He also thanked the firefighters and police, both those from California and throughout the country who have offered their help.
"...I commend you for that patience and professionalism which I have seen so often and for which I commend you. As I very often advise. Persevere!" he said. "Thousands of volunteers are spending countless hours showing their desire to share in the suffering of those displaced by the fire. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My prayers are with all of you as well."
Christopher Lyford, director of communications for the Santa Rosa diocese, stopped by St. Eugene's Cathedral, which is being used as an evacuation center coordinated by the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa and other parishioners. Once there, he found a homeless man doing his best to comfort the distraught evacuees.
"A homeless man named Paul, who lives near the cathedral in a creekbed, happened by and offered some consolation through his gift of music" by playing the piano inside the shelter, Lyford told journalists. "The poignancy of the moment is not lost."
Father David Jenuwine, Parochial Vicar of St. Apollinaris Catholic Church in Napa, California recounted some of his own experiences with the fires in e-mail comments to CNA in between helping out at evacuation centers.
On Monday, the first day of the fires, Jenuwine said he started smelling smoke around 4 a.m. and realized the area had lost power.
"When I figured out what was going on, I exposed the Blessed Sacrament around 5:00 am and started praying. People started showing up for morning Mass at 6:15 am. I went inside (again still dark - no power), and got ready for Mass" he said.
"Mass in complete darkness, knowing your friends and parishioners are in jeopardy, is an awe inspiring experience. The prayers took on an eminence and an importance," he said.
The verse that "jumped from the page" of the day's readings was: "Who is my neighbor?"
"I spoke briefly about that verse, and how that would be our clarion call for the next several days," Jenuwine said. "Because without limit, right now, EVERYONE is our neighbor."
Over the next two days, he said, the parish started taking in evacuees from the area and accepting food donations.
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"The faces of the donors and the recipients reflected a surreal joy. Giving and receiving are both opportunities to share in the divine life of the Most Holy Trinity. And it is apparent in what we have witnessed over the past few days," he added.
As of today, access to power and communications are back, but the fires are still far from contained, Jenuwine noted.
"I have to cut this short, because I'm needed at the Red Cross shelter to comfort those who have lost someone in the fires. Pray for us," Jenuwine said.
"Many parishioners have lost everything. The overwhelming feelings of the loss of so many is offset by the overwhelming generosity of individuals giving food, bedding, clothes, and water."
"Pray for us," he added again. "Pray that the winds die down, and the fires can be abated. Pray that we have strength to persevere."
Fr. Jenuwine's parish has set up a Paypal donation page that is acting like "a rolling second collection" for fire relief, though Father noted the immediate issues of evacuations, shelter, food and water were being addressed before the exact recipients of the relief money could be determined.