CONCORDIA MINISTRIES, INC.

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Concordia Ministries, Inc.
564 Ahuawa Place
Diamondhead, MS 39525

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******
We adore you,
 most holy Lord Jesus Christ,
 here and in all the churches
 throughout the whole world,
and we bless you,
 because by your holy Cross
 you have redeemed the world.
  (St. Francis of Assisi)

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PRAY TO END CHILD ABUSE - ANIMAL ABUSE

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 MIDI MUSIC

St. Francis
Playing Two Sticks


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CATHOLIC
RADIO

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Hurricane Katrina Page


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HURRICANE KATRINA

August 29, 2007

The eye of Hurricane Katrina came directly over all members of Our Lady of the Pearl.  (website:  www.ourladyofthepearl.com)  To read their story, "In the Eighth Month," click HERE.  An excerpt follows:

TWO YEARS LATER

            It is August 29, 2007 , two years since Hurricane Katrina.  Many on the Mississippi Gulf Coast continue to struggle with making repairs to homes and businesses and struggle with insurance companies who have denied their claims.  Recovery is blocked in many ways because business owners and home owners cannot afford or obtain insurance.  Would-be home owners do not purchase homes for the same reasons.

             We hear complaints from others that we should not live in hurricane areas and flood zones.  They fail to understand that the storm surge (up to 35 feet in some areas) which followed and accompanied Katrina went into areas not classified as flood zones.    Many did not have flood insurance because they do not live in flood zones.  At the same time, weather related disasters are occurring all over the country so all in the United States are vulnerable to the weather no matter where we live. 

             Members of Our Lady of the Pearl Secular Franciscan community are at different stages of recovery from Katrina.  Eileen, Hedy, and Renee lost their homes.  Hedy moved to Natchez but hopes to rebuild in Pearlington.  Eileen and Renee have purchased new homes.  Most of the repairs have been completed at Bobbye’s, and John and Carol are working on their home repairs but still in a FEMA trailer. 

             The homes for the rest of us have been repaired.  Ann is home again in Pearlington.  Our community now meets in her guest house since the Francis House was lost in Katrina.  St. Joseph Catholic Church was destroyed in Pearlington and will not be rebuilt.  Only the steps are remaining, one of the many reminders of what has been lost forever along with the destruction to nature.  We miss our trees.

Pearls_-_New_Orleans_-_Jan._2001.gif (120075 bytes)     Profession2 10-17-99.jpg (46730 bytes)

To read complete story,
"In the Eighth Month," click HERE. 

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"God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission—I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his—if, indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham. Yet I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.

"Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; He may prolong my life, He may shorten it; He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers, He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me—still He knows what He is about."

SOURCE:  John Henry Newman

 

 

HURRICANE KATRINA

Most of us on the Board of Concordia live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast or within the area hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.  We, our families and friends have lost homes and suffered from great losses and damages.  We lost electricity, water, telephone, and cable service for weeks.  We lost community services and businesses that we relied upon such as doctors, drug stores, veterinarians, grocery stores, clothing stores and on and on.  Whole towns and communities have been wiped out.  Many in our area lost everything they had, including friends, family, jobs and churches. 

Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Coast as a category 3 hurricane, with winds of 125 mph.  Hurricane-force winds extended up to 190 miles from the center of the storm and tropical storm-force winds extended for approximately 440 miles. The Mississippi Coast was in the northeast quadrant, the most dangerous side of a hurricane.  The center of the eye crossed the Mississippi-Louisiana border, near the mouth of the Pearl River, traveling north over Pearlington and Poplarville, Mississippi.

 (See The Sun Herald and  http://www.aspentimes.com/section/PEARLINGTON.)

Massive destruction occurred across the entire Mississippi Coast.  The storm surge was up to 34 feet.  It penetrated at least six miles inland and up to 12 miles along bays and rivers.  Numerous tornadoes compounded the hurricane’s deadly winds and water surge.  People lost their lives.  Millions of trees were destroyed along with wildlife, pets and domesticated animals.  More than 68,700 houses were destroyed, and 65,000 were heavily damaged.  Ten Catholic Churches were destroyed or gutted, another ten had major damage, and four others were declared unusable because of major damage.
 
In Mississippi, from the coast to two hundred miles or more to the north, there was no electricity, water, telephone service, gasoline, or groceries.  Cell phone service was crippled. There were no medical and other critical services.  Entire coastal communities were obliterated, including homes, churches, government facilities, and historical buildings.  All socio-economic classes and races were hit.  There was no discrimination.  The rich along with the poor continue to say, “We lost everything.” 
As of this writing, it is more than five months since Katrina.  It is winter time, and many people are living in tents.  On Scenic Drive, along the beach from Pass Christian to Gulfport, Mississippi, where there were once stately mansions, beautiful and historic homes, now there is only mile after mile of dead and dying trees.  Businesses, homes, towns and communities are gone.  The same scene of nothingness is repeated along the beach road from Waveland to Bay St. Louis and also in Pearlington.  In Louisiana, especially New Orleans, the tragedy continues, so much so that one cannot speak of it, and frustration erupts into a mix of tears and anger.

