Agape for Hurricane Harvey Victims

"Never a complaint. Totally enthusiastic and energetic for their work and all done with excitement, and with respect for those they are helping." These the words spoken by Jim Flanagan, youth leader from St. Elizabeth-St. Isadore parish in the Boston Archdiocese. He was describing the 75 high school students and chaperones from various parishes in the Boston area he brought to our diocese last month to help and engage with south Texas victims of Hurricane Harvey, the second most powerful hurricane to ever hit the United States. 

This was Jim’s fourth trip to the Coastal Bend for Harvey victims. And half of the youth were making a return trip, having worked for Harvey victims last summer. He said the youth paid their own way through fundraisers they held during the year and through their own parent’s donations. 

During the week of June 23-29, they spilt up into small groups, tackling projects in Ingleside, Gregory, Sinton, Aransas Pass, Rockport and Corpus Christi. They coordinated their work through the Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group (CBDRG), one of several volunteer organizations working for Harvey victims in our diocese. Under the direction of skilled craftsmen from the CBDRG at each location they and their chaperones laid flooring, repaired damaged structures, worked with dry wall, caulked, painted, cut lumber, and did various sorts of carpentry and most importantly, they engaged in basic Christian charity, we call “agape,” the action of love, wanting nothing but the best for God’s people.

Filling up two large buses and several rental vehicles, the youth and leaders arrived at St. John Paul II High School to board for the week and spirits were high as they bounded from the buses with enthusiasm and smiling faces. Father Peter Martinez, president of the school, graciously offered them room and board at the diocesan high school. 

Every morning they woke early and before heading out to their projects, they attended 7 a.m. Mass celebrated by Father Will Sexton from the Boston Archdiocese who accompanied the teens. Bishop Michael Mulvey concelebrated Mass with Father Sexton for the youth on their final work day and he conveyed his deepest thanks to the teens for their generosity and sacrifice for Harvey victims who live more than two thousand miles from the Boston area. 

The groups stationed at the sites worked with unbridled joy and remained joyful, smiling even as perspiration dripped from their faces. They had the smile of Christ along with the Lord’s determination to bring joy where there is sadness, hope where there is despair, and relief where there is pain. Their working hands were His hands and Christ laughed, when they were joyful. The Sacred Heart of Jesus beat with grandeur and magnificence for the charity they bestowed on the people in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. 

In the past year there have been several groups of high school and college students from Corpus Christi and other areas who have given up some of their free time or Spring Break to labor in the Harvey fields of south Texas. College students from Iowa State University spent part of their Spring Break moving a Catholic Charities client and her children to her new home in March. Her old home had been mold infested after a tree fell on top of her trailer. She had received much damage from a compromised roof and rising flood waters. 

Connect, a youth group from Holy Family Parish in Corpus Christi, dedicated a weekend in February to prayer and service, clearing away debris from the former VFW building and a local park in Port Aransas. Some students from the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Newman Center spent a Saturday sharing their physical and spiritual energy with their neighbors in Rockport, cleaning debris from one of the sites affected by the hurricane. 

Students from University of Texas Arlington Newman Center gave up their Spring Break to labor for those whose lives have been turned upside down by the hurricane and high school students from St. Dominic Savio in Austin and Bishop Gorman High School students in Tyler gave up their Spring Breaks two years in a row to help south Texans. 

All these efforts by these unselfish youth and adults give insights into our early apostolic church where small clusters of believers, instructed by the apostles, banded around the Eucharistic feast to bring the love of Christ to all peoples and nations, to bring healing and joy by working together in union with the Body of Christ. If this is the future of our Church, we are in good hands. 

The two-year anniversary of Harvey’s landfall will be on August 25. The storm was so large, so powerful, so destructive, that victims are still trying to put their lives back together. In 2017, you could see the piles of debris, the remnants of people’s lives and households, in great mounds along Highway 35, in Port Aransas and on Highway 181 near Gregory. The work is not over. Help is still needed. Christian charity is in demand. For more information on how you can help call (361) 446-2291 or email [email protected].