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Thursday, October 6, 2016

THIS AIN'T NO SAINT AND IT AIN'T NO GOSPEL! IT'S HURRICANE MATTHEW AND IT IS HEADING FOR MY PAIRSH AND MANY, MANY OTHERS AS I SIT HERE IN ROME, ITALY!


I arrived in my new parish of Saint Anne Church in Richmond Hill, about 20 miles south of downtown Savannah off of Interstate 95 this past June.

I bought a small piece of property in nearby Hilton Head Island, South Carolina at the same time to be used as my retirement location in about seven years as well as for days off and vacation in the mean time. Hilton Head Island has fabulous beaches and nice affordable amenities.

Yesterday all of the low country of South Carolina is under mandatory evacuation including the large metro area of Charleston.

Closer to the parish the Islands off of Chatham County (Savannah) are in a mandatory evacuation. The storm is expected to hit late Friday or early Saturday.  Currently, the projection is that the eye will be about 45 miles off shore. This is not good although the western side of a hurricane is less severe than the eastern side.

Savannah and Hilton Head have beautiful trees, Hilton Head almost jungle like. I hate to see those devastated along with the human made properties. But the Lord gives and takes away!

Haiti has already experienced the worst of it with many deaths and loss of properties. Others will be affected and those who hunker down and refuse to evacuate are placing their lives in peril. Many may well die.

Pray for everyone. Depending on what happens in Richmond Hill, Savannah and Hilton Head Island, I may have to cut my continuing education program, which I am funding along with our annual stipend for continuing ed, short.

Here is a great prayer and idea from what was formerly called WDTPRS:

PROCESSION FOR AVERTING TEMPEST [Better in Latin, but here is the English from Sancta Missa.]
The church bells are rung, and all who can assemble in church. Then the Litany of the Saints is said, in which the following invocation is said twice:
From lightning and tempest, Lord, deliver us.
At the end of the litany the following is added:
P: Our Father (the rest inaudibly until:)
P: And lead us not into temptation.
All: But deliver us from evil.
Psalm 147
P: Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; * praise your God, O Sion.
All: For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; * He has blessed your children within you.
P: He has granted peace in your borders; * with the best of wheat He fills you.
All: He sends forth His command to the earth; * swiftly runs His word!
P: He spreads snow like wool; * He strews frost like ashes.
All: He scatters His hail like crumbs; * the waters freeze before His cold.
P: He sends His word and melts them; * He lets His breeze blow and the waters run.
All: He has proclaimed His word to Jacob, * His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
P: He has not done thus for any other nation; * He has not made known His ordinances to them.
All: Glory be to the Father.
P: As it was in the beginning.
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: Lord, show us your mercy.
All: And grant us your salvation.
P: Help us, O God, our Savior.
All: And deliver us, O Lord, for your name’s sake.
P: Let the enemy have no power over us.
All: And the son of iniquity be powerless to harm us.
P: May your mercy, Lord, remain with us always.
All: For we put our whole trust in you.
P: Save your faithful people, Lord.
All: Bless all who belong to you.
P: You withhold no good thing from those who walk in sincerity.
All: Lord of hosts, happy the men who trust in you.
P: Lord, heed my prayer.
All: And let my cry be heard by you.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: And with your spirit. .[]
Let us pray.
God, who are offended by our sins but appeased by our penances, may it please you to hear the entreaties of your people and to turn away the stripes that our transgressions rightly deserve.
We beg you, Lord, to repel the wicked spirits from your family, and to ward off the destructive tempestuous winds.
Almighty everlasting God, spare us in our anxiety and take pity on us in our abasement, so that after the lightning in the skies and the force of the storm have calmed, even the very threat of tempest may be an occasion for us to offer you praise.
Lord Jesus, who uttered a word of command to the raging tempest of wind and sea and there came a great calm; hear the prayers of your family, and grant that by this sign of the holy cross all ferocity of the elements may abate.
Almighty and merciful God, who heal us by your chastisement and save us by your forgiveness; grant that we, your suppliants, may be heartened and consoled by the tranquil weather we desire, and so may ever profit from your gracious favors; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
He sprinkles the surroundings with holy water.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those owning luxury condominiums or townhouses on Hilton Head should be moving furniture upstairs and sandbagging doorways right about now...

Rood Screen said...

Those owning luxury condominiums or townhouses on Hilton Head should sell them and give the money to the poor.

John Nolan said...

No earthquakes, no hurricanes, no parched summers with 30+ temperatures for weeks on end, no endless snow in winter with temperatures -0 for weeks on end, lovely sunshine at the moment with the trees just starting to turn.

