Fair Trade Defeats Poverty

A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away. -- Proverbs 13:23

 

Our Bishops Promote Fair Trade.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops promotes fair trade around the world through their global outreach agency, Catholic Relief Services.  Visit their website at: www.crsfairtrade.org

What is Fair Trade?  Fair Trade is about fair prices.  It’s about eliminating exploitative middlemen and sharing more of a product’s value with the people who made it.  Fair Trade is about being good stewards of the planet God gave us.   Catholic Relief Services’ Fair Trade program contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to marginalized producers and workers.  The CRS Fair Trade website helps you pray, learn, act, give (and receive!) in solidarity with artisans and farmers around the world.

Scripture 101

Scripture 101: An Intro to Reading the Bible by WILLIAM J. PARKER, C.Ss.R.

This is a great little 10 page booklet to get anyone started in understanding and reading the Bible!

http://www.liguori.org/pdf/817007_Interior.pdf

New Faithful Citizenship Videos Now Online.

Franciscan Media, with support from the USCCB Catholic Communications Campaign, has created a series of videos and public service announcements about Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship!

Video topics include:

• Using Faithful Citizenship Correctly, 
• Conscience Formation, 
• Civility in the Public Square, 
• The Economy, 
• Religious Liberty, 
• Life Issues, 
• Immigration, 
• Marriage, 
• War and Peace.  

See the website: http://tinyurl.com/faithful-citizenship-videos

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship

Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States provides a framework for Catholics in the United States.

 "Responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation."
-- Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship
By our baptism, Catholics are committed to following Jesus Christ and to be "salt for the earth, light for the nations." As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, "It is necessary that all participate, according to his position and role, in promoting the common good. This is inherent in the dignity of the human person ... As far as possible citizens should take an active part in public life" (nos. 1913-1915).


Click here for Spanish /  En Español

Click here for more information in English and Spanish such as bulletin inserts

Catholic Net has great daily meditations!

Catholic.net has a great treasury of daily meditations that are excellent for personal faith formation and equally useful for groups.  They all follow the same format: Scripture, introductory prayer, the day's petition followed by three meditations on the subject, a conversation to have with Christ and a resolution.

Here are just a few meditations available:

Fasting and Feasting

I will make a special sacrifice

Where Mercy Reigns

I will set a time and place for confession

Fathoming Christ’s Mercy

Today I will remember to avoid rash and judgmental thoughts

Casting out Evil

I will reject one specific sin

My Lord and My God!

Today during the day I will read numbers 150-152

Determined Discipleship

Today I will live better my vocation in life

Touching the Lord

I shall make two acts of faith

Eucharistic Adoration Reverse Momentum

Awesome video for young adults on Adoration!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNEBJokFlm4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Thought I'd share this powerful mini-movie with you from SpiritJuice, a Catholic new media production company. It grabbed my attention enough to watch it twice!

The Mystery of God's Apparent Powerlessness

The Mystery of God's Apparent Powerlessness

        Faith in God the Father Almighty can be put to the test by
the experience of evil and suffering.  God can sometimes seem to
be absent and incapable of stopping evil.  But in the most mysterious
way God the Father has revealed his almighty power in the voluntary
humiliation and Resurrection of his Son, by which he conquered evil.
Christ crucified is thus "the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For
the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is
stronger than men."  It is in Christ's Resurrection and exaltation that
the Father has shown forth "the immeasurable greatness of his power
in us who believe."

        Only faith can embrace the mysterious ways of God's almighty
power.  This faith glories in its weaknesses in order to draw to itself
Christ's power.  The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith,
for she believed that  "nothing will be impossible with God," and was
able to magnify the Lord:  "For he who is mighty has done great things
for me, and holy is his name."..

        "Nothing is more apt to confirm our faith and hope than holding
it fixed in our minds that nothing is impossible with God.  Once our
reason has grasped the idea of God's almighty power, it will easily and
without any hesitation admit everything that [the Creed] will afterwards
propose for us to believe -- even if they be great and marvelous things,
far above the ordinary laws of nature."

                                                -- Catechism of the Catholic Church
                                                        paragraphs 272-274

Our First, Most Cherished Liberty

Our First, Most Cherished Liberty:

    "We are Catholics.  We are Americans.  We are proud to be both,
grateful for the gift of faith which is ours as Christian disciples,  and grateful
for the gift of liberty which is ours as American citizens.  To be  Catholic and
American should mean not having to choose one over the other.  Our
allegiances are distinct, but they need not be contradictory, and should
instead be complementary.  That is the teaching of our Catholic faith,  which
obliges us to work together with fellow citizen for the common good of  all
who live in this land.  That is the vision of our founding and our  Constitution,
which guarantees citizens of all religious faiths to right to  contribute to our
common life together.

    Freedom is not only for American, but we think of it as something of  our
special inheritance, fought for at a great price, and a heritage to be  guarded
now.  We are stewards of this gift, not only for ourselves but for all nations
and peoples who yearn to be free.  Catholics in America have discharged  this
duty of guarding freedom admirably for many generations....

