Medical Director
Anthony Lazzara, M.D.,
SFO

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Faith is the realization of what is hoped for an evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Faith, one of the most important of the virtues, can be so tenuous. In our daily lives situations constantly arise which require faith to maintain our trust in God and hope in His providence, to enable us to weather difficult situations and to spur us on to continue. When faith is lacking to us, as it so often is, how do we, or can we, find it again, renew it, nourish it and strengthen it? For me the most important source of faith is children. Children represent the faith that their parents have in their love for one another, the faith that their relationship will endure, cemented by the bond of procreation and love for their children. Children represent the faith and hope that the world will be a better place with a new generation espousing love, social justice, charity and commonweal. Children themselves radiate faith in their caretakers, trusting them, submitting themselves to them, expecting unconditional love and compassion. The faith of a child has no limits when it is properly nourished. It is innocence personified and leads to the realization of what is hoped for.

The children seen on these pages approached us in faith and we in turn have tried to fulfill their hope and trust in us. We are not always successful. There are diseases beyond our ken which cannot be alleviated, and because of the situation we live in and the limited medical infrastructure available to us, our goals for our children cannot always be met. That is when I look to them to strengthen my faith. Discouragement encumbers, hinders, prevents the full realization of what is hoped for. Our children supply what little faith I sometimes have. Despite their limitations and frequent pain, their eyes shine with confidence in our care. The house trembles with their laughter and activity. They inspire us, encourage us, propel us and provide us with evidence of things not seen: the infinite love and compassion of our God.

Real faith, faith which inspires all one's actions, faith in the supernatural which strips the world of its mask and reveals God in all things; which abolishes the notion of )impossible" and empties the words "anxiety," "danger," and "fear" of their meaning; which gives life calm, peace, deep joy, like a child holding its mothers hand; which detaches the soul so completely from earthly things by showing up their total lack of importance and their childishness; l1ich bestows such confidence in prayer, the confidence of a child asking its father for something useful; the faith which shows that "apart from doing what is agreeable to God, everything is vanity"... oh) how rare that is!...
My God, give me real faith! My god, I believe, help the little faith I have!

Father Charles de Faucauld

Thank you for supporting us in faith and for making this very special work possible. We love you and wish you God's peace.