A PRAYER FOR HAITI

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

Dear Lord, things are bad in Haiti.

There's a blog that collects information about Haiti (The Big Picture). The news is catastrophic. The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere is hit with the largest earthquake in the last 200 years. The Red Cross estimates 50,000 dead, but nobody's counting. The corpses are stacked up like firewood outside the morgues, and the dead are being buried in mass graves - there is no time to dig individual graves.

Some pictures from "The Big Picture:"





Some supermarket chains (Publix, for instance) have set up a system for making a contribution when you pay for your food at checkout. Go, Publix!

You can donate $10 to the American Red Cross by text messaging. See their website for details.

I haven't been able to verify this website is righteous. I believe it is. If you want to be absolutely safe, just contact Red Cross directly, through traditional channels, and make your donation that way.

But don't miss the opportunity through neglect.

It is good to remember, at times like these, that no one is actually very poor in America, not compared to the poor of Haiti. Not by a longshot. So give what you can give.

God bless the United States Military. The aircraft carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson is off the coast of Haiti as of this morning. See Navy.mil. 2,200 Marines and 3,500 soldiers of the 82nd Airborne have been dispatched.

Right now, it would be good to pray. I would imagine Christians in Haiti are praying the Our Father as we speak. Perhaps we could join them, and continue to do so regularly, remembering them to Our Father.

Papa nou ki nan sièl la, Nou mandé pou yo toujou réspékté non ou. Vi-n tabli gouvènman ou, pou yo fè volonté ou so latè, tankou yo fè-l nan sièl la. Manjé nou bézouin an, ban nou-l jòdi-a. Padonnin tout mal nou fè, minm jan nou padonnin moun ki fè nou mal. Pa kité nou nan pozision pou-n tonbé nan tantasion, min, délivré nou anba Satan. [Paské, sé pou ou tout otorité, tout pouvoua ak tout louanj, dépi tout tan ak pou tout tan.]

Amèn.

And Amen.