The World is the altar and the Word is the seed in a resilient post disaster Myanmar

Returning home is both joyful and painful to hundreds of coastal villagers, who are trekking back to their cyclone Nargis devastated villages. Joyful because the rootless life as refugees in the camps is over, painful because they come back to the villages where the spirit of those who perished hover over them every minute. There are damaged houses and schools. In many places the temples, churches and pagodas are damaged.

Deep in the Ei Ma, in Pathein Diocese, where the parish priest Andrew Soe Win perished in the rescue mission, the returnee number is a slow trickle. Their church is gone and their pastor was buried. " Our altar around which we used to come as a village community is gone. And our Priest who used to tell us so many good things is gone. We were refugees, we begged for our bread in the last months. We do hope our way of the Cross is over. We are happy to back where our homes used to be.' Said a returnee.

Spiritual rehabilitation remains a challenge. Many churches are still in ruins. 'The altar is gone'. From the field, from the refugee camps, the church people are also returning to the original villages. Teilhard De Chardin, the Priest- paleontologist, was once forced to be in China without mass. Despite the absence of bread and the altar, he could continue to celebrate every morning, his own version of Mass without upsetting the authorities. Described in mystical lyricism, he describes the majestic morning sun as the bread and the world clothed in morning light as the altar. The sun awakens life to activity after a dark night.

Without proper churches and scattered communities, we too feel that sense of breaking bread with the broken people of Myanmar. On the altar of suffering, with tears in their eyes, men and women sought fellowship in refugee camps and broken churches. With the generous assistance from the all of you, the universal church and the Caritas network, we reached out to hundreds of refugees, carrying food 'feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and healing the sick.' Church'. We accompanied them in their way of the Cross. Like Simon of Syrenne, hundreds of young men and women, volunteered to help the victims in the last three months.

Now life asserts like an early morning in all around Myanmar. Farmers have returned to the fields, the mothers are busy with sending their children back to school and in the fields the seeds are once again sprouting, fighting the dark days of cyclone Nargis. The human spirit fights back in every field.

As the Church we are grateful and humbled that we could be of great service to all the people, reaching out as the first group in many areas. Our liturgy moved to the camps and to the destroyed villages. The world became the altar for us and our people and where ever affected people lived, we could carry the message of God's love and Church concern through the emergency services. The hope our volunteers brought is the seed of resilience.

Comprehensive rehabilitation is a long and winding road. Spiritual healing is a long process. Psycho Social volunteers are trained for every parish. Physical rehabilitation with rebuilding houses and livelihood regeneration is emerging as a stout challenge.

As the media attention dims, the NGOs who rushed in are slowing down in response. We stay with our people, and are determined to accompany our people in their journey of rehabilitation. The needs are very huge and the number of people seeking our help is fast increasing.

To all of you who responded with magnificent generosity, the people of Myanmar owe a debt of gratitude. Far too long you have known the incremental suffering our people. When nature colluded with other forces, thousands perished. Our fellowship continues. For those who survived, we wish to bring the bread of hope in the altar of their resilience.

In Solidarity,

Archbishop Charles Bo SDB
Yangon.

Compassion is the common religion in the Post Nargis Myanmar

As the waters raged in the predominantly Christian village, the monks from the nearby monastery were on the noble mission of saving people. A monk swam across the currents to pull out a woman who was about to be dragged by the marauding river. In the far off Phyapon, where the Christian group Karuna was distributing aid to the survivors they choose Buddhist monks as their partners in distributing aid to non Christian villages.

All religious groups were made victims by the cyclone. All places of worship-monasteries, clergy houses and convents bore the brunt of the deadly cyclone. Nargis, in its monstrous ferocity tore through many of the famous places of worship of all religions. In Aima, in the Pathein Diocese, Fr Andrew Soe win, offered his life as a supreme sacrifice in trying to reach his marooned people. His body was found after 18 days.

But nothing deterred them from the sacred duty of saving lives. In the predominately Buddhist Country, where Metta and Karuna [mercy and compassion) are the major tenets of a great religion, compassion broke forth like a healing stream after the demonic deluge. Churches and Monasteries became the refugee camps. With death and mayhem threatening them in their villages, thousands took refugee in sacred spaces, seeking coping and mutual consolation. Even before the government could move in, or the do-gooders and NGOs could move in, spontaneous charity sprang forth with Buddhists feeding Christians and Christians feeding the Buddhists etc. Nargis broke many things in an evil way. Goodness broke all parochial borders that fateful night when death danced arrogantly across wounding a nation.

In Bogalay the Hindu temple opened its portals to feed the multitude. In the ravished streets of Yangon, Muslim merchants were distributing food to the starving masses. More poignant was the response of many poor and lower middle class people. They collected whatever they had and every weekend they treaded across in aid convoy to far off Labutta. Nargis stripped naked a nation with violence but people of all faiths are clothing it now with compassion.

With other Christian Communities, Catholics threw in everything into rescue - money, material and man power. Many young men and women volunteered to go to the risky villages, strewn with dead bodies of people and animals. The first psycho social assistance came from nuns who risked their lives, by undertaking dangerous boat travels, without life jacket etc. They were the first ones to hold mothers who lost their children, carried orphans and consoled a grieving community with prayer and simple presence. Hundreds of seminarians were the first rescuers, clearing the villages of debris. All these are done under extreme restrictions. Through the national Caritas, assistance continues.

Compassion is the common religion in the post disaster phase. In Myanmar people lived with various tags - religion, colour and tribe. But now Nargis taught us all, that human tears have no colour, no religion, and no tribe.

