St. Andrew: A reminder to serve others and love your neighbor

By Ashley Lahr

As November comes to a close and Thanksgiving bellies begin to deflate, I am reminded what Catholic Charities of Central Texas is here for: to continue to make a difference in people’s lives by creating hope and providing help. One ultimate example of this is St. Andrew, whose feast day is today, November 30.

St. Andrew was an Apostle and the brother of Simon Peter, both of which were fisherman. Andrew became one of the first disciples of Christ and left everything behind to follow Him.



St. Andrew was not only one of the first disciples but he also dropped everything to follow Jesus without hesitation. It is hard to imagine what this must have been like for him and how drastically his life changed thereafter. Catholic Charities is a light for men just as St. Andrew was for those that listened to him. Providing help and creating hope for others come through love and faith and sharing gifts that we have been given.

Being fishers of men is an analogy that is used often in the Christian community, but what does this really mean for us and for those we help? At Catholic Charities, we are called to seek out those that need help and hope everyday. We work to find those that need assistance or help not because those in need are Catholic, but because we are. Catholic Charities serves everyone regardless of age, faith, ethnic background, and economic circumstance. We set out each day to find new ways to help those who cannot find or provide the resources needed to get through each day.

For example our Angel of Hope Food Pantry feeds nearly 150 families each week. In 2008, we served over 5,000 pounds of food and grocery products each week. The food pantry also works to raise awareness of hunger, health and nutrition. In addition, the food pantry is a place for neighbors to help neighbors through donations, volunteer work or food.

Another example is our Immigration and Legal Services which has been operating for 7 years. ILS works with families and individuals to become self sufficient through the immigration process with low-fee legal costs. In the 7 years of operation, we have assisted 4,881 clients with immigration needs.

As we delve deeper into this holiday season, let us not forget why we are helping and what we can do to become of greater service to those around us. St. Andrew is a prime example of what it means to follow Christ’s example and how we can work together to love our neighbors and help those who need it.

Catholic Charities receives 200 Thanksgiving care packages to give way to those in need

Generous donations of food from St. Michael’s Catholic Academy and Holy Cross Catholic Church allowed Catholic Charities to distribute over 100 Thanksgiving care packages yesterday at the 1st annual Angels of Hope Thanksgiving Celebration.

A total of about $10,000 worth of groceries was collected so that families in need will be able to make their own Thanksgiving meals.

Volunteers, staff and clients gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving and share other services provided by Catholic Charities on Tuesday, November 24, 2009, from 3:00pm – 5:30pm. The Thanksgiving care packages include the essentials for a complete thanksgiving meal; turkey stuffing, corn, pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce, gravy, and a gift card for a turkey of the families’ choosing. The Thanksgiving care packages were made possible thanks to generous donations of food by parents and children of St. Michael’s Catholic Academy and parishioners of Holy Cross Catholic Church. Thank you to Catholic Charities of Central Texas volunteers for making this event such a success.

Catholic Charities & Catholic Identity: Who Do We Say We Are?

By Cynthia Colbert
Executive Director

Scriptures tell us that there was confusion, even disagreement among the followers of Jesus when he posed the question “Who do people say that I am?” After almost 2,000 years there would very likely be some confusion today if that same question were applied to Catholic Charities. There are those who would identify us with a particular service, such as the Angels of Hope Food Pantry or Immigration Legal Services. So they would be inclined to say that we are a basic needs agency, or an organization that serves immigrants. No doubt there are those that would describe us as a general social service agency or a network of ministries. But, that is not all that we are. We are a Catholic ministry and a nonprofit social service agency.

Catholic Charities of Central Texas is a ministry of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin. As such, we are a faith-based organization with a three-part mission of service, advocacy and collaboration. We exist to give witness to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. That message calls us to recognize Jesus is in every man, woman and child and that we are called to love Him through them. That call challenges us today in the same way Jesus challenged the people of His time to serve Him through our brothers and sisters and to exercise a preferential option for the poor. Our mission, our values and our strategic plan are rooted in the scriptures; we are guided by Church teachings, tradition and by the rich body of growing Catholic Social Teaching of our own day.

The populations we serve are culturally diverse and our work force is increasingly diverse as well, including Catholics and those of other faiths. Because of the diversity of our programs, our staff, our volunteers and our clients, it means that we must be intentional in maintaining our Catholic identity. We cannot be just another local social services agency. As a Catholic agency, we receive our authority to exist and to serve from the Bishop of our Diocese; we function faithfully within the mission and structures of the Diocese of Austin with a proper respect for the role of our Diocesan Bishop; and we operate under policies, procedures and practices that are faithful to our mission and values.

