The people in darkness
Beach 130th Street in Rockaway, destroyed by fire during Hurricane Sandy.
This piece by the Huffington Post captures the Catholic ethos that’s quietly at work in many of the New York and New Jersey communities struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The writer visited one of the most devastated areas, Breezy Point on the Rockaway peninsula in Queens, NY, to report on St. Thomas More Parish. He also notes the central role another Catholic parish in Rockaway, St. Francis de Sales, is playing in the relief effort.
New York City is around 40 percent Catholic, and some of the flooded areas, such as Rockaway and Staten Island, have particularly large Catholic populations. In both places, the Catholic imagination had a lot to do with how grief was expressed following the 9/11 terrorist attack. Many 9/11 victims — firefighters and financial workers — were buried from St. Francis de Sales Church. And two months after 9/11, the parish responded with compassion following a plane crash that killed hundreds of people practically on its doorstep.
I do not discount the good work being done by people of all religions and none, but it’s worth noting that the sense of service, solidarity and community that is part of the Catholic worldview really shines in the darkness of these disasters. It helps to shape a city’s and a region’s response.
Bravo to the diocese of Brooklyn for being out front in the effort to help those afflicted. Visible events like this bring out the parallel to the crucified Lord. Catholics understand and experience the crucifixion in their lives and most of all how it is centered in the resurrection. This public event is visible. But many live Jesus Crucified quietly all the time.
Hi Paul…Can we assume you weathered the storm without a lot of damage. And your students?
Thanks, Peg. We avoided the flood, although the waters came up pretty close. Power is restored. As for my students, many of them live in the flooded areas of southern Brooklyn and Rockaway, so it’s a struggle for them. The college seems to have some good plans for assisting them as well as for organizing volunteers.