We live in the midst of much sorrow, but we rise up from these ruins, doing what we’ve always done:  praying much, practicing our faith, trying to follow God’s call, helping ourselves and others.  We ask God to bless all those wonderful church groups and volunteers who came and continue to come from all over the United States to comfort, feed, clothe, shelter and help us in this disaster area.  We are so grateful.  There has been a cast of thousands bearing their gifts.  There are many unsung heroes and acts of charity and compassion that the media will never report.  For these and all our many blessings, we give thanks to the all good God.  We “[g]ive thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his steadfast love endures for ever!”  Jeremiah 33:11. 

Please remember us in your prayers.    

Peace and All Good,
Ouida L. Tomlinson, SFO
Treasurer and Web Designer
Concordia Ministries, Inc.

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Psalms 126

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
 we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
 and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
 "The LORD has done great things for them."

The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb!
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy!
He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.

Click pictures to enlarge. 


Father O'Bryan, St. Joseph Church, Pearlington, MS
Source:  http://www.aspentimes.com/section/PEARLINGTON



Father O'Bryan talking with
Patty Palmer, SFO, Poplarville, MS
and Richard Morton, SFO, Inver Grove Hts., MN.
Richard is a Past National Minister of
the Secular Franciscan Order.


Members of Our Lady of the Pearl, Secular Franciscan Community,
April 2006, Poplarville, Mississippi, and Richard Morton, SFO.


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Click on Thumbnail
to view Katrina path.

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Mass, Our Lady of the Gulf Church
Katrina Damage, Our Lady of the Gulf Church
Bay St. Louis, MS
Click pictures to enlarge. 

 



 Only the steps were left at St. Joseph Church,
Pearlington, MS after Hurricane Katrina.
Our Lady, with head bowed
from the weight of so many roseries,
 was found in the rubble and
placed on the steps.

THE ROAD HOME
by Ouida Tomlinson, SFO

           Darkness is upon me as I leave my doctor’s office in Gulfport, Mississippi.  I’m beginning to feel some anxiety as I do not want to take any of my usual routes home from here after the sun goes down.  Going towards the beach, I notice again the damaged homes from Hurricane Katrina.  The railroad tracks, running parallel to the beach, create a sort of protective barrier or levee so many structures remain. I cross the tracks, headed for Scenic Drive or U. S. Highway 90, which goes from Pascagoula to Pass Christian.  The scene changes dramatically.  There are no more damaged homes.  There are no more homes.

            On Scenic Drive, the Gulf waters are calm and serene on my left.  On my right the scene is surreal, especially in the twilight.  This drive was once lined with beautiful, historic homes and ancient live oak trees.  Now, it seems like the aftermath of an atomic bomb.  Mile after mile I see the ghost-like shadows of the dead and dying trees with buildings, homes, businesses, churches all gone.  The land is swept clean, and the growing darkness causes a greater sinister appearance.

            All my landmarks are gone.  I feel lost and afraid.  Too late, I realize that I have missed Long Beach and my turn north to the interstate.  The next two possibilities are in Pass Christian.  The damage is greater here, and the ways north more isolated.  My anxiety grows.  Highway 90 will end soon as the bay bridge to Bay St. Louis is gone. 
   
            Then I see a sign ahead.  “Detour - take Menge Avenue,” with an arrow pointing the way.  Thanks be to God.  Menge takes me to the interstate.  The interstate takes me to Diamondhead and home.  I am safe.
 (Published “TAU-USA,” Spring 2006, Issue Fifty)  

"You are a supernatural being.  You are not physical.  You live forever.  Once you realize this - truly accept it into your heart - you will transcend all sorrow. . . . Not that there won't be moments of sadness, trials, and even trauma.  No.  But you will see, there is tremendous evidence for the existence of the soul and the miracles that attend it.  This is because there is the existence of God. . . . Objects, possessions, even relationships?  When we become too wrapped up in those, we lose sight of the big picture, which is that life on earth is but a prelude to life eternal and that God is right there all of the way."  (Source:  The God of Miracles by Michael H. Brown.)

THE GOD OF GENEROUS LOVE

THE LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL'S NIGHT

PERFECT JOY

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Prayer for Hurricane Season
By Bishop Maurice Schexnayder

O God, master of this passing world; hear the humble voices of your children. The Sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned to its former quietude. You are still the master of land and sea. We live in the shadow of a danger, over which we have no control: the Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, can awaken from its seeming lethargy, overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land and spread chaos and disaster.

During this hurricane season, we turn to you, o loving father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid, and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with the passing of time.

O Virgin, Star of the Sea, our beloved mother, we ask you to plead with your son on our behalf; so that spared from the calamities common to this area, and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your divine son to reach heavenly Jerusalem, where a stormless eternity awaits us. Amen.

- Written by Bishop Maurice Schexnayder, second bishop of the Lafayette Roman Catholic Diocese, in the weeks after Hurricane Audrey made landfall in June 1957.