So what makes Catholic Charities “Catholic”? We are Catholic because everything we do is in response to God’s love for us and our love for Him. Our Holy Father said it best in his Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, “With regard to the personnel who carry out the Church's charitable activity on the practical level, the essential has already been said: they must not be inspired by ideologies aimed at improving the world, but should rather be guided by the faith which works through love (cf. Gal 5:6). Consequently, more than anything, they must be persons moved by Christ's love, persons whose hearts Christ has conquered with his love, awakening within them a love of neighbour.” Please pray for and support our ministry in 2010 as we continue to reach out ands serve the poor and vulnerable in our Diocese. God bless you and may you too, be “ awakened within for a renewed love neighbour.”

(This article is to be featured in the December 2009 issue of Catholic Spirit)

St. Margaret of Scotland

By Ashley Lahr
St. Margaret of Scotland’s feast day is today, November 16. She is not like most saints who worked for the poor. She was not born into poverty. In fact, she married Malcolm III the King of Scots and became queen consort. She and Malcolm bore eight children, six sons and two daughters. Pope Innocent IV canonized her in 1250 AD in order to venerate her personal holiness, fidelity to the Church, work towards religious reform and charity. She was known to personally serve orphans and the poor everyday before she had eaten herself. Her influence exceeded the expected and had an impact on her husband and her children. Every night, she awoke at midnight and went to Church services.

St. Margaret was a living example of what it should be like to have it all and keep giving. “Having it all,” however, can come in many different forms. She did not let her status and rank control who she was a person. She gave her time and talents to the Church for the betterment of society. Like all saints, she is a prime example of how we should model our lives regardless of our place in society. In the end, it will not matter who had the biggest house or the most money. It all boils down to who we are as people and how we are able to make a difference in the world.

Let us take St. Margaret as an example of pure and holy charity. At Catholic Charities we work to help those in need by using the resources we have available to us and continuing to search for efficient ways to help others. We are here to provide HELP and create HOPE, which can be a very daunting task at times. However, with the help of volunteers and donations we are able to make peoples needs become an attainable reality. One example of this would be 57 year old Soraya. She came to the United States from Afghanistan in 2002 in order to find a better life for her herself and her six children. She was a witness to her husband’s death by the Taliban forces and many other atrocities in her country. But she pressed on and did not let this bring her down. In early 2009, with the help of Catholic Charities, she had access to social programs that she needed in order to help treat her early dementia since the other programs were expiring. Fortunately, in March 2009 with the help of our staff and programs, we helped her file paperwork, prepare for her immigration interview and accompany her to the interview for her to become a U.S. citizen. Soraya is now a proud, safe citizen who is able to live a safe and secure lifestyle while living the gift of freedom we enjoy everyday.

Featured in a UT blog

Our food pantry coordinator, Meg Kee, has been featured in a University of Texas at Austin Blog! Get it here:

http://blogs.utexas.edu/hunger/2009/11/12/catholic-charities-of-central-texas/

All Souls Day... A Careful Reminder

By Ashley Lahr

This past Sunday and Monday was All Souls day, a day in which we reflected those we have lost and the faithfully departed. When I went to mass Sunday night, it was a somber homily but at the same time, I had a rush of wonderful memories from those who I have lost in the past. In the Church, we set aside two days to remember those who are not here with us anymore but we there is one important factor- we can’t forget why we are here to begin with. We are still here, so we need to make the most of it.

I personally believe that everyone has a purpose and working in a non-profit environment, this is exemplified everyday. It is comforting to know that I can go to my supervisor or the person who sits next to me and talk about wanting to do something for the grace of God. I am blessed with wonderful things in my life such as my family, fiancé, friends… the list goes on. But I know that when I come to work every Monday and Wednesday, I am helping the greater good. By working closely with the development director, I assist her in whatever tasks she needs at hand and I am currently helping with the annual spring luncheon. People here at Catholic Charities all have a specific role in order to reach an ultimate goal. The final product is extremely rewarding: we are able to provide food for those who don’t have it; legal assistance for those who are trying to become U.S. citizens; our Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing program assists those who have been affected by our economy.

Through these services and my time here at Catholic Charities, I feel like I am able to make a difference in someone else’s life. We aren’t raising money so it can not be used, sitting in a corner of a bank, but we are trying to bring money and resources to those who need it. To those who wake up in the morning with no food in their fridge. To those who can’t pay their bills month to month in order to provide for their family. We are helping these people because we are Catholic and as Catholics we work together to help everyone else, Catholic or not. Coming to work and seeing the same faces everyday working towards the same goal is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. I may not see instant results, but I know that someone, somewhere is being helped and can make it through today and tomorrow. All Souls day has reminded me that those who are still here on this Earth living out Jesus’ words have a purpose. We must purposefully work together to provide help and create hope.