    ...From well before Cardinal Gibbons, Catholics in America have been
advocates for religious liberty, and the landmark teaching of the Second
Vatican Council on religious liberty was influenced by the American  experience.
It is among the proudest boasts of the Church on these shores.  We have  been
staunch defenders of religious liberty in the past.  We have a solemn  duty to
discharge that duty today."
                        -- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
                            Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty

Senior Support Program of the Tri-Valley

http://ssptv.org, 925-931-5379

The Senior Support Program of the Tri-Valley has many volunteer opportunities, including the Friendly Visitor Program, the Nutrition and Exercise Program, and the Transportation Program.

Volunteering in the Friendly Visiting Program:

• Friendly Visitor - matched with a senior to be a friend, help with reading, shopping, going for a drive, playing games, etc.
• Group projects to do work on seniors' homes - heavy cleaning, yard work, painting and repairs.
• Events - help with luncheons, Holiday gifts and baskets, fundraisers, outreaches.
• Office help - filing, shredding, mailings, computer data entry, etc.
• Telephone reassurance - Make phone calls to seniors to monitor their status and update their records.

The "Tri-Valley" is the region in the San Francisco Bay Area around Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin.

Catholics nationwide preparing 'Fortnight for Freedom' events

Catholic News Service has a great article on the nationwide "Fortnight for Freedom" as all Catholics in America muster their energies to stand up for religious freedom:

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/catholics-nationwide-preparing-fortnight-for-freedom-events/#

In the Oakland Diocese, visit this website to learn what is going on in the San Francisco Bay Area:
http://www.oakdiocese.org/fortnight-for-freedom

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), concerned over the threats to religious freedom both at home and abroad, has called on all dioceses, parishes and other Catholic institutions to participate in a “Fortnight for Freedom,” June 21-July 4. This will be a 14-day period of prayer, education and action by American Catholics in support of religious freedom. All Catholics in the Diocese of Oakland are invited to join with Catholic faithful across our nation during this special time of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action to emphasize both our Christian and American Heritage of liberty. Below, you will find informational links intended to help your parish or group plan events and participate as fully as possible in this national event.

• Daily Reflections for June 21-July 4

• Protecting Consciences:  Why Conscience is Important

• Frequently Asked Questions on Religious Liberty

• Twelve Things Everyone Should Know About the "Contraceptive Mandate"

• Current Threats to Religious Liberty

Catholic Social Teaching on human dignity

"The ultimate injustice is for a person or group to be treated actively or abandoned passively as if they were nonmembers of the human race. To treat people this way is effectively to say they simply do not count as human beings."

-- Catholic Charities Office for Social Justice, http://www.osjspm.org/

Micro-lending beats poverty!

http://www.kiva.org/team/st_michael_parish_social_concerns_ministry

Join us in making microloans thru Kiva and helping the hard working poor up and out of poverty!

$25 is all you need to get started.

Stand Up for Religious Freedom; Write to Congress

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need. – Acts 2:45

Rally for Religious Freedom, Friday, June 8, noon, San Francisco.
Stand up for our religious freedom by pushing back against the new mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which requires that all employers provide free contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs through their health plans, even in violation of their consciences.  Rallies will be held nationwide.  Our nearest rally is at the HHS building, 90 Seventh Street, San Francisco.  Bishop Cordileone supports this rally.  For more information: http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com

Bishop Cordileone Calls All Catholic Voters to Write Congress, US President. 
“I therefore call on all of you, our good people in the Diocese of Oakland, to write to your congressional representatives and urge them to pass legislation to reverse this [HHS] mandate. I also ask you to contact President Obama and encourage him to continue to be open to putting into place robust protections of religious liberty for faith-based health, educational and social service organizations. The contact information to do this may be found on the Diocese home page at www.oakdiocese.org

"For Greater Glory" opens June 1st

The film "For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada" has an all star cast.  One theme of this excellent, epic movie is the fight for religious freedom.

Here is a link to the trailer:

Synopsis: What price would you pay for freedom? In the exhilarating action epic FOR GREATER GLORY an impassioned group of men and women each make the decision to risk it all for family, faith and the very future of their country, as the film's adventure unfolds against the long-hidden, true story of the 1920s Cristero War ­the daring people¹s revolt that rocked 20th Century North America.

Join Us in Praying a Novena to the Holy Spirit

You are invited to join us in a Novena to the Holy Spirit for the nine days leading up to Pentecost, May 18-26.

Set aside a few minutes on each of the nine days to quiet your mind and open your heart in prayer in honor of the Holy Spirit.  We pray for the seven gifts of the holy spirit: wisdom, understanding, right judgment, courage, knowledge, reverence, and wonder and awe of the Lord.

All are welcome to leave prayer intentions as a comment on each day's blog post.

More about the Novena to the Holy Spirit from EWTN:


The novena in honor of the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas since it was first made at the direction of Our Lord Himself when He sent His apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. It is still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian.  (read more here)

Mark your calendars and tell your friends!