PSM Corner for July 5, 2009
A Summer Prayer for Children
We are grateful for the summer months ahead,
And grateful for the summer joys
And the laughter of the children
In our families, our schools, and our parishes.
Bless our children during these next months;
May they grow in grace through play and picnics,
Camps and friendships, family visits and vacations.
We pray too for children in our global community,
Especially for children being scarred by the violence of conflict,
The horror of war, of life on the run,
And the violence of child labor.
For them, the summer holds no promise nor relief.
Bless our children during the months ahead,
All our children,
In
In
Continue to be heard and continue
To silence the sounds of children’s laughter and childhood dreams.
Bless our children in every country where children labor through long days
And never know the peace of economic security or freedom.
God of Grace,
May these children know comfort and healing, through Your compassion
And through our efforts to bring peace and justice
To the global village we all call home.
Amen
Jane Deren www.educationforjustice.org
PSM Financial report for May 2009
May’s allocation to Parish Social Ministry from the black bag and transfer of funds from the parish tithe to outreach came to $3,836.82 before disbursements to specified accounts for ministries and agency outreach.
The PSM office financially assisted:
2 families with rent totaling $100.00
4 families with gas totaling $184.35
12 families with electric (including 2 parishioners) totaling $787.91
1 family with water totaling $69.80
10 people with gasoline vouchers (including 1 parishioner) totaling $175.00
1 parishioner with HEB card totaling $75.00
197 families were served in the pantry (up 50 families from Feb ‘09)
Due to the combination of the increase of families qualifying to be served in the pantry, decrease of donations to the black bag and in-kind items put in the Narthex barrel, the pantry has had to make changes to service.
Families will have to wait 6 weeks between visits and the pantry will no longer carry diapers, toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products or toilet paper.
It will still stock paper towels, shampoo/conditioner, laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, body soap, deodorant, liquid cleaning products, toothpaste, baby wash and baby wipes. These items will last a family most of a month or more.
Qualifying guidelines:
Photo ID
Proof of residency (utility bill or lease)
Food Stamp verification letter only
Proof of income of anyone working in the household. Income is based on the Federal Poverty Level
More and more people are reaching out to the churches and agencies in the Round Rock area as unemployment and underemployment continues to rise. This then puts families at risk of losing their homes, being evicted and having their utilities disconnected as they juggle what bills need to be paid and which ones can be put off a little later.
Catholic social teaching and the scriptures call us, as Christians, to take care of the poor and vulnerable.
“For I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me…” ‘Amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brethren of mine, you did for me.” (Matt 25: 35—46)
Remember the black bag collection next weekend for those in need in our parish and community.
The Body and Blood of Christ
The Eucharist and Justice:
“St. John Chrysostom has said: ‘Do you wish to honor the body of Christ? Do not pay him homage in the temple clad in silk only to neglect him outside where he suffers cold and nakedness. The One who said “this is my body” is the same One who said: “You saw me hungry and you gave me no food”, “whatever you did to the least of my brothers you did also to me”. What good is it if the Eucharistic table is overloaded with golden chalices and a fellow human being is dying of hunger.”
“The whole of the Lord’s Day should become a great school of charity, justice and peace. The presence of the Risen Lord in the midst of his people becomes an undertaking of solidarity, a compelling force for inner renewal, an inspiration to change the structures of sin in which individuals, communities and at times entire peoples are entangled.”
(John Paul II, The Day of the Lord)
John Paul II asked us to contemplate:
Jesus in the “breaking of the bread” offered for the whole of humanity.
We are called to offer our life for our brothers and sisters, especially those most in need.
The Eucharist bears the “mark of universality.”
The Eucharist is not merely an expression of communion in the Church’s life; it is also a project of solidarity for all of humanity.
The Eucharist leads us to be generous evangelizers, actively committed to building a more just and fraternal world.
The Christian community to respond by our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need we will be recognized as true followers of Christ. This will be the criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharist celebrations is judged. (Mane Nobiscum Domine,28)
Catholic Social teaching is built on a commitment to the poor. This commitment arises from our experiences of Christ in the Eucharist. (
Breaking Bread and Sharing the Cup:
The Eucharist is an expression of what God wants us to become—one community-one living Christ
The social teaching of the Church is concerned with the nourishment of all people of the world-spiritually and physically. We desire to become what we celebrate.
Whenever we share the Eucharist, we cannot but be aware of those who are hungry. We cannot but be aware of our need to share what we have. We cannot but be aware of the need for justice.
Education for Justice
Helping our Children Live their Faith
The mission of the Church makes clear that service is integral to Catholics. The Church’s mission is threefold. It includes word, worship, and service. We live out the mission of word by reading scripture and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. We carry out our mission of worship as we participate in liturgies and communal prayer. We live out the mission of service as we serve one another and the Church.
At Baptism, we are baptized into the common priesthood. And by virtue of our baptism, we are called to carry out the ministries of Jesus Christ in the world today. Service is essential to this call.
Summer is a great time to teach our children how to live out their faith through serving others. Below are some suggestions of family activities to accomplish this baptismal call.
Life and Dignity of the Human Person
Go visit the elderly in a senior living center or nursing home—help them to write notes, play games or read to them.
Fix a meal for a family who just had a baby, or offer to babysit for a couple of hours. Donate diapers to the Gabriel Project.
Write and send a note to pregnant moms who live at Annunciation Home (include a scripture passage)
Get involved with Special Olympics projects.
Pray together for those who are terminally ill.
Call to Family, Community and Participation
After Mass check the pews and pick up song sheets left behind.
As a family become greeters.
Before Mass, tie a knot on a prayer blanket in the Narthex.
Donate household good items for our SJV pantry each week.
Collect and donate (in good condition) games, cards, crayons, paper to children living at The Texas Baptist Children’s Home or to the Hope Alliance (Women’s Family Shelter).
Donate items to the Knights of Columbus’ box in the Narthex to send to the military serving overseas.
Solidarity
Collect teddy bears for children displaced by fires, abuse, or in hospitals. Take them to the fire and police departments for distribution.
Make up a “hope bag” to give to the homeless on the street corner. (water, crackers, pop up canned fruit, toothpaste, toothbrush and scripture saying to let them know you care)
Visit Catholic Relief Services website, Heifer Project webpage and discuss how others live in poor countries. Help others out through these sites.
Go to The Hunger Site each day when you turn on the computer. Sponsors donate food each time you log on.
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
Buy cake mixes, frosting and candles (to celebrate birthdays) and collect books for the Hope Alliance shelter.
Each week go together to the grocery store and buy healthy food items to donate to the food pantries. The food barrel is in the Narthex.
Donate good used clothing/computers to The Round Rock Serving center. Volunteer!
Adapted from the book “ Helping Kids Live Their Faith” by Mary Beth Jambor