This is one of the many comments made by an official on the ground in earthquake ravished Haiti. The 7.0 quake has devastated the poor island nation and left us all praying and wondering aloud what more can we do. The tragedy seems so overwhelming. The need to continue search and rescue is great; not to mention caring for the injured and addressing what to do with the souls who died and are continuing to die among the rubble.
Even at my visit tonight in the prison, the men asked me if I had been watching the reports about Haiti. Seems these men who have several choices when the get to view TV have been glued to news reports from the epicenter.
I watched with great respect the comments of New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan who called the country of Haiti and her people the broken, bloody body of Christ as he laid in the arms of the Blessed Mother. This truly calls to mind the Scripture reference about when one among the body of Christ is hurting, we all hurt.
We are called to prayer. Sincerley and devoutly we must pray. The people of Haiti must hear our prayers storming heavenward over the cries of pain, suffering and despair. And we should give what we can. May I recommend to you the wonderfully generous organization, the Catholic Relief Service. They can be accessed on the internet at http://www.crs.org/.
Also, here in our Archdiocese of New Orleans we are planning second collection efforts at all masses across the community. We must realize that here in the crescent city we have a large population of Haitians; many of whom worship locally at St. Katherine Drexel Parish in the city of New Orleans.
All of us from this area still recoil at the tragedy that Hurricane Katrina became and continues to be for so many. We were saddened by the death toll that reached nearly 3,000. Imagine this tragedy in this poor tiny nation that most estimate will hit 100,000 on the low side and possibly 350,000 on the high side. This is tragedy in epic proportion.
In this weekend's Gospel we will hear the words of Mary concerning her son Jesus; do whatever he tells you. Pray and listen tonight and this week and hear; what is Jesus telling you and me to do concerning these children of God.
As Archbishop Dolan said so beautifully; we can't quit praying and we can't quit responding.
Pray for the people of Haiti, make a donation, ask someone you know to do so as well, then go ahead and pray some more.
May God bless the recovery and rescue effort and may the people of Haiti feel His loving presence.
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