When Father Richard Sutter, a former U.S. Army Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer, summoned a handful of his strong-backed St. Gabriel Catholic Church parishioners for what he called a recon mission to Swannanoa, North Carolina, a community devastated by Hurricane Helene, we did not hesitate.Once there, we were surprised to learn that the earlier-arriving boots on the ground were not boots at all, but sandals, and small ones at that. Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity were already at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, our designated rally point, by the time we gents had arrived in town.
I was aware of the Missionaries of Charity and their service to the poorest of the poor. But I’d never seen them in action, and certainly never expected to do so two hours from my home. The strength of the hurricane notwithstanding, theirs was a masterclass display of the most powerful force in the universe: love.
The author doesn’t intend this as a comment on gender or gender roles, but it’s interesting to see that come out in a natural way. The important thing, though, is the work of helping people.
UPDATE: A video from the NC DOT showing work they're doing to 'put the river back so we'll have a place to rebuild the road.'
2 comments:
I wish the NCDoT good fortune and patience. Rivers will do what rivers do, and they don't really care if that happens to coincide with human desires. As a gent once told me, when I asked if his farm was ever flooded by a particular river, "Of course it flooded—that's what rivers do!" He sounded somewhat indignant that I would accuse a river of not flooding.
LittleRed1
A farmer might even appreciate it. Floods can be destructive, like this, but they can also renew the fertility of the land.
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