Clergy Resource Newsletter
Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS
Issues
2019
January 2019
Lenten Resources
Happy New Year from CRS! As you prepare to encounter Lent, we ask you to consider Pope Francis' words, "After the resurrection, when the disciples went forth in all directions, the Lord accompanied them. This is what happened as the result of true encounter" (Gaudete et Exsultate, No. 136). This Lent, consider how can you accompany your brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.
2018
2018
October 2018
Fall Greetings!
We hope the summer provided some rest and relaxation in preparation for the coming months. As you begin your fall planning, we wanted to provide you with helpful resources related to Advent, the canonization of Oscar Romero, and Share the Journey.
June 2018
Summer Greetings from CRS
This October, the bishops of United States are calling on parishes and communities across the U.S. to walk in solidarity with migrants everywhere by participating in a pilgrimage as part of the "Share the Journey” Campaign. As you begin planning for the Fall consider including a pilgrimage and support our brothers and sisters in their journey.
April 2018
Happy Easter! Alleluia, He is risen!
We wish you peace and joy this Easter season. As you reflect on the risen Christ, the Light of the world, we also ask you to remember our brothers and sisters around the world who live with the daily threat of violence, hunger and insecurity. This Easter, we pray that we can bring Christ's light to those who suffer these injustices as we live out our faith in caring for the most vulnerable.
January 2018
Happy New Year from CRS!
As Lent approaches, we ask you to reflect on the question: Who is my neighbor? At the launch of the Share the Journey campaign in September, Pope Francis reminded us of our Gospel call to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ and to Love our Neighbor. So many of our neighbors are on the move: migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, travelers. During Lent we ask you to consider what it means to encounter the stranger, to accompany one in need and become a companion on the journey. Here are some resources to assist you as you prepare for the Lenten season.
2017
2017
September 2017
September 27: A Day to Save
Faithful Catholics in the United States face a dilemma around the plight of migrants and refugees in the world today. Our faith calls us to welcome the stranger, but concerns for security and loss of jobs fuels an instinct to protect against the unknown. Pope Francis is asking Catholics to know the unknown, to meet the people who are themselves victims of conflict and economic hardship. That is the foundation of Caritas' "Share the Journey" campaign which Pope Francis will launch from Rome on September 27. We invite you to Love Your Neighbor by being part of the Share the Journey campaign.
August 2017
Begin Planning for the Fall!
Summer greetings from CRS! We pray that you are able to take some time to rejuvenate over the summer. We also know that fall planning has already begun, and we wanted to send along some resources to assist as you plan for the year.
May 2017
Happy Easter! Rejoice! He Is Risen!
In his Easter message, “Urbi et Orbi,” Pope Francis invites us to hope in the “Risen Shepherd,” who carries on his shoulders all of our “brothers and sisters who are crushed by evil in its varied forms.” Pope Francis says the Risen Shepherd tirelessly seeks out the lonely and marginalized—including those victimized by forms of slavery and refugees forced to leave their homeland—especially the people of Syria and those experiencing a hunger crisis in Africa.
February 2017
Lent Is Just a Month Away
Lent is just a month away, coming again to make its prophetic appeal, as Pope Francis says. This Lent, we pray that the people in our communities open their hearts to God’s ongoing invitation to begin something new in them. And we hope that as members of our congregations are renewed in their relationship with God, this will lead them out to encounter others, and create something new around us.
2016
2016
November 2016
Year of Mercy Coming to a Close
In November, the Church begins the last month of the Liturgical Year and the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Though the official Doors of Mercy will close, the Church’s mission of embodying God’s mercy continues steadily on. In recent weeks, especially, the Church in the southeastern U.S. and the Caribbean has poured out mercy to people affected by Hurricane Matthew. The end of the Year of Mercy also reminds us that a new Liturgical Year is starting, and Advent is around the corner.
August 2016
Celebrating Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
In September, the Church will canonize Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. Catholic Relief Services assisted Mother Teresa before her work was well known and has been a friend of the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order she founded, which has devoted “wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor,” for nearly 50 years.