England's green and pleasant land, the dowry of Mary. What possessed people to leave this and settle in foreign and inhospitable climes is beyond me.

rcg said...

John, it was the prospect of mosquitos.

Anonymous said...

John has the right idea...living in Atlanta, we hear from time to time some who say they wish we were closer to the ocean, instead of having to make that monotonous drive down Interstate 16 to the coast. This is the time of year I'm content to be inland, thanks you, where the worst we have is occasional flooding and ice storms. But we could use some prayers for rain---it is bone-dry in northwest Georgia especially!

And the Bible does warn us about building our house on sand......that is practically the case when you build along or near the ocean.

TJM said...

Diologue, but where would these liberals go?

tevye said...

HH is predominately Republican. (The Padre will feel right at home.)





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Kelley said...

Leaving Amelia Island now. They are shutting down the one bridge to the island. Please Pray for our Island.

Anonymous said...

Bee here:

Well, Fr. McD, you may as well be far away because evacuation is going to be a bear, and you couldn't do anything to save your home if you were here. It's pretty much in God's hand in any case. You can do there what you could do here: pray.

Of course, if you were at home/at your parish, you could help in the aftermath more than from where you are now, but that is God's plan too.

Whaddaya gonnna do? That's life... :-)

Bee

Anonymous said...

Will pray as requested.

Jan

Anonymous said...

Sorry to bring up the US elections but as this election is being seen as crucial to the future of the prolife movement and the Church in America, I thought some Catholics still undecided might take note of what Archbishop Aquila in Denver is saying:

"Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila has given one of the most powerful elections statements by any Catholic leader. He says Catholics in good conscience can’t support candidates who are pro-abortion.

But Archbishop Aquila goes further. He says Democrats are “aggressively pro-abortion” because they are pushing taxpayer funding of abortions and because they will appoint judges who support abortion. Naturally that includes Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president who is spearheading that agenda.
Archbishop Aquila also complains about how Democrats are pushing to overturn the Helms Amendment, which prevents forcing taxpayers from promoting and performing abortions in other countries.
On the other hand, the Catholic leader praises the Republican Party platform for opposing taxpayer funding of abortion and defunding the Planned Parenthood abortion business as well as opposing dismemberment abortions and assisted suicide.
Archbishop Aquila also blasted Democrats for promoting the Obamacare mandate that forces groups like The Little Sisters of the Poor and Hobby Lobby to pay for abortions and violate their own consciences."

http://www.lifenews.com/2016/10/06/archbishop-catholics-cannot-support-pro-abortion-candidates-and-hillary-is-aggressively-pro-abortion/

Pence gave a very strong defense against abortion in the vice-presidential debate too. If I could vote I know where my vote would go in conscience.

Jan

Anonymous said...

Fr AJM If you have someone close by your townhouse you might want them to go and move anything that is dear to you. I know you are worried being so far away.

DJR said...

John Nolan said... No earthquakes, no hurricanes, no parched summers with 30+ temperatures for weeks on end, no endless snow in winter with temperatures -0 for weeks on end, lovely sunshine at the moment with the trees just starting to turn.
England's green and pleasant land, the dowry of Mary. What possessed people to leave this and settle in foreign and inhospitable climes is beyond me.


But you do get tornadoes.

http://www.bbc.com/news/education-33136737

rcg said...

Bee gives good Midwestern matron advice: the emergency responders and transportation channels are beyond capacity and more people going in rather than out might even do harm. In fact, I recommend exercising caution going back after the storm has passed as the danger will be in downed power lines, weakened bridges, and treacherous trees and roofs that hide their faults.

John Nolan said...

DJR

Tornadoes and Typhoons are aircraft flown by the RAF. I do remember seeing a whirlwind about 25 years ago and high winds in 1987 flattened a lot of trees in the south of England. 28C for three days counts as a 'heat wave' and a flurry of snow causes 'traffic chaos' and even paralyses the London Underground. Anything under freezing point triggers a 'severe weather warning' from the Met Office.

The reason why weather is the universal topic of conversation is that nothing really happens so the subject is uncontroversial.

Rood Screen said...

England also had the Blitz raining down on it a few decades back. Eventually, we were happy to lend a hand to our former motherland. The fog was once as deadly as any storm, but has since been banished to India and China.

rcg said...

I recall a thin layer of snow on Oxfordshire in February. The snow was melting in patches to reveal the deep, hopeful, green grass. Surrounded by the bare trees and covered by the stone grey sky it was beauty enough to make me pause despite the wet and cold.