"We have come to believe in God’s love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction."  (Deus Caritas Est no. 1)

The words of Benedict XVI remind us that we come to know Christ in our encounters with each other. It is in the fabric of our daily life that we find Him. Those who seek Christ must be able to find him in the community of believers, the People of God: the Church. They find him not in programs and events, but in the way we live our lives each day. 

This is what it means to be Catholic: to be the kind of people whose words, choices and actions each day reveal the saving presence of Jesus. We who are nourished by Word and Sacrament must bring that presence of Jesus to a world that is looking for meaning, hope and love. 

Parishes do not live this mission in a solitary way. Each parish is connected to the larger Church; locally it is the diocese and globally it is the Church throughout the world. 

            Included here are some websites that link us to the larger Church and help us not only know what it means to be Catholic, but to live that faith each day.

• St. Charles Borromeo is a parish in the Diocese of Metuchen, NJ. You can find out more about the Diocese and its work at www.diometuchen.org

 

• The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops is the voice of the Church in the United States. Its website includes not only news, but documents put out by the American Bishops. It also contains a helpful page with the lectionary readings for daily and Sunday Mass:  www.usccb.org

 

• The mission of the Church globally, the writings of Pope Benedict and news from the Vatican can be found at www.vatican.va

 

• Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) are the major organizations devoted to the social mission of the Church--to help build a more just and equitable world.  Catholic Charities USA www.catholiccharitiesusa.org works to reduce poverty in America, CRS www.crs.org is the official organization that oversees relief and development agency, and CCHD www.usccb.org/cchd/ is the domestic anti-poverty campaign that focuses on investing in human development to spark institutional change.  

 

• Going out of town on business, or going on vacation? Not certain where there are churches and the Mass times in the places you are visiting www.masstimes.org 

 

 If you would like more information please contact Darrin Nelson by Clicking here.