Photo: EPA / Radioteleginenhaiti.com
The needs of the people of Haiti seem to know no bounds, no end.
I've received a number of requests for suggestions about where to make a donation. I'm not an expert on charitable organizations but I can unreservedly recommend two for your consideration:
Many churches and faith communities will be taking up collections on their Sabbath this weekend for the relief effort in Haiti. Please be generous!
And please join the people of Haiti in prayer. I recommend for your prayer the one I posted yesterday from Diana Macalintal.
A Prayer After the Earthquake in Haiti
Lord, at times such as this,
when we realize that the ground beneath our feet
is not as solid as we had imagined,
we plead for your mercy.
As the things we have built crumble about us,
we know too well how small we truly are
on this ever-changing, ever-moving,
fragile planet we call home.
Yet you have promised never to forget us.
Do not forget us now.
Today, so many people are afraid.
They wait in fear of the next tremor.
They hear the cries of the injured amid the rubble.
They roam the streets in shock at what they see.
And they fill the dusty air with wails of grief
and the names of missing dead.
Comfort them, Lord, in this disaster.
Be their rock when the earth refuses to stand still,
and shelter them under your wings when homes no longer exist.
Embrace in your arms those who died so suddenly this day.
Console the hearts of those who mourn,
and ease the pain of bodies on the brink of death.
Pierce, too, our hearts with compassion,
we who watch from afar,
as the poorest on this side of the earth
find only misery upon misery.
Move us to act swiftly this day,
to give generously every day,
to work for justice always,
and to pray unceasingly for those without hope.
And once the shaking has ceased,
the images of destruction have stopped filling the news,
and our thoughts return to life’s daily rumblings,
let us not forget that we are all your children
and they, our brothers and sisters.
We are all the work of your hands.
For though the mountains leave their place
and the hills be tossed to the ground,
your love shall never leave us,
and your promise of peace will never be shaken.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
now and forever. Amen.
Copyright © 2010, Diana Macalintal
HEQ
Thanks CP
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I both went to Haiti with our church group from OLHC in Concord and found the poorest of the poor. At the same time, when we celebrated Mass together we found the most faith filled, joyous and generous people. The pictures of Haiti today are devastating. I wonder about Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying, the Orphange, the schools, all places we visited and did some small work with. CP has urged donations to St. Boniface Haiti Foundation and I certainly second it. They have done amazing work.
ReplyDeleteLike APC, my husband and I traveled to Haiti with OLHC in Concord, with St. Boniface. The Haitian people taught us more in the 10 days we spent there than we could ever hope to pass on to them. Our thoughts, while with all of Haiti, are also multiplied for the orphanage. That part of our trip has been a point of love and concern over the years, and especially now.God Bless all of Haiti. You certainly have our prayers and love.
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