The images of death, suffering and destruction in Haiti that we have seen in newspapers and on television in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake have left an indelible mark on our hearts and minds.

Some of these images are difficult to fully comprehend, such as that of bodies of the thousands who were killed lying covered on streets as survivors walk by and try to go on with their lives. Images such as truck loads of bodies being buried in mass graves without being identified. And images of injured people lined up outside hospitals waiting to receive medical treatment and crowds waiting in line for food and water.

If we ever needed to be reminded of the inherent value of human life and the dignity of human life, we have it before our eyes in Haiti. If we are ever tempted to take human life and human dignity for granted, we should remember the images of suffering and death from Haiti.

But there also are images of Haitians striving to cling on to life and of others who have rescued people from houses and buildings that collapsed during the earthquake. One such image was of a Mexican rescue worker crying with joy after his team had pulled a 69-year-old woman alive from the rubble of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Port-au-Prince seven days after the quake.

“It’s something I consider to be a miracle,” rescue worker Gabriel Romero Vega said. “The joy was overwhelming, more than you can imagine.”

There have been many other such rescues of adults and children. Following the rescue of an 18-month-old girl from one building, a nurse remarked: “This is incredible. She has no injuries. Only a child is able to survive six days in this condition.”

Some estimates are that more than 150,000 have been killed in the earthquake, and thousands more are thought to be entombed in the rubble of buildings and homes. United Nations officials have said the final death toll might never be known.

Last Saturday an outdoor funeral was held near the damaged cathedral in Port-au-Prince for Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot and the archdiocese’s vicar general, Msgr. Charles Benoit, who were killed in the earthquake. About a thousand or so people attended the funeral, which, as one person said, was “a symbol for all those who had died.”

One nun who attended the ceremony remarked: “This is for everyone. Those that couldn’t bury their loved ones, those that are still under the rubble, I say that this is a burial in the name of all those who are left anonymous and will never be found.”

Archbishop Louis Kebreau of Cap-Haitien, president of the Haitian bishops’ conference, offered this prayer: “We ask God that for all those that have encountered death with this earthquake, that you console their families, who in many cases could not offer a dignified burial to their loved ones.”

A message read at the funeral from Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, told Haitians, “The church in the United States stands with you.” He said the U.S. church was committed to “doing everything we can so that you may rebuild and renew and begin again your lives of faith and family and service to Haiti.”

This rebuilding is only one part of the recovery from the earthquake. Thousands upon thousands are homeless and in need of food, water, shelter and medical care. The relief effort being conducted by Catholic Relief Services, the official aid agency of the U.S. church, and other organizations is a monumental task that will continue long after newspaper and television images from Haiti are no longer part of the daily news reports.

But we must not allow Haiti to slip from our consciousness. We must continue to support the work of organizations such as Catholic Relief Services, and the people of Haiti must continue to be in our prayers.

The images from Haiti that we have seen in the past two weeks must remain in our hearts and minds. The people of Haiti must not be forgotten.