Hurricanes: A Pay Back Opportunity
Sisters Marie Jo Lazzeri and Jean Blake with the St. Dominic School faculty in New Orleans, Louisiana, took advantage of a “pay back” opportunity. Hurricane Isaac ripped through their city, leaving a wake of damage, destruction and devastation in outlying areas in late August, seven years to the day since life in New Orleans came to a grinding halt due to Hurricane Katrina.
Isaac was a déjà vu experience of the dreadful days following Hurricane Katrina’s flood waters and levee breaches. This time the city was spared any major impact. However, the sisters lost a tree as they experienced winds up to 90 miles an hour and had no electricity for 4 days. Television images of entire neighborhoods flooded by hurricane-force winds reminded them of the outpouring of assistance, support, and encouragement they received when they lost home, office, school and their possessions of more than fifty years.
On their regular faculty retreat day in October, after discernment, dialog and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, they all voted to use the day to “live the gospel that we all preach.”
They helped with clean-up activities for the residents of LaPlace, Louisiana removing debris from the house and yard including water-soaked furniture. It was an overall effort to restore the house to pre-storm living conditions. The day was hot, filled with hard work and good intentions. Staff members invited their maintenance men and husbands to help “put their faith into action!”
This experience as a school faith community brought them back to how blessed they are. Some lessons learned were “until you have lost everything, then and only then, do you really understand the gift of community” and “appreciation for so many who offered assistance during Katrina.”
Update on Hurricane Sandy Relief—thanks for those who contributed $19,324 for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. Your contributions will be sent to the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Atlantic-Midwest Province to assist those in need in areas served by the sisters.