Catholic Youth Advocacy Day, Sacramento, March 22

Come to a gathering of young people of faith raising their voices in “sincere dialogue and with anxious interest seeking the common good.”

The California Catholic Conference (CCC) invites Catholic youth from all over California who are interested in exercising their “faithful citizenship” in their state’s Capitol. The CCC welcomes all who are interested in meeting with elected officials to speak on behalf of those who are poor, vulnerable or voiceless.

This one-day event will include a Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, information sessions, visits with legislators and a time to debrief with fellow students.

To register, visit: http://www.cacatholic.org, or contact Linda Wanner, 916-313-4017, lwanner@cacatholic.org

The full flyer is at: http://www.cacatholic.org/images/stories/pdfs/Youth-advocacy.pdf

If you live in a different state, check with the Catholic Conference of your own state bishops -- they should have an advocacy day at your state's capital.

Dress a Girl Around the World

A friend at church gave me an article about this charming charity, "Dress a Girl Around the World": http://www.dressagirlaroundtheworld.org/

Think of a world where every little girl has one pretty dress, instead of rags, to wear.

Being well dressed is important: girls are at risk from human traffickers.

If you like to sew, their website has dress patterns.

If you have spare pillowcases, box them up and send them to: Judy Conley, 311 Wyndale Rd., Rochester, NY 14617.

$25 Microloans Fight Poverty & Change Lives

I have been investing in small business women for several years now. Today, many loans had been repaid, so I turned the money around and re-lent it to others.

Meet the Kayonza Twimuke Group of Kyenjojo, Uganda. One of their members, Anna, needs a microloan to buy beans for resale. The Group has eleven members and all work together to guarantee the loan will be repaid. Anna is a farmer and has been in business for the last four years. Her desires include educating her children and building a permanent house.

Join me and a world-wide community dedicated to combating poverty on http://www.kiva.org

Kiva allows you to make small loans to entrepreneurs on five continents, leveraging just $25 to change a life.

Microloans allow people to help themselves; microloans are not a hand out, but a hand up -- I am a business partner with these people, and they are hard working.

"Marriage: Unique for a Reason" says Catholic Bishops

My own bishop, Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland, was recently appointed the new chairman of the American Catholic bishops' Defense of Marriage Committee.

The Committee's campaign is titled, “Marriage: Unique for a Reason”.

The Committee's website is full of information, brochures, videos": www.marriageuniqueforareason.org

The picture at right is a mosaic of the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joachim and St. Anne. How sweet!

“Marriage and the family are the essential coordinates for society. How well we as a society protect and promote marriage and the family is the measure of how well we stand for the inviolable dignity and good of every individual in our society, without exception. The consequences for our future—especially that of our nation’s children—cannot be greater and must not be ignored,” said Bishop Cordileone.

Homeboy Industries Turns Lives Around

He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. -- Psalm 72:14

Recently, Fr. Gregory Boyle spoke to parishes around the San Francisco Bay Area about Homeboy Industries, a ministry that provides jobs and training for ex-prison inmates.

This is an excellent example of the importance of intervening in the lives prisoners, so they go on to become productive members of society; we need to break the downward spiral into poverty and crime.

Learn more at: http://www.homeboy-industries.org, 323-526-1254, gboylesj@aol.com.

Catholic Bishops Announces National Migration Week, January 2-8, 2011

Migration and Refugee Services of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced "Renewing Hope, Seeking Justice" as the theme for National Migration Week celebrated the first week of January (2-8, 2011).

Learn more at their website: http://www.usccb.org/mrs/nmw/index.shtml

They have a spiritual Rosary for world unity, brochures, and bulletin inserts for parishes.

When I went through the "JustFaith" program a few years ago, I learned that the vast majority of migrants would have preferred to remain home, just like you or I. Only really tough conditions can drive people out of their homes, e.g. devastatingly bad economy, political oppression (real torture and death), environmental catastrophe.

My own great, great grandparents on all sides of my family are migrants to America. They came from England, Scotland, France and Germany. Many were fleeing the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars. What about your family?

The Catholic Social Teaching of "Solidarity" talks about us being responsible for one another globally: "We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor has global dimensions in a shrinking world. At the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace. Pope Paul VI taught that “if you want peace, work for justice.”1 The Gospel calls us to be peacemakers. Our love for all our sisters and brothers demands that we promote peace in a world surrounded by violence and conflict. "

Children's Book Review: "Care for Creation" by Christy Baldwin

I was recently given the opportunity to review this new children's book, "Care for Creation" by Christy Baldwin from Tribute Books. http://www.tribute-books.com/careforcreation/index.html

This is a delightful book that clearly explains how caring for God's creation is our job as Christians. Each page has a clear description about some aspect of caring for the environment, a Bible verse, and an illustration of children caring for creation. The book gives practical suggestions that families and children can do, e.g. use less water, clean up a local park, recycle.

