Dear friends,

Thank you for your overwhelming response to my last post!  Many reached out asking how they can help in South Louisiana.  My mantra right now is holding tight to Blessed Mother Teresa’s words, “It is not about the numbers, but about helping people one at a time, starting with the person nearest you.”

There are moments I feel overwhelmed with all the needs I see and stories I hear.   What I know right now in terms of specific needs are as follows:

1. Cristo Rey Franciscan High School:  This school just opened their doors a week ago.  The students attended for four days, and then the flood happened.  They are starting from scratch.  They put together a sign-up sheet of their needs moving forward.

2.  I have a list of families that my home parish, St. Aloysius, is supporting.  If you would be interested in adopting a family, please contact me, and I will put you in touch with the family coordinator.  Their needs range from cleaning supplies to basic clothing to larger items such as furniture and vehicles.

3.  If you are a church or other ministry organization, I can help connect you to another church, school, or ministry organization here in town.  There are many churches who are overwhelmed with the need of their people.  They lack resources to be able to help due to the vast need.

4.  Teams to come help with demolition and clean-up.  As we were tearing out sheet rock at my mom and dad’s, I could not stop thinking of families who do not have family in town to help.  This is an immediate need now.

As I write this, my eyes keep welling with tears.  In the middle of all of this, people have give me such hope by the way they are answering the call to act.  This is mercy in action.  After all the writing I’ve done this year on mercy, I never knew my city would need to be a recipient of the corporal works and spiritual works of mercy like they are, and that I would witness these words in action.

Thank each one of you for your prayers and for your discernment to act.

Peace,

Becky

Becky Eldredge

Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.