Hurricane Mass celebrated

Even as those familiar blue tarps and houses that are perhaps only a few nails and a coat of paint away from once again being a home serve as stark reminders of Hurricane Ida two years ago, residents in southeast Louisiana are putting the final touches on their preparations for another hurricane season.

It’s a drill they know well, stockpiling water, checking gas for generators, coordinating evacuation plans with family members and neighbors and filling the pantry with canned goods. Forecasters are predicting a normal season but residents understand all too well what they thought they knew last year does not apply a year later.

It’s also a drill the disaster response folks at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge prepare for year round. Because of yeoman efforts during the past several years, CCDBR has become regarded as one of the leading disaster recovery agencies in the state.

“There’s always a reminder of Ida and we don’t want to go through that,” said CCDBR Executive Director David Aguillard. “You learn from that and you always have to keep it in mind. Who knows when the next one is going to hit?”

Aguillard, several CCDBR employees, diocesan and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul staff members, Gov. John Bel Edwards, other volunteer agencies and even Gen. Russell Honoré, the much heralded hero of post-Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, gathered for the 18th annual Hurricane Mass celebrated by Bishop Michael G. Duca on June 1, the official kickoff of the hurricane season, at St. Joseph Cathedral. Hurricane Masses were also celebrated on the first day of hurricane season in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the dioceses of Houma-Thibodaux, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Lafayette and Alexandria.

“We all know that any kind of response to a disaster is a family, a community response,” Bishop Duca, a Texas native, said during his homily. “I tell people that if I have to be somewhere where there is a disaster going on I know I want to be in Louisiana. They are prepared.”

He said residents are now in full prep mode, not only preparing their personal items but also making sure their boats are in good order, chainsaws sharpened, they have gas and also extra chains and parts to fix the chain saws when they break.

“They are ready not only to protect themselves but immediately to reach out and help others. It is a global community event.”

“We bring today the piece of the puzzle that we need to bring with us, and that is humility,” he added. “If nothing else, storms teach us to be humble, to recognize there are powers in this world greater than us. Powers that seemingly indiscriminately wash over homes.

“Winds that are unbelievable, that are frightening, that have brought us to our knees. That is why we are here today, to pray         to the Lord to help us, to pray for our protection and that he will rise up in our boat, rise up and tell the seas to be quiet.

“We pray that we all be safe this year.”

Bishop Duca said that in the past winds were of chief concern but recent years have proven than even slow-moving storms produce floodwaters even in areas that had never previously experienced flooding.

The bishop reflected on the Gospel that was read during the Mass, where Jesus calmed the sea while in the boat with his apostles. Bishop Duca said that, like the apostles, southeast Louisiana residents are not alone.

“It tells me that God is with us in the storm, even if the storm comes close, if it’s devastating, he’s with us,” he said. “ ‘Do not lose faith, I am with you.’ ”

“He also has the power to calm the seas,” the bishop added. “So today we pray, we pray that God will spare us these chaotic storms and life-taking events.”

Even in the aftermath of a storm, Bishop Duca said the Lord is accompanying communities in their relief efforts and to meet the needs of friends and neighbors who are left homeless.

“Not just take care of ourselves but to take care of one another,” he said. “That really is kind of a common sense approach to recognizing that we are humbled in these moments but we are also empowered with God’s grace to use all the means that we have for ourselves and others to endure – and not just to survive but to thrive in the midst of these difficulties.”

The bishop praised residents for understanding the commitment is not for the short term but for the long term, understanding that each person is able to walk with another during those difficult days and months after a storm strikes.

“We will not turn away. We will continue to walk with those who need healing and help to get back on their feet so that they can reestablish themselves once again,” Bishop Duca said. “We are not undone by the storm but slowed down. For if God is our power, who can be against us?”

Aguillard said the annual Mass is valuable in terms of motivating the recovery workers. He said long term recovery is hard work and to have the support of the bishop in a prayerful setting even for those who are not Catholic is meaningful.

“It reminds us of the meaning and purpose of our work,” Aguillard said. “In a given week we are all worried about where is the nail going to come from, where is the wood going to come from, how can I help this person get a job. Well, there’s meaning to all of that.

“These are instruments of God’s work.”

He said the Mass is also a recognition of “why we are here during this season.”

Honoré was the cross bearer for the procession at the beginning and the ending of Mass.