Burning Hope
On Wednesday, January 8th, 2025, I came back from a trip to Utah for SEEK (FOCUS' National Conference). I was exhausted and slept the whole day until 6am when my mom woke me up. She was panicked and afraid, I asked her what happened. She said my uncle, aunt, and cousins were outside the house and we had to welcome them. She told me that their neighborhood was burning and pretty soon, so would their house. I was shocked, especially on hearing that they were outside my house since 3am, but were too embarrassed to come inside. The next day, I watched the news and saw everything I loved as a child and teen burn down. My elementary school, the houses I grew up in, and even my doctor.
All of it seemed to burn down, except one pillar that survived all the embers and flames..
that was my faith, a pillar which refused to burn down even if all seemed hopeless.
Fred Rodgers gave a very powerful quote I think applies here, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” I saw so many incredible people helping even though they lost everything. People without shoes giving out clothes, people without hope praying for another, I saw people whose hearts would not give out no matter what the situation was. People who endured years of prejudice and hardships. People whose spirit would not burn down.
I have no doubt that we will rebuild and come back stronger than ever. From Jackie Robinson to Barack Obama we have always hoped in the unbelievable and have always overcome all the obstacles. Together we will rise again from the ashes #denastrong
If you would like to make a financial gift, our home parish, St. Philip the Apostle has been running Fire Relief Efforts for the community. They are in need of gift cards in increments of $25, $50, & $100 for the fire affected families.
Please visit: https://membership.faithdirect.net/givenow/CA367/58261
God bless you,
-Abel Garcia
#EatonFire
Altadena/Pasadena Native
@LAVOCATIONS Seminarian
Volunteer Abel Garcia, right, helps distribute essential daily items to a man displaced by wildfires at the "Eaton Fire Parish Response" at St. Philip the Apostle Church in Pasadena, Calif., January 10, 2025. Fires raging in the Los Angeles area reduced some 12,000 structures to ash and rubble, killed at least 11, displaced thousands of others and spread over an area larger than the size of San Francisco. (OSV News photo/Ringo Chiu)
