Helping Haiti: Let us all do God's work on Earth

My friends,

If you would truly do God's Work on Earth, then now is the time to do it, by helping the desparate people of earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

It almost goes without saying that the Power of Prayer to Our Loving Father is the surest and fastest way in which we all can help. God hears the voices of His Dear Children, and He is with them in this time of incredible need. Our prayers join our minds with His, and together make a mighty and unstoppable Force for good.

If prayer is all we can give, then God knows our gift is complete. But if we can do more, we must.

The Catholic Church has a strong presence in Haiti, and within minutes of the earthquake, Catholic Relief Services mobilized to help in every possible way. Because the island of Hispaniola has a sad history of natural disasters, CRS had food and relief supplies pre-positioned in Haiti. Additional supplies such as plastic sheeting, hygiene kits, mosquito nets and water-purification tablets are even now being loaded in the Dominican Republic for distribution in Haiti.

As dawn came to Port-au-Prince this morning, CRS was ready for a full-scale emergency response.

"We've been in Haiti for more than 55 years," said Bill Canny, who, before he became CRS' director of emergency operations, oversaw the organization's response to two massive hurricanes in 2008.

"This is going to be devastating," he said. "We're moving additional emergency staff in as quickly as possible, as we know it's chaos in Port-au-Prince and help is needed immediately."

CRS urgently needs your donations. It is a highly respected mission -- 93 percent of its funds go directly to emergency aid and assistance work, with only 7 percent for administration and fundraising.

Please go to the Catholic Relief Services donation website and give as generously as you can, and urge your friends, relatives, neighbors and fellow parishioners to do the same.

God bless you all!

-- Father Tim