Father Noel Reyes, pastor of St. Stephen Protomartyr Parish in Des Plaines, left his home country of the Philippines just hours before Typhoon Haiyan hit. All along his journey back to Chicago he called his family to make sure they were OK. All of them survived but, as news reports continue to show, many did not and countless homes and businesses were destroyed by the massive typhoon. Moved by a desire to gather people to pray for the victims, Reyes organized a Mass for the dead and those still suffering on Nov. 17 at 5 p.m. A few hundred people turned out to join him, many of them Filipinos. During his homily, the priest addressed the question of why God allows tragedies like this to happen. "We are all a part of God's creation," he said. God gives his creation free will, and that includes nature, he said. But God never abandons us, Reyes said. He is present in the military working to rescue the people, in the aid workers and those around the world reaching out to help. "God is still present. God is still alive," the priest said. "God will never abandon his people."