Katrina

I haven't blogged in days. I'm not sure where to start, and once I get started, I don't know where to stop.

Just like everyone else, I'm searching for answers. I'm praying. Lots of praying.

I learned last night that there was an article written in National Geographic in 2004 and the intro was eerily similar to what we have all witnessed. It seems that New Orleans is an engineering nightmare created by...engineers! Apparently the system of levies created to head off flooding actually eroded the natural silt deposits and small islands which used to form a protective barrier between the ocean and the city. As a result, there's nothing to stop the storm surge.

And the levies for Lake Ponchartrain? Good only for a category 3 storm.

Never mind the fact that we, as Americans, are deserving of this.

Yes, you heard me correctly. We are witnessing the hand of God. I don't know if he made the strike himself or if he just allowed it to occurr. Check out the link I provided, to a Vatican-approved loqutionist, Jennifer. www.wordsfromjesus.com

I actually heard a Protestant pastor on the radio the other day poo-pooing the idea that this has anything to do with end times. And I won't say he's wrong, but I will say that he is wrong to discount the hand of God. One one hand the good Pastor brought up a VERY important point: God has said, "Your ways are not my ways". Very true.

Then on the other hand his argument against why this disaster can't have to do with God's hand was, "Why would God hit New Orleans instead of Las Vegas?"

I'll answer: Because New Orleans, while the home of many many good and devout Catholics and Christians of other faiths, is also the bed of Voodoo. Voodoo is complete anti-anything of God. And Santeria, a religion blending Voodoo and Catholicism was born in New Orleans. Let's not forget MardiGras...and while the citizens of the city, as I understand it, flee in the face of the rowdy tourists, it doesn't change the fact the city allows the lawlessness of that and other issues to fester. I also have come to understand that Labor Day weekend is home to a Homosexual celebration of complete hedonism in their disordered practices...and so I ask, could this be some of the reasons why God would strike?

Also consider...this strike of Katrina (meaning "purity" and in Mexico, "death") affects the entire country. It means huge changes for America in general. Just look at the gasoline prices...and this is just the start. New Orleans is extremely imporant to our economy, to our American culture, and let's not forget the human component. My guess is that you'll be hard pressed NOT to find someone living in the US who is not somehow affected directly by this. Whether by family members, friends, sentiments, financial dealings...etc.

And we have all been watching the images on our television screens. The human suffering. The heroism. The vigilantes. The looters, the rapists, the murderers. The government officials alternately patting each other on the back and pointing blaming fingers which should be directed to themselves. The men and women in uniform from civil on up to federal. The mothers, the children, the fathers, the brothers, sisters, pets...the list goes on.

And what it comes down to is this: Katrina is affecting OUR brothers and sisters. Yes. Our brothers and sisters in Christ. It doesn't matter what they believe, where they are from, or what they are doing right now. EVERY SINGLE PERSON suffering in the wake of Katrina is a child of God.

God is calling us to prayer. Whether this storm is a chastizement against America (not just a city, but America), or whether it is just a storm which cause so much damage simply due to bad civil engineering, we need to pray. We need to offer our time, talent, and treasure to help those who are affected. Maybe all we can do is pray, and that is enough. Mountains are moved through prayer.

So I ask each and every person who reads this to say an Our Father, a Hail Mary, a Glory be, and a Chaplet of Divine mercy especially for the dead or dying. I ask you to say rosaries and chaplets for the living and offer whatever prayers you have in you. I ask Charismatic Catholics and other Charismatic christians to pray in the Spirit with all your heart and soul for those affected. I ask every person to do what they can for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

God bless you all.

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

Amen