My guess is that this book is for about age 8-12, but can benefit younger and older. Parents, I'll leave it to you. This book would also work well for children's "Sunday School" or faith formation classes -- it has activities and discussion questions at the end.

The Bible verses come from a paraphrase translation called "The Message" described on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Message_%28Bible%29) or you can google "The Message Bible Paraphrase". This idiomatic paraphrase should be very easy for children to understand, but you may also want to look up the verses in the New American Bible translation (used at Masses in the USA) to compare.

To learn more about Catholic Social Teaching and specifically Caring for God's Creation, see the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: scroll down -- caring for creation is the seventh theme of Catholic Social Teaching.

Care for God's Creation: Recycle Your Christmas Tree

You and your family can practice the Catholic Social Teaching of caring for God’s creation by recycling your Christmas tree. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, between 25 and 30 million fresh-cut Christmas trees are sold in the United States every year. Christmas tree recycling helps return a renewable resource back to the environment.

For Christmas tree recycling in your city, enter your zipcode into the Earth 911 website: http://earth911.com/recycling/garden/christmas-trees

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's summarizes the Catholic Social Teaching of "Care for God’s Creation": "We show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. Care for the earth is not just an Earth Day slogan, it is a requirement of our faith. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions that cannot be ignored."

"Religious Freedom: The Path to Peace” is Pope’s Theme for World Day of Peace, January 1, 2011

I found this on the Vatican Radio website and the Vatican website: "In many parts of the world there exist various forms of restrictions or denials of religious freedom, from discrimination and marginalization based on religion, to acts of violence against religious minorities. Religious freedom is rooted in the equal and inherent dignity of man, it is oriented toward the search for unchangeable truth, and thus can rightly be presented as the freedom of freedoms."

See the Vatican website for the full text of the Pope’s message to be posted soon (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/peace/index_en.htm).

Or read more at the Vatican Radio website (http://storico.radiovaticana.org/en1/storico/2010-07/407824_pope_picks_religious_freedom_as_theme_for_2011_peace_message.html).

How to Shop for Fair Trade Crafts, Coffee, Tea, Chocolate

To buy fairly traded coffee, tea or chocolate, next time you go to the grocery store (Safeway, Nob Hill, Lucky, Albertson's, etc.) or Target or CostCo, just look for these logos clearly displayed on the front of the package:

Fair Trade Certified

Fair Trade Federation

Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade

Rainforest Alliance Certified

Whole Trade Guarantee

To shop for Christmas gift items, phone Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade at 1-800-685-7572 for a free catalog, or online and click “Products” at: http://www.crsfairtrade.org

Your purchases really do help the artisans and farmers make a living wage. I have found the crafts to be beautiful and at about half the price for similar items at, say, Pier 1 Imports or a department store. The coffee and tea are the same price and quality as other products from the particular brand, e.g. Yuban, Seattle's Best Coffee, Peet's, Stash, Numi, etc. Do not compromise quality or price to buy fairly traded items.

Feel good about what you buy. Help someone help themselves up and out of poverty. Buy fairly traded goods.

Faithful Citizenship: Voting is a Catholic Duty

“Every person has a fundamental right to life,” say the U.S. Bishops, “the right that makes all other rights possible. Each person also has a right to the conditions for living a decent life—faith and family life, food and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing. We also have a duty to secure and respect these rights not only for ourselves, but for others, and to fulfill our responsibilities to our families, to each other, and to the larger society.” --excerpt from Faithful Citizenship: A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility, 2003 (http://www.nccbuscc.org/faithfulcitizenship/faithfulcitizenship03.pdf)

I found the above quote from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website that is dedicated to our role as United States citizens of faith called Faithful Citizenship: http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/

When filling out my absentee ballot today, I used the California Catholic Conference website to learn what the California bishops had to say about the nine propositions coming up on Nov 2nd. You may find this helpful, too: http://www.cacatholic.org/index.php/take-action/election.html

California Bishops Name November as Restorative Justice Month

Starting with their 2000 pastoral letter “Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice,” U.S. bishops have advocated for a more humane approach called “Restorative Justice” to repair the harm caused by criminal behavior to the extent possible. The growing social justice movement encourages victims, offenders and their impacted communities to fully participate in the healing process through victim/offender dialogue, restitution, victim and ex-offender assistance, sentencing circles and community service.

