Medical Director
Anthony Lazzara, M.D.,
SFO

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The Children

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In the silence of the heart, tirelessly God whispers to each of us, "Don't be afraid. I am here". Wait for God, even when the body and spirit are parched

Brother Roger of Taizé

Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.

C.S. Lewis

The world seems fragmented, divided. The ]udeo-Christian ethic seems in arrears. Material and spiritual poverty overwhelm and seem to snuff out the good intentions and efforts to alleviate them.
Newspapers and television scream of war, terrorism, ethnic divisions, murder, religious intolerance. The world presents a seemingly desolate panorama. But if one looks beneath the surface, beyond the media hype, glimmers of hope, love and optimism shine through. The goodness of God is not hidden. It is present in each one of us and in the people we encounter in our daily lives, from our spouses and children to the refugee several continents away. It is the reaching out and communication of that goodness to one another that brings the presence of God and His kingdom into our world.
At this moment I can hear our children playing below in the patio and I am so thankful for this work. What we do here for these children is infinitesimal in the vast expanse of human misery that afflicts our world but it is a reaching out, a communication of God's goodness, an expression of His love to children who have nothing. Our home is an island, a celebra­tion of life, an oasis which offers hope to our children and families.
Their gratitude for our services is not expressed monetarily but in returning God's goodness to uso It is a mutual exchange which sustains us both. We must never loose faith, must never feel that we are adrift, without a Helsman. Defeatism is pernicious. It begins as a nagging düubt and quickly mushrooms into a pervasive pessimism. Our faith in God's goodness and benevolence, expressed through each one of us, is our bulwark against fear an negativism.

To paraphrase what La Rochefoucauld once remarked with regard to love, one might say that just as the small fire is extinguished by the storm whereas a large fire is enhanced by it -likewise a weak faith is weakened by predicaments and catastrophes whereas a strongfaith is strengthened by them.

Viktor Frankl

The greatest enemy offaith is not doubt; the greatest enemy is fear.

Richard Rohr, O.F.M.

Our gratitude to you for your faith and support of our efforts knows no bounds. Please remember us in your prayers as we remember you in ours. We love you and wish you God's peace.