A Word of Awe...

By: Sister Angele Sadlier, O.Carm.

During a weekend in early March, at four Sunday parish Masses in Our Lady of Pompeii Parish in Connecticut, I spoke about the impact of Katrina. Now six months after the hurricane I am still very saddened by the fact that more than 50% of the residents have not yet been able to return to their homes, and countless homes are not restorable. However, I also spoke of my gratitude for the many kind and generous people who have helped us in various ways. Among such generous hearted people I cited were six deacons who revealed to us God’s loving and provident care, six permanent deacons from the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Unfortunately, the word “awesome” has become so overused by the young, that it has somewhat lost its force. Yet as I recall these men, I am still filled with awe. They gave up their time and used their gifts—and even some they didn’t know they had—to restore what had been an extremely damaged building, our Mount Carmel Academy’s print shop in New Orleans. I also admired greatly their being willing to sleep in bunks in one room and with the use of only one bathroom during the week while they daily went early each morning to work and usually stayed until after sunset.

A transformation took place (I suspect in each of them, too) and when Friday arrived, I witnessed a miracle as I viewed a beautifully restored printing shop, a shop that on Monday had been a hollowed out set of walls, needing sheet rock replacement, sanding, painting, and ceiling coverage. Yes, I met God that week in each of these men.

So I write a heartfelt thank you, Deacons Tony Cocco, Sal Lema, Dan Troy, Chris Virruso, Rich Werner and Joe Winblad. I will continue to praise and thank God for your joyful presence among us and the gift of your sharing time, talents, and energy.