Charles Bo

Pope Notes Signs of Hope in Myanmar Cites Increased Vocations, Enthused Laity

VATICAN CITY, MAY 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- While addressing the sufferings of the people of Myanmar in the wake of this month's deadly cyclone, Benedict XVI notes signs of hope in the country. The Pope commented today on the increasing number of vocations and activity of the laity when he received in audience prelates from the episcopal conference of Myanmar. They were completing their five-yearly visit to Rome.

Speaking in English, the Holy Father noted, "The Church in Myanmar is known and admired for its solidarity with the poor and needy. This has been especially evident, in the concern you have shown in the aftermath of the cyclone Nargis."

The Church had been at the forefront of aid delivery since Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on May 2, although held back by the ruling military junta that claimed for days that it had the operation under control. State radio reports 78,000 people were killed and another 55,000 remain missing after the storm. But aid groups estimate that the real number is closer to128,000, with another 2.5 million left homeless.

"During these difficult days, I know how grateful the Burmese people are for the Church's efforts to provide shelter, food, water, and medicine to those still in distress," the Pontiff said. He assured the bishops that the Church "is joined spiritually with those who mourn the loss of loved ones."

"May God open the hearts of all so that a concerted effort may be made to facilitate and coordinate the ongoing endeavor to bring relief to the suffering and rebuild the country's infrastructure," he added.

Vocations

Benedict XVI comment as well on the increase of vocations in the country: "The Church's mission of charity shines forth in a particular way through the religious life, by which men and women devote themselves with 'undivided' heart to the service of God and neighbor.

"I am pleased to note that an increasing number of women are responding to the call to consecrated life in your region. I pray that their free and radical acceptance of the evangelical counsels will inspire others to embrace the life of chastity, poverty and obedience for the sake of the Kingdom."

"Similar signs of hope are seen in the rising number of vocations to the priesthood," said the Pope. "These men are both 'called together' and 'sent out to preach' to be examples of faithfulness and holiness for the People of God."

The Holy Father encouraged the prelates of Myanmar "to continue making the necessary sacrifices to ensure that seminarians receive the integral formation that will enable them to become authentic heralds of the New Evangelization."

Laity

"The Church's mission to spread the Good News depends on a generous and prompt response from the lay faithful to become laborers in the vineyard," the Holy Father explained. "They too are in need of a robust and dynamic Christian formation which will inspire them to carry the Gospel message to their workplaces, families, and to society at large."

The Pontiff also commented on "the enthusiasm with which the laity are organizing many new catechetical and spiritual initiatives, often involving great numbers of young people."

He encouraged the bishops "to remind those under your care to turn continually to the nourishment of the Eucharist through participation in the liturgy and silent contemplation."

"Your active participation in the First Asian Mission Congress has led to new initiatives for promoting goodwill with Buddhists in your country," continued Benedict XVI. "In this regard, I encourage you as you develop ever better relations with Buddhists for the good of your
individual communities and of the entire nation."

The Pope expressed his "sincere gratitude" to the prelates for "your faithful ministry in the midst of difficult circumstances and setbacks often beyond your control."

The Condolence of His Grace, Archbishop Charles Bo for Nargis Victims

It is a month since the face of Myanmar has changed. Nearly 150,000 of our country men and women are no more with us. On that fateful night, the deadly cyclone Nargis changed the map of Myanmar in Yangon and Ayeyawaddy Delta. Satellite images graphically registered the 'before and after pictures', portraying a destruction of large tracts of land. What any satellite could not register was the mutilation of soul of our graceful and long suffering people.

We are a nation in mourning. 2.3 million of our people have a new name: refugees and homeless. At this very moment, when you are reading this report, thousands who survived nature's gory violence, will be lining up in some remote villages, waiting for food and aid. The dead are also waiting for a decent burial – Yes! On the top of the trees, floating in waters and in the bushes and roadside, the spirit of our people is waiting for eternal rest.

With grateful heart, I thank you all, the world, the leaders and ordinary people who rushed with great compassion. The Church as a compassionate mother reaches out to every human tragedy. You have known our pain for too long, but when nature colluded in increasing the pain, you rose as a one family. A big THANKS to you all.

Doing good is a Herculean challenge in our nation. We are a church challenged from all directions. In those affected areas, all our churches, convents, clergy houses, orphanages lie in ruins. Yet from the day one, we have been going in search of survivors, many times being the first outsiders to reach them. A dedicated team of Karuna (Caritas) staff, church personnel and volunteers have been working day and night in the most affected areas. We are saving lives, we are bringing hope. With the arrival of the Emergency Response Support Team, we feel encouraged, guided and accompanied in our endeavor to reach out. Thousands receive life-saving assistance, shelter and other basic needs.

Nature, in anguish and fury, uncovered the permanent disasters of a long suffering people. China's earthquake response exposed painful contrasts. The world needs to journey with the people of Myanmar for long time. Media's attention to human tragedy is swift - but also passing. Humanitarian response cannot follow the media. Myanmar needs longer accompaniment, a sustained attention of the world community. This report, I hope, will facilitate that long march with our people.

There could be only one message, coming out of the tragedy of Nargis:

"Myanmar cannot be forgotten once again."

Charles Bo

The Brick

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared.

Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting,

"What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"

The young boy was apologetic.

"Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop..."

With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.

"It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive,

"Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.

Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

"Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!"

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.

Thought for the Day:

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.

He sends you flowers every spring.

He sends you a sunrise every morning Face it, friend - He is crazy about you!

Send this to every 'beautiful person' you wish to bless.

God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow,sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Read this line very slowly and let it sink in...

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

God and the Spider

During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves.

Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen.

After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, "well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave.

As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.

Hah, he thought. "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them earching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on.

Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. Lord, forgive me, prayed the young man. I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall.

We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways.

Remember: "Whatever is happening in your life, with God, a mere spiders web can become a brick wall of protection. Believe He is with you always and you will see His great power and love for you ....."

~ author unknown ~

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