For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:27-29
While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” Luke 11:27-28
Piety
May the Lord Give Might to His People
A prayer for all those affected by Hurricane Matthew (from www.crs.org)
Compassionate God, we pray for all those in the Caribbean affected by Hurricane Matthew, and offer the words of the psalmist: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!” (Psalm 29:11)
As families seek shelter, we pray: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!”
As people search for loved ones, we pray: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!”
As survivors look to the future, we pray: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!”
As rescue workers work tirelessly, we pray: “May the Lord give might to his people; may the Lord bless his people with peace!”
Lord, give might to those who need your strength to carry on. Fill their troubled hearts with your peace and move us with your compassion, that we may respond generously to those in need. Amen
Study
When someone compliments our mother, we would be happy and proud. However, today, Jesus corrects the woman in the crowd. While Mary’s act of humble acceptance to bear God’s son is a pillar of our faith, Jesus elevates the compliment to a higher level. Mary did not just bear a son and nurse him to life. Mary heard the word of God through the message of an angel. She accepted it. She observed it and she lived it.
Mary literally put the reading from Galatians into practice. She clothed herself with Christ and is the prime example of piety, study, and action for us to follow in life.
Action
We are not being asked to bear God’s child or raise that child. However, we are
asked to bring the Word of God to life in the world today. We need no further calling than the pictures of the latest devastation in Haiti.  |
| Residents work to clear a house of debris after Hurricane Matthew struck Les Cayes, Haiti |
The island is the third largest in the Caribbean yet it is about the size of the state of Massachusetts (44th out of 50 in size) – which is to say Haiti is a pretty small island nation with problems way out of proportion to its size.
In 2004, Tropical Storm Jeanne skimmed the north coast of Haiti, leaving 3,006 people dead in flooding and mudslides, mostly in the city of Gonaïves.
On 12 January 2010, at 4:53pm local time, Haiti was struck by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake. This was the country's most severe earthquake in over 200 years. The 2010 Haiti earthquake was reported to have between 46,000 to 85,000 people dead and 1.6 million homeless.
On 4 October 2016, Hurricane Matthew made landfall near Les Anglais, making it the worst hurricane to strike the nation since Hurricane Cleo in 1964.
In between these natural disasters, they have suffered from outbreaks of cholera and throughout the island has faced severe poverty.
As of the evening of October 7, at least 877 people are known to have died in Haiti, with the number expected to rise. The government also estimates damages at close to $1 billion dollars.
According to an October 6 dispatch from CRS:
As Haiti’s official death toll from Hurricane Matthew moved past 100, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) staff in the hard-hit southwest region of that country are getting to work to help the thousands affected by the storm.
The CRS personnel who rode out the storm in Les Cayes are assembling kits containing hygiene, kitchen and shelter supplies for distribution in this hard-hit city. They report that many houses are without roofs and those near the sea totally destroyed.
Water from Matthew’s heavy rainfall and wind-driven storm surge was over three feet deep in many parts of the town, flooding into homes. People are beginning to return to markets in search of food and trying to dry clothing and other household items even as the rainfall continues.
No comments:
Post a Comment