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As Director, Disaster Response, Catholic Charities USA, this trip began as just another job related visit to the stricken areas of the Gulf. These encounters made it different. On similar trips, I spend most of my time with those rendering services and not with disaster victims. This time, it was different. I was forced to encounter Katrina victims face on. I was taken out of my role of the clinician, where things are done by the numbers. I was thrust into a world where faith inspired hope.
At St. Peter Claver, as I heard Father Jacques' story of the previous flooded and the decision to purchase additional flood insurance, initially I thought, "How fortuitous!" With little thought for what was going on, I walked out to the bus, sat down, and said, to myself, "Okay, I am ready for the next site."
At the MAX School, similar thoughts were running through my mind. As I sat there hearing the stories of the various students, I thought, "These poor children have been through a lot. All of them must need psychological counseling." It was at Xavier that the encounters began to take on a different meaning.
At Xavier a non-catholic colleague who had accompanied us on the trip approached me and said, "I have seen a lot of the church's works on this trip." He continued, "I was most impressed with all I heard at the MAX and Xavier about that woman Katharine Drexel." He concluded, "Deacon, do you think you could find the time to introduce me to her?" I was taken back by the comment. Hesitantly, I told him, "She is dead!"
No sooner had I said that than I realized that my work as the "professional disaster worker" was hampering my seeing God at work in the Gulf. In recounting, I realized that every where we had gone, we heard the "little" miraculous stories; the stories of hope and faith. At Rose de Lima, there was the story of the man who walked up to Father, and handed him a donation for a large sum solely because, "I felt compelled to help you in your work." Ironically, just before that encounter, Father had turned down a similar donation believing the giver needed it more.
There was the story of the Dominican brother who came to Mother of Sorrows and simply asked, "How can I help." Within a week, he returned with volunteers and supplies. They never asked for nothing and worked late into the night. Just as they mysteriously came without notice, they departed in a similar fashion.
And, then there were the children's' stories. Many of them were the children of the disaster. We met them at MAX School. Despite having lost everything, they were concerned more about the "visitors from the NBCC" than many were about themselves. I can still hear them saying, "be careful," "let everyone know we are okay," and, "thank you for coming!"
In the gospel readings about the encounter on the road to Emmaus, it states, once they recognized him, "He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, '...You are witnesses to this.'" Remembering that sentence of the gospel reminded me that I, too, am called to testify. As I began reflecting on the reading and the events of the trip, I realized I had to learn what those apostles on the road to Emmaus had to realize. That is, this trip was not about my personal agenda. Instead, it was about my encountering and experiencing His presence in the Gulf.
AND out of that I must share the story of that encounter with others for the express purpose of soliciting their support.
Often as Catholics we are reluctant to testify to experiencing the presence of God when those encounters occur outside of our comfort zones. But if we are to be faithful to what we say we believe, we must make testifying to
all of those encounters a normal part of our faith.
At every turn, while I was seeing damage and destruction, I was witnessing the faith and hope of those who had been victimized by the hurricane. It was their faith and hope that made them readily shout, "By the grace of God, we will rebuild." That faith and hope was echoed in the voices of the children at the MAX School. It was articulated by Father Jacquess as he told of the rebuilding of St. Peter Claver, "the oasis of respite, comfort and hope!" And that same faith and hope was alive and present at the Mother House in Gentilly and in my colleague's encounter with the living Katharine Drexel at Xavier. While hope and faith are abundant in the area, the people of the Gulf are in need of your help. The new disaster season has begun. And, before too long, there will be other disasters and those suffering from the effects of Katrina and Rita will fall off of the front page of the newspapers. We must not let that happen. There is an ongoing need for volunteers, church to church efforts, building materials, workers, gift cards, and a continuing need for cash donations. To help, contact:
"Sister Sylvia Thibodeaux, Superior General, Sisters of the Holy Family - 504-237-5332
- Father Sebastian Myladiyil, SVD, St. Rose de Lima, 228-467-7347
- Ms. Joyce Whitfield, Director Development, Xavier University Prep School, 504-899-6061
- Father Stephen Wilson, CSSR, Our Mother of Sorrow, 228-436-6503
- Xavier University, 504-520-7575 or email abrooks@xula.edu.
- Catholic Social Services, Diocese of Biloxi, (228)702-2100
hurricane_relief@biloxidiocese.org
- Catholic Social Services, Archdiocese of New Orleans, Call: 1-661-869-1000 or email
http://www.arch-no.org/
- Catholic Charities USA, www.catholiccharitiesusa.org or call 1-800-919-9338
To learn more about the Catholic Church disaster effort in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, go to
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/news/HurricaneRelief05.cfm.
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