Water and SJB

Dear Friends in Christ,

The American author and humorist Mark Twain once said, “Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody.” Now the water we have seen this past week was certainly no moderate amount and it has hurt a lot of people in southern California. In the past week’s news you may have seen some of us as we slogged through the water in the parking lot.

Fortunately some of our parishioners saw us trying to deal with the “lake” in our parking lot on Monday and pitched in to help bail out the water. Some of us were interviewed by the reporters. I like what Fr. Norbert said. It was pretty bad but nothing like what they’re experiencing in Haiti. I write this column on Thursday, Jan. 21 so that it can be sent to the publisher for printing.

After Monday’s flash flood we have seen a lot more rain, but we have been able to dry out our classrooms and re-open the school for Thursday. I hope that when you read this on Saturday evening or Sunday we will have a break from the rain. We all wanted to see more rain to alleviate the drought,…but not so fast!

Please join us in praying for protection from these storms. Meanwhile, speaking of Haiti, you probably heard that they suffered a strong aftershock this past week which frightened everyone, and still they are looking for survivors. Millions are suffering in this tragedy, but persons of good will from all over the world are responding to help the people. We are especially grateful to you for your generosity in the special collection for Haiti. We collected nearly $17,000 for this effort which will go to Catholic Relief Services. CRS, which has a base in Haiti, has transformed a golf course near Port-au-Prince into a refugee camp. They are providing food and hygiene items to the many people who are homeless as a result of the earthquake. They have also managed to keep open a quake damaged hospital to serve the thousands of injured. If you were unable to donate to the collection last week you will find an announcement with an address for CRS for sending donations on page 3 of this bulletin.

Other organizations here in Orange County are sending aid to Haiti. We hope to provide more opportunities for you to help the people of Haiti. Our youth group is planning some benefit events that we will announce here in the bulletin and from the pulpit. Here at home we are helping the poor in our area through the St. Vincent de Paul Society. This weather is very hard for the homeless, and they are coming to our door for help. Have you ever thought of joining our St. Vincent de Paul Society? Have you used your St. Vincent de Paul envelope lately?

Have a good week and try to stay dry.

God bless you and your family,

Fr. Hildebrand