May 27, 2022

Inside this issue

• CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly
• Faith and the Common Good
• Trivia
• Connections

  CCUSA Presents the Washington Weekly  
 
Overview: The attack on school children and their teachers in Uvalde, Texas, has occasioned another week of tragedy and mourning. Saint Pope John Paul II wrote in the encyclical Evangelium vitae that the antidote to a culture of death is to choose life day by day: in our personal choices, in our relationships with family and friends, at school and work, in our interactions in society, and by supporting programs and policies that advance peace and justice. We can change the world by changing ourselves, and the first step is to respect the right of every human being to live a dignified life.

CCUSA joins with others in calling on elected officials to take concrete action to help prevent the scourge of gun violence in this country. Read the statement here.

People in Uvalde, Texas, attend Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church May 25, 2022, one day after the horrific attack at Robb Elementary School. (CNS photo/Nuri Vallbona, Reuters)

CCUSA sent letters to the House and Senate appropriations committees for Labor, Health and Human Services and Education urging an investment in programs that protect and support poor and vulnerable children, families, and elderly persons and support life-affirming amendments; and for Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development asking for the highest level of funding possible for housing and community development programs serving families and individuals who are poor and vulnerable for the latter. Links to the letters are provided below.

President Biden authorized a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, and Title 42 remains in place for the time being. Details below.

Letters to Congress: CCUSA sent letters to the following appropriations committees this week concerning Fiscal Year 2023 funding: House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; House and Senate Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. Follow the links to read the letters. 

Economy: In the week ending May 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial [unemployment] claims was 210,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 218,000. The 4-week moving average was 206,750, an increase of 7,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 199,500. 

Title 42: The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana ruled that Title 42 should remain in place for the time being. The ruling means further delays for thousands of people waiting for a chance to seek refuge in the United States, but it gives the Biden administration more time to plan how to handle the large numbers of migrants that are expected.
Ukraine relief: President Biden signed the $40 billion relief bill to support Ukraine as it defends itself against the Russian invasion.
 
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  Faith and the Common Good  
 
Depending on where you live, you may have celebrated the Solemnity of the Ascension yesterday or you may celebrate it on Sunday. But regardless of the day of commemoration, we are called to incorporate its grace and meaning into our everyday lives.

We hear in the gospel for the day that Jesus raises his hands, blesses the disciples, and then ascends into heaven, which may remind us of the end of Mass-which is appropriate.

A statue of Christ is displayed in the garden at Jesus the Good Shepherd Church in Dunkirk, Md., April 28, 2022. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Essentially, the Mass brings us into contact with Jesus' life, which never ends: his saving words and deeds, his flesh and blood, soul and divinity are ours to receive. And as he says to the disciples, he says to us: you are my witnesses; go out unto the ends of the earth and share what you have received.

The disciples were privileged to receive Jesus in the unique manner of his life here on earth, as he walked and talked in Palestine and the surrounding areas. They benefited from the grace that flowed from contact with him, and all of this took place in history, minute by minute, day by day. So, naturally, there also would be an end day - in time - and we call that day the Ascension, when Jesus departed from the earth and sent his followers into the world.

But St. Luke in his gospel strains to convey to us that Jesus' departure does not mean his absence from our lives, nor an abandonment of his mission. Quite the contrary, Jesus' presence remains through the Holy Spirit and the sacraments, and-again-his mission continues through us.

We do not receive a different Jesus at Mass. We receive the same Christ - his real presence. If we want, we might say that we receive Jesus "in concentrate:" his entire being offered to us in a period of 60 minutes, carried to us via human languages that place his words and meanings into our minds and hearts; and the fruits of the earth, bread and wine, that are transformed miraculously into his body and blood that incorporate us into his mystical body.

So at the end of Mass - just like on the day of the Ascension - Jesus directs us, through the ministry of the priest, to be a leaven for society, to bring the world under God's reign, to work for peace and justice. In short, to anticipate the kingdom of heaven.

The reason the disciples returned from the Ascension to Jerusalem with great joy is that they knew with confidence that Jesus was not simply leaving them. Even the inevitable sufferings and trials of this life that the disciples understood they would still undergo were not greater than the truth they had received: Jesus came to the earth to save all men and women, he redeemed humanity by becoming one with humanity, and death - man's greatest enemy - was defeated through the resurrection.  He remained with them in a new way, but they would also see him again.

It's the same truth that can direct us to spend our lives in service to God and neighbor, for we also know by faith that Jesus remains with us and that when we pass through the gates of death life is changed, not ended.
 
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  Trivia  
 
Q. Where did the Ascension take place?

Please send your answers to [email protected]. 

Last week's question and answer:

Q. What did President Lincoln do on this day in 1862 that gave some hope to workers with low-paying jobs to better their situation?

A. Thanks to Anne Dryden, retired archivist at CCUSA, for being first with the correct answer: The Homestead Act was passed. 
 
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  Connections  
 
Please share the weekly with your friends, family and networks so that we can build a movement of solidarity for those most in need!

Be sure to text "CCUSA" to #50457 to receive our action alerts! 

You can also access advocacy opportunities through our advocacy and policy page.

Stay connected with our work to end poverty: Follow us on Twitter: @CCharitiesUSA.   

If you would like to help further Catholic Charities' commitment to alleviating, reducing, and preventing poverty, you can contribute here.
 
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