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October 5, 2020, Venice, Florida – In a time of great need, staff members and supporters of Catholic Charities USA gathered at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice and virtually to celebrate 110 years of service to God’s people by Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA).

Sister Donna Markham, OP, PhD

“This is a great time for us to take stock of what we’re doing as a ministry of the Church, especially in these difficult days with the pandemic and natural disasters,” said Adrian Dominican Sister Donna Markham, OP, PhD, President and CEO of CCUSA, in her opening talk for the September 25, 2020, event.

Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, CCUSA is a network of agencies nationwide that serve in such areas as affordable housing, food and nutrition, immigration and refugee services, leadership development and Catholic identity, and integrated healthcare. In addition, CCUSA advocates for social justice and offers disaster relief. In turn, CCUSA is a member of Caritas Internationalis, which has 165 national members throughout the world.

In her welcome, Sister Donna spoke of the “millions of prayers that collect in our hearts and permeate our collective being as Catholic Charities workers in this country,” from intercessions for the nation’s many needs to lamentations over the loss of life and livelihood during the pandemic, to the African proverb calling on all to pray with their feet. 

But Sister Donna offered a special type of prayer: a prayer of gratitude. “We have so much to thank God for these days,” she said. “We’ve been entrusted with accompanying so many people who reflect back to us the face of Christ. This is such sacred, sacred work.”

Cardinal Luis Tagle

Cardinal Luis Tagle, President of Caritas Internationalis, addressed the CCUSA workers from Rome via video, thanking them for their heroic work, especially during the pandemic. “You are reminding the whole world that the pandemic does not produce only cases of sickness and unfortunately death, of loss of jobs and loss even of dreams,” he said. “They are not just cases. They are human beings.”

“Thank you for defending the dignity of every human person,” Cardinal Tagle said. “You are a sign of hope. You are the seeds of hope of God’s Word of love, being sown by the Word of God wherever you are, so that in the arid ground created by the pandemic, love will bloom.” 

Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of the Diocese of Venice, Florida, and Episcopal Liaison to CCUSA, presided over Mass for the 110th anniversary celebration. In his homily, he spoke on the surprising identity of Jesus as servant. “Those of you who work in Catholic Charities, you know that is what we are called to be – the servants of those who are in need.” 

He recalled those who had served people in need throughout the 110 years of Catholic Charities, and the continued call to service of Catholic Charities workers today. “In giving that response to serving, we become always more the man or woman we are called to be.” 

Watch the entire CCUSA 110th anniversary celebration.

 

Feature photo: Venice, Florida, Bishop Frank J. Dewane celebrates Mass at Epiphany Cathedral to recognize the 110th anniversary of Catholic Charities USA.

September 24, 2020, Adrian, Michigan – People of faith often explore their relationships to God, to others, and to themselves. A recent program updating Sisters and Associates on the Adrian Dominican Sustainability and Permaculture programs gave them the opportunity to explore another key relationship: their personal relationship with Earth and the land. 

Sister Corinne Sanders, OP, Director of Sustainability, and Jared Aslakson, Permaculture Specialist, presented an end-of-summer update September 21, 2020, via broadcast and live stream.

Sister Corinne referred to the Congregation’s Sustainability Enactment, approved during the 2016 General Chapter: to “sacrifice to mitigate significantly our impact on climate change and ecological degradation.” She helped viewers to explore the “many little things” they can do to live out that Enactment and to improve the environment in six areas:

• Food: How is our food grown? Where is it raised? Are we eating high or low on the “greenhouse gas food chain?” 
   
• Transportation: “The one thing we do look at [in this area] is, how are we traveling? And for many of us, we are not,” Sister Corinne said. She encouraged the audience to think of the transportation choices they will make once the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted. “Are we traveling with a look at the impact? Are we carpooling? Are we cutting down on air travel?”
   
• Waste (materials management): What is going to the landfill? “We have to hold on to the principles of reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle so the landfill is not the end-all of much of the materials we use,” Sister Corinne said.
   
• Purchasing: Do we think before we purchase something? Can we live with what we have instead of purchasing the next, best, brightest item that seems to be calling out to us? 
   
• Energy: Are we using renewable energy or fossil fuel energy? What are we doing to reduce our use of energy? 
   
• Land Relationships: How are we relating to and walking on the sacred ground on which we stand?

Sister Corinne noted that the closure of the Motherhouse to visitors and the restrictions of the Sisters on the Motherhouse grounds have affected some practices. For example, because of the pandemic, the Food Services Department has begun serving the Sisters’ meals on paper products rather than reusable plates, and Sisters who go grocery shopping have not been allowed to use reusable bags. “Some of that is beyond our control and I think we’ll go back into balance,” she said. 

The environment has also benefited from the Congregation’s moratorium on commercial travel – especially air travel – and the closure of some of Motherhouse buildings during the pandemic. Both of these actions have reduced the amount of energy used, Sister Corinne said.

In his Permaculture update, Jared took his audience on “a little stroll through our land,” describing his own activities and the natural activities of the land in the past few months. 

At the beginning of the mitigation protocols in March, Jared was not working on the Motherhouse grounds. “When I was able to come back in April or May, I was struck by the fact that the things we set into motion were moving forward – it didn’t need any care,” he said. Crops planted earlier, such as asparagus and berry bushes, were coming up on their own. The rain gardens and pollinator gardens also flourished.

Jared has spent much of the spring and summer pruning and caring for fruit trees in the permaculture site’s edible orchard and experimenting with leaf litter to hold the moisture in the soil during the hot, dry summer. 

Plans moving forward are to create a digital map of the shrubs in the edible food forest; to design a new layout for the Charlotte’s Web garden to make it more accessible and easier to maintain; and to engage in succession planning to ensure that something is always growing in the Permaculture garden.