Update: I should have noted when posting the prayer below from the New Orleans archdiocesan website that the prayer was written by Fr. Al Volpe of Cameron Parish, LA at the time of Hurricane Audrey in 1957.
As Gustav moves towards New Orleans, an anonymous reader left this comment with a request for our prayers:
The car is packed with items deemed to be important and we are hitting the road within the hour evacuating our home in New Orleans. Hoped not to have to do this again and it all seems so soon after Katrina.Please join in praying for all who are evacuating New Orleans and especially for the "residents of Lowerline..."
Your blog has helped us along while rebuilding this past year+, so thank you. I'll be turning off the laptop after this post. The e-mails to friends/family have been sent with an outline of our evacuation route.
Let's hope this is better than the last time in so many ways. It was heartening to see that at least this time transportation for those without had been planned and seems to be working.
Keep us in your prayers.
Just call us...residents of Lowerline.
This prayer is from the web site of the Archdiocese of New Orleans:
O God, Master of this passing world,
hear the humble voices of your children.
The Sea of Galilee obeyed your order
and returned to its former quietude;
you are still the Master of land and sea.
We live in the shadow of a danger
over which we have no control.
The Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant,
can awake from its seeming lethargy,
overstep its conventional boundaries,
invade our land and spread chaos and disaster.
During this hurricane season,
we turn to You, O loving Father.
Spare us from past tragedies
whose memories are still so vivid
and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal
with the passing of time.
O Virgin, Star of the Sea, our beloved Mother,
we ask you to plead with your Son in our behalf,
so that spared from the calamities common to this area
and animated with a true spirit of gratitude,
we will walk in the footsteps of your divine Son
to reach the heavenly Jerusalem
where a storm-less eternity awaits us. Amen.
-ConcordPastor
Update: I should have noted when posting the prayer from the New Orleans archdiocesan website that the prayer was written by Fr. Al Volpe of Cameron Parish, LA at the time of Hurricane Audrey in 1957.
ReplyDeleteOh, Heavenly Father, you sustain us and, indeed, all life on this Earth. You, oh Lord, are the everlasting breath of life and creation through all space and time, the holy master of all that ever was, is and ever shall be. Your breath, oh Lord, is the wind. Your body, oh God, is the heat of the Sun and stars and the giver of life, wherever it appears for all time. Even as we live, oh God, and you live forever, so do the storms that form and pass across our worldly home, the Earth. Lord, I beseech you in your goodness and mercy to calm the storm called Gustav as it moves toward the mainland of the United States. Calm the winds, dear God, that they may not harm and destroy life, human and otherwise. Bring your protective light and peace to those in the path of this storm. We know, oh God, this storm is not evil, but only an example of the greatness and wonder of Nature. Bring calm to this storm, dear God, and let it gradually ease and do no great harm to this wondrous world you have given us as our temporary home until rejoining you forever in eternal Paradise.
ReplyDeleteI ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. May it be so. AMEN. And Amen.
Lowerline residents checking in after reaching Mobile, AL early this morning. A 169 mile drive took 9 hours.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the prayers on behalf of all.
Lowerline residents: Great to hear from you! We prayed the prayer from the NO website at our liturgies this morning.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a good place to stay in Mobile - bet you need some rest after that drive!
Please stay in touch - our prayers are with you...
Concord Pastor, I know the Catholic Church has liturgies for specific circumstances. If there is a special Mass for a time of danger or storm, may I suggest you celebrate that liturgy tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteThe Sacramentary has Mass prayers for "Mass in Time of Earthquake," "Mass for Rain," "Mass for Fine Weather," and "Mass to Avert Storms."
ReplyDeleteI will not be celebrating Mass tomorrow so I'll post here the two prayers the weather in the Gulf suggests:
To Avert Storms
Father, all the elements of nature obey your command. Calm the storms that threaten us and turn our fear of your power into praise of your goodness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Fine Weather
All-powerful and ever-living God, we find security in your forgiveness. Give us the fine weather we pray for so that we may rejoice in your gifts of kindness and use them always for your glory and our good. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
May God be with all those who left their homes and those who stayed to protect and help rebuild/repair what Gustav brings to each home, and community. I sit in PA with my faith knowing GOD IS WITH YOU!
ReplyDeleteThank God that Hurricane Gustav was not as devastating to New Orleans as had originally been thought it might be. I remember Hurricane Hazel ('50s). Two couples from my home town drowned. Another couple who was with them on Holden Beach, NC, an island, lived to tell the frightening story. None of them believed the potential power of Hazel for absolute destruction of the island. Despite numerous warnings from the Coast Guard they remained. At the time you could only access the island by ferry. The water was above the houses and swept them away. Each couple had children who were raised by the grandparents. That story made such an impression on me I have ever since been in awe of and have had respect for the mighty force of hurricanes.
ReplyDelete