By Fr. Christopher Kubat
As you know, the flooding from Hurricane Harvey destroyed many businesses and homes in Houston, and the winds and flooding from Hurricane Irma did the same in many cities and rural areas of Florida. At the time of writing this column, the death toll from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma is 60 and 73 respectively. The exact number of injured and homeless people of course is much larger.
In addition to this, the damage and devastation in Puerto Rico, Cuba and the islands in the Caribbean cannot be adequately described. Those who have lost a home to a tornado, fire or some other natural or man-made disaster understand what it is like to literally lose everything.
Some have said that it is these kinds of tragedies that bring people together. We Christians know that we come together because, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Cor 12:26). Unfortunately, it is not one member that is suffering but millions.
There are many ways to help. It goes without saying that the victims of these tragedies need our prayers. Many parishes across the diocese are having second collections which will be sent to the areas in need.
We have reached out to our partners at Catholic Charities in Houston and have asked them what they need. I am happy to announce that we at Catholic Social Services are partnering with the Society of St. Vincent DePaul (SVDP) in this effort. Together we are conducting a food and cleaning supply drive. CSS will collect the food and SVDP the cleaning supplies. With the help of some generous benefactors, we will ship what we collect to Houston. Their cleanup and rebuilding effort will take years. But in this early phase, food and cleaning supplies is what they are requesting.
For those interested in helping, you may bring non-perishable food donations and cleaning supplies to our St. Joseph Center, located at 23rd and O streets in Lincoln during our normal business hours (Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 5 p.m.).
You might be tempted to ask, ‘what difference can I make?’ The answer is that when many individuals help, the cumulative effect is huge. This is because there are millions of individuals helping in small ways.
We at Catholic Social Services and the Society of St. Vincent DePaul would like to thank you for your love and support as we work together to help alleviate some of the suffering that these powerful hurricanes have caused. Please know that we at Catholic Social Services and St. Vincent DePaul will keep you, your families and intentions in our prayers!
