This week has been hard on Catholics and the Church in the news stream; I don’t think anyone will disagree with that. But it started in this area with a beautiful article on the work done by a local sister in helping new immigrants adapt to life in New Hampshire and move up in the economy.
Re-settlement groups like the International Institute of New Hampshire or Lutheran Social Services place the refugees, but the refugees usually don’t have jobs or enough money to buy even basic needs and aren’t always sure what government services are available to help.
That’s where Sister Irene comes in.
She finds people who usually know little English and even less about how to get by in their new world. Then she helps.
“I guess I welcome the stranger,” she said. “Imagine being in an another country and you don’t know the language. How do you ask even a simple question? Where do you go?
“I do what I can. I see what is missing, the simple, little things.”
These immigrants, contrary to some of the uneducated comments to the article, frequently then find jobs and become positive additions to the economy rather than a drag on it. If it weren’t for Sister Irene and her ability to see Christ in the poorest around her they may well either be forced to return to the country from which they came or disappear into the gutters of poverty and homelessness. May she and her work continue to be blessed!
