“As Hurricane Gustav enters the Gulf of Mexico this weekend, all tracking models indicate the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana as sites of probable landfall. I join with over 200 deacons in this area in asking for your prayers. Thousands of people, including some deacons, suffered catastrophic losses during Katrina and have yet to recover. Please pray that no lives will be lost and property damage will be minimal.”
Deacon Gayden R. Harper
Director of the Diaconate
Diocese of Biloxi MIssissippi
When Deacon Harper posted this request in the 
DeaconsPlace Forum yesterday, my heart and thoughts were pulled back to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and the faith-filled community of St. Rose de Lima Roman Catholic Church. I’ve mentioned St. Rose a number of times over the past several years. Most of our family has helped with reconstruction in the Bay St. Louis- Waveland area over the past three years.
And now the warnings of Gustav, currently a Category 4 storm bearing down on the Gulf Coast area– almost too much to bear. I think of Marilyn… the new house built with the help of so many volunteers… the special “hurricane strapping” from the base of the structure over the roof trusses. Will it hold? Will the area be devasted once again by a deadly storm surge?
We can ony watch, wait AND pray. My friend, Donnie Mula, posted a beautiful prayer in response to Dc. Harper’s request. Thank you, Donnie!
Prayer for Hurricane Season
O God, hear the humble voices of your children. You are the Master of land and sea. Calm the storms that threaten them. They live in the shadow of a danger over which they have no control. During this hurricane season, we turn to You, O loving Father, we ask that you spare them 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 their behalf, so that they may be spared from the calamities common to this area. Amen
Filed under: At Home, Reflections | Tagged: deacons, DeaconsPlace Forum, hurricane, prayer
