas without regard to religious affiliation. The Ugandan Martyrs, portrayed in the icon to the right, were killed between 1885 and 1887.  Their Feast Day in June 3rd.

Explore some of CRS's activity in Uganda by visiting their Uganda page http://crs.org/uganda/projects.cfm and thank you for being generous to the Church in Africa.

Report from CSMG - Kathleen Sieracki

Mrs. Sieracki on LCUSA Board (farthest left)

One of our parishioners, Mrs. Kathleen Sieracki, participated in the 2012 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington, D.C. In addition to her service as a national Board Member and Editor of the Ladies of Charity USA (LCUSA), Mrs. Sieracki is active in the Ladies of Charity at our parish and a member of our Salt & Light group, among other ministries.  Here is her report...

Advocacy Connections

Catholic Social Ministry Gathering

The 2012 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG), organized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), was held in Washington, D.C., Feb. 12-15.  Ladies of Charity USA is one of 14 Catholic organizations partnering with USCCB in this annual event.  Rita Robinson, a Lady of Charity from the Archdiocese of Washington and I represented LCUSA among 450 registrants from across the country.  Several Daughters of Charity were also present, including Sister Julie Cutter who serves on the LCUSA board of directors.

Faithful Citizenship:  Protecting Human Life and Dignity, Promoting the Common Good was the title of the conference.  The opening presentation by John Carr, executive director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, USCCB, addressed the bishops’ document, Forming Consciences forFaithful Citizenship, which aims to stimulate greater insight into public policy issues in light of Catholic social teaching.

Dr. Carolyn Woo, president of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) was the plenary speaker on international issues.  CRS is present in over 100 countries, working with the people they serve to identify what is needed by listening, not commanding.  In humility, they believe solutions must be developed “on the ground.”   The plenary session on domestic issues featured Dr. Arturo Chavez, president of the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio.  He spoke about the challenges and aspirations of the Latino community in the United States and some of the difficulties encountered in working to reconcile Catholic principles with cultural attitudes.

 In conjunction with other Christian leaders, USCCB is urging that a Circle of Protection be established around the programs and resources essential to safeguard the lives and dignity of the poor and vulnerable in our nation and around the world.  Everyone in attendance received training on priority issues in preparation for visits to representatives and senatorson Capitol Hill.On Tuesday, February 14^th, CSMG participants lobbied Congress on behalf of extending the period of eligibility for unemployment benefits and for preservation of the Child Tax Credit.  A bi-partisan agreement on these two goals was announced the next day. 

Two other issues presented during the congressional visits are still unresolved.  Legislators were asked to work on the release of humanitarian funding for Palestinians and were also asked to co-sponsor and support bills pending in both the House and the Senate which will protect religious liberty and conscience rights in light of the recent unprecedented and very narrow definition of what constitutes a religious organization.  Participants stressed that our hospitals and charities serve people not because those in need are Catholic, but because we are Catholic.

Attendance at this conference brought a strong reminder that ours is a universal church.  Participants came from many age groups and ethnic backgrounds.  The liturgies were multi-cultural and several languages and native costumes were represented.  Bishops Jaime Soto of Sacramento and Richard E. Pates of Des Moines presided at the opening and closing Masses.

The summary message of the CSMG was a call to Congress and the administration to give moral priority to programs and policies that protect the life and dignity of those who are poor and vulnerable and to protect religious liberty, conscience and the freedom of Catholic ministries to serve “the least of these” (Matt. 25).