The Family Foundation School Catholic Community Bulletin
Pauca Verba (a few words)
Prayer for Protection from Natural Disaster
Written by Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes
July 2008
O Gracious God Who created the earth and all that is in it, You give us so many blessings indeed. You fill the world with so much beauty, bounty and no end of wonders!
We ask You now to save Your people from nature’s fury, from storm and flood and raging fire.
Save those in California whose homes and families are in the path of the wild fires that are consuming the land.
Comfort those in Iowa and throughout the Midwest whose farms have been obliterated by the flood waters rising throughout that region.
Quiet the swirling, tornadic winds that churn
across the Great Plains, sweeping away all in their path.
Let the earth shake no more in Nevada or elsewhere and lull back to sleep those awakening volcanoes that have lately blackened the Hawaiian air.
We have sinned against the earth You have fashioned, O Lord.
We have not been the good stewards You commissioned us to be.
Yet have mercy on us for You are a merciful God.
Do not allow the forces of nature to carry out a sentence upon us, even though we are deserving of it. Save us, O Lord, from the destructive power of storm and flood and fire.
Give courage to those who fight fires, who clean up and help others to rebuild after disasters strike.
Give strength to all survivors and peace to those whose lives are lost because of natural disasters.
Send down gentle rain to quench the flames in California.
Steady the sun to radiate its drying warmth over the flooded lands in the center of our nation.
And let the flowers bloom unruffled by strong winds across the plain.
And as You sent to Noah of old, send also to us a rainbow of hope.
Nature may rage but You, O Lord, we know are a Loving God Who forever holds in Your hand all that You have created. Unto You do we give thanks for all things.
Grant us the humility to repent of our negligence in tending Your creation and give us the will to serve You more faithfully.
All the days of our lives may we remember to honor and worship You as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
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The Catholic perspective on all things sexual is well known. Sadly, for the world, the social teaching of our Church is unknown or ignored. To the extent that the social teaching is unknown, the fault is ours. Jesus mercy!
Taken from “Signs of the Times” U.S. Catholic August 2008. p. 9
Dublin – An international treaty banning the use of cluster bombs was signed by 111 nations in May. Cluster bombs disperse thousands of “bomblets” over a target that detonates in a devastating cloud of shrapnel.
Unfortunately, a small percentage of these bomblets routinely do not explode, remaining a menace to small children and farm animals for decades. The new treaty aims to prohibit the use of such weapons under all circumstances. The United States, which previously refused to join a global landmine ban, was a lone holdout among major Western powers.
Oremus – Let us pray! Especially those of us who hold children in our arms and in our hearts.
We might have a look at the Special Report from the United States Institute of Peace – April 9, 2001. “Catholic Contributions to International Peace,” by David Smock. www.usip.org The section entitled The Catholic Vision of Peace. Mary Chase, a convert to Catholicism and formerly of St. Paul’s Parish, said to me once: “It takes a long time to start thinking like a Catholic.” I’d add that this is true even for those of us who were baptized and raised Catholic from birth!
At World Youth Day in Australia recently, Pope Benedict XVI said to 350,000 young people:
“In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair.”
“Do not be afraid to say ‘yes’ to Jesus, to find your joy in doing his will, giving yourself completely to the pursuit of holiness.”
The pope told the young people that opening their hearts to Jesus and cooperating with the gifts of the Holy Spirit would transform their lives and help them bring a life-giving witness to the rest of the world. Repeatedly during the trip, Pope Benedict described the Holy Spirit as God’s creative, life-giving and courage-giving force.