Learn more at the website of the California Bishops:
http://www.cacatholic.org/index.php/topics/restorativejustice/896-rj-month.html

RestoreJustice.com is an outreach of the California Catholic Conference offering healing and support to everyone affected by the criminal justice system throughout the U.S. The purpose of RestoreJustice.com is to offer a place of compassion and assistance, resources and services and educational information for anyone who is affected by crime - victims of crime, offenders and their families, corrections staff, chaplains, criminal justice system employees and management, and advocates for restorative justice.

Learn more at: http://restorejustice.com

PG&E has many ways to save energy starting at home

Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), my local utility, has a great website with all kinds of ways you can save energy at home, reducing your own carbon footprint. Ideas include buying Energy Star appliances, using CFC light bulbs, keeping your house a little warmer in summer and cooler in winter, set your water heater a bit cooler and so on. All of these are realistic, feasible and add up to measurable savings.

Learn more at: http://www.pge.com/myhome/saveenergymoney/savingstips/

What has PG&E to do with faith? "Care for God’s Creation" is a theme of Catholic Social Teaching.

Even the Vatican is going green. With the installation of solar panels on the roof of the Paul VI Audience Hall, the Vatican began selling power back to the Roman electric grid in November 2008.

Concern for the environment is one of the newer dimensions of Catholic social teaching, paralleling the growing awareness in society as a whole. Prior to the industrial revolution, human impact on the environment was limited and localized. With the growth of economies, the use of fossil fuels, and the demand for consumer goods, the amount of natural resources people pulled from the planet rose substantially.

So . . . it's a Catholic thing to care for God's Creation.

Register to Vote before October 18th for the November 2nd General Election

Have you recently moved? Turned 18? Recently become a US Citizen? If so, you need to register to vote before October 18th for the next General Election.

Voter Registration forms are generally available at public libraries and city halls. Register online at the League of Women Voters website (http://www.vote411.org).

At my parish, my Social Concerns Ministry has put a reminder in the bulletin, and will put voter registration forms in the vestibule.

The California Catholic Bishops provide information on current legislation on their website (http://www.cacatholic.org).

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ask Catholics to become informed and vote using their conscience and judgment. The Catholic Church never tells people how to vote; the Catholic Church does point out moral issues with respect to legislation. See their Faithful Citizenship website for more information: http://www.faithfulcitizenship.org/

"In the Catholic Tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation." – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship”, No. 13

Fair Trade Gifts for the Holidays

At my parish, we have just ordered a consignment of Fair Trade craft items from Catholic Relief Services. My Social Concerns Committee will hold a craft sale at the end of October so people can do some Christmas shopping with a conscience. We are not doing this to raise money, but rather, to raise awareness of Fair Trade crafts, coffee and chocolate.

The sale will literally help the artisans help themselves up and out of poverty, and with dignity.

As American consumers, we can use our purchases to help people who are poor around the world lift themselves, their families, and their communities up and out of poverty. I think the key is that Catholic Relief Services is on the ground in communities around the world, helping people learn better farming methods, gain money management skills, establish schools, etc. CRS eliminates the middle man, bringing gifts, chocolate, coffee, etc., direct from the artisans and farmers to us, the consumer, and guaranteeing that the artisans and farmers get a living wage.

I have personally bought Fair Trade gifts for all of my out-of-town relatives for four years now, and everyone is very happy with the quality. The Divine Chocolate is wonderful (and the women of my family are connoisseurs). Fair Trade coffee and teas are available in stores all around my town (Target, Safeway, Trader Joe's, Peet's Coffee & Tea, etc).

The Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade website explains it all very well: http://www.crsfairtrade.org/

If you want to hold a gift, chocolate or coffee sale yourself, it is very, very easy. The CRS website has step-by-step instructions with beautiful flyers and posters to help you promote your sale.

If you want to do some Christmas shopping for yourself, you can buy products online at the CRS Fair Trade website.

Pope and Patriarch Urge Preservation of Planet for Future Generations

I put this article in my parish's bulletin to underscore how deeply concerned the Vatican is regarding the environment and the poorest among us. Those without resources are always hit hardest by environmental problems.

Pope Benedict urged all people to remember the duty we have today to safeguard the future for generations to come. Speaking in support of the Day for Safeguarding Creation (a tradition in Italy and in the Greek Orthodox Church), the Holy Father said, “There can be no peace in the world without respecting the environment.” Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople echoed these sentiments, calling efforts to address the environmental crisis, “This titanic and just fight.”

Read more at the Catholic News Service website for August 30th: http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1003496.htm

Here is the Vatican website with the Pope's full address:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20090826_en.html