Reflections on Faith, Compassion and Resilience
There are no words to describe the COVID chaos that has been the last four months. What was whispered on a Monday became a stay-at-home order by Friday. And since then, we’ve juggled. While there have been moments filled with tears and angry shouts, most moments have been filled with awe and wonder at what human beings are capable of.
In movies, most often we hear lines like, “You have no idea what I am capable of!” referring to the worst of human beings — the evil, the vengeance, the sin. Then, when we talk about God, so often we talk about his divinity. But what if we pause and looked at the humanity of God and change our perspective?
What if the person, the human being, of Jesus is actually what we are capable of? The generosity, the patience, the kindness, the love.
Here we see the miracle that has been the last few months. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!”
Early on during the start of the pandemic, one of our Catholic Charities’ team members received a call from a donor, “What do you need?” This donor listened to the needs of our northern Arizona team: Thermometers, tents, food, and money for hotel stays for the homeless. The next day $15,000 arrived. Other donors – generous and faithful – sent $25, $150, $18,000, and $100,000 donations! A $5 donation came from a teacher whose 6th grade student just “wanted to help.”
Then there are the supplies – the food boxes, the masks, the toys and games – all are still coming in. In fact, our own clients are volunteering to sew masks!
Our community engagement team is working hard to make sure all the donations are distributed across the agency, across the state, wherever they are most needed.
The COVID roller coaster in Arizona continues. The new normal is yet to be seen; the long-term effects of this crisis are still unknown. However, I believe the best of our community will continue to shine through.
Catholic Charities continues to serve. We will not stop!
We have been in this together, and will continue to be in it together – team members, clients, volunteers, donors, businesses. We keep lifting each other up and offering hope. We are capable of so much good. That is the reason COVID-19 won’t win.
