Prayer & Reflection - November 27, 2022 - So, Advent is with us again. Not nearly enough days — even with the longest possible calendaring of the season this year — to do all that I hope and expect for Advent. What great mercy that none of this is about me (or you), in the small personal sense. Please consider this permission to…

Story - December 8, 2020 - Here at Catholic Social Services (CSS), stories of strife flood in from the community on a weekly basis. This is a particularly difficult one to tell. It happened today. This morning, at our St. Francis Center in Portsmouth, the center’s Director, Barbara McKenzie, heard the usual Wednesday morning ruckus of the garbage truck collecting its…

Story - May 2, 2022 - At its heart, the Healthy Housing Initiative (HHI) is about seeing the dignity of every person. A person-centered, comprehensive approach to chronic homelessness, the program meets people where they are and moves them into permanent supportive housing that provides critical social services. A five-year pilot, HHI works in collaboration with Catholic healthcare entities and includes…

Story - December 11, 2018 - Prior to coming to the United States, Dr. Ali* was a renowned cardiac surgeon in Syria, father of three young children, and the husband of a talented anesthesiologist. As the violence escalated in Syria, Dr. Ali’s brother was tortured to death by Syrian intelligence officers, his father-in-law was killed by a barrel bomb, and his…

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Story - September 5, 2017 - DACA has minimized some of the restrictions I had as an undocumented person. Before DACA, I was not able to apply for jobs or pursue the opportunity to earn my driver’s license. Having graduated from San Diego State University with my Bachelor’s in Social Work, I can apply to different jobs that I am passionate…

Prayer & Reflection - December 26, 2023 - When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him… They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. [Acts 7:54, 58] Yesterday, our great season of giving came to an end. Since early November, as we prepared for Thanksgiving, until yesterday, when we celebrated the birth of…

Story - April 20, 2020 - Catholic Charities, others are inundated, and people and backers are helping. Norb Sticha, a retired electrician from New Prague, spent one morning last week making sandwiches with fellow volunteers at the central kitchen and warehouse of Catholic Charities near downtown St. Paul. Sticha, who is 66, started cooking one meal a month at the kitchen…

News - June 26, 2019 - Alexandria, Va. (June 26, 2019)–The images and stories coming from the border are heart wrenching. Today I beg all persons of good will to reach out and respond generously to the arrival of newcomers. I also beg Congress and the Administration to provide the necessary aid to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico…

Prayer & Reflection - April 10, 2022 - “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!” For some, the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection in the Gospels are beautiful stories of an event experienced by the disciples long ago. We believe that Jesus has risen from the dead based on these accounts, but do we realize resurrection’s implications in our own lives?…

Story - December 4, 2020 - The path to adoption for Mandy and Keegan Wilson looked nothing like they envisioned. “Adoption is something I wanted to do since I was in high school,” Mandy Wilson said. “I have friends who have placed babies for adoption. I’ve had family members and friends adopt babies. I knew it was in my heart to…

Story - November 11, 2019 - Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton’s Family Growth Program in Red Bank, N.J., has gone to the dogs. Literally. A yellow Labrador retriever named Surf began working there as a facility dog this summer, comforting children and adults who have experienced trauma or abuse and helping them to recover. Canine Companions for Independence, the California-based nonprofit…