News From Bouzy

 

 

Christmas Greetings from Fr. Claude

Hello Deacon Kevin!
On behalf of all the faithful of St. Catherine and myself, I want to wish a Merry Christmas to all the faithful of St. Joseph the Worker. May the birth of the Son of Man bring you joy, peace and health.


Bonjour Diacre Kevin!
Au nom de tous les fidèles de sainte Catherine et en mon personnel, je tiens à souhaiter joyeux Noël à tous les fidèles de saint Joseph Travailleur. Que la naissance du Fils de l'Homme parmi nous vous apporte la joie,la paix et la santé.
 

I suspect that you have heard already about the severe political and economic crisis in Haiti.  I hear now that it is become a humanitarian crisis too.
For the past 7 weeks gas, food, water, electricity security and hospitals are inaccessible to most Haitians.
It is unsafe to travel anywhere for Haitians as well as visitors.
Trucks with food cannot get to markets due to roadblocks and other circumstances.
The prices in the markets are higher now than most Haitians can pay.

Now its unsafe for the clergy too, especially those with US ties- a former pastor of St Catherine's was kidnapped this past week and held until ransom was paid.

Please pray with me for justice and peace in Haiti.

On our vacation last month I had the opportunity to visit the Shrine of St Ann de Beaupre near Quebec City in Canada.  For 400 years this has been a place of refuge where many French speaking people travel to pray for healing.  So I have begun to pray a short novena, to St Ann,  for our French and Creole speaking friends, which I found online and tailored to our prayers for peace and justice. 

If you would like to pray this with me, its attached.
Or perhaps it will just remind you to pray in your own way daily for our suffering friends in Haiti

Blessings and thanks
Kevin

Novena to St. Ann 

PRAYER TO SAINT ANN

O glorious Saint Ann,
you are filled with compassion
for those who invoke you,
and with love for those suffer.
Heavily burdened with the weight of the struggles of our friends in Haiti,
I cast myself at your feet
 and humbly beg of you to take our prayer intentions,
for peace and justice for the people of Haiti into your special care. 

Please recommend it to your daughter,
the Blessed Virgin Mary,
and place it before the throne of Jesus,
so that he may bring justice and peace to Haiti. 

Continue to intercede for our Haitian friends
until our request is granted.
But above all obtain for us all the grace one day 

to see our God face to face in His kingdom of peace, 

and with you and Mary and all the saints
to praise and bless him for all eternity.  Amen. 

Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be. 

Saint Ann, help us now and at the hour of our death!
Good Saint Ann, intercede for us! 

FIRST DAY 

Dear Saint Ann, I appeal to you and place myself under your great motherly care as I begin this novena in your honor.  Please listen to my prayers and requests.

Help me, also, to begin this time of prayer with a heart open to the loving grace of God.  Give me the strength to begin a new life that will last forever.

Finally, blessed Saint Ann, I ask you to recommend me to your daughter, the most holy virgin Mary.  Through her, may I receive the spirit of prayer, humility, and the love of God.

(Recite the Prayer to Saint Ann above, followed by the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be, and the invocation to Saint Ann after each day’s reflection) 
 

SECOND DAY

From the depths of my heart, good Saint Ann, I offer you my homage and I ask you to shelter me under the mantle of your motherly care.  Help me to purify my thoughts and desires.

Aid my decisions that all that I do may be done in love.
 

THIRD DAY

Good Saint Ann, you were the first to respond to the needs of Mary, the mother of our Savior.  You watched over her in her infancy, presented her at the temple, and consecrated her to the service of God.

By the great power God has given you, show yourself to be my mother and consoler.  Help me dedicate myself to God and to my neighbors.

Console me in my trials and strengthen me in my struggles.

FOURTH DAY

Good Saint Ann, you offered your daughter in the temple with faith, piety, and love.  With the happiness which then filled your heart, help me to present myself to God and to the world as a committed disciple of Jesus.

Take me under your protection.  Strengthen me in my temptations.  Show yourself to be a mother and help me to live a life of holiness and love.

FIFTH DAY

Good Saint Ann, by God’s special favor, grant consolation to us who invoke you.  Help us to grow in spiritual wealth for the life to come, and guide us in our temporal affairs as well.

Grant us the gift of continuous conversion and renewal of heart.  Help us to accept the Gospel of Jesus over and over again so that we may be ready to be true disciples in whatever situations we may experience during our lives.
 

SIXTH DAY

Good Saint Ann, free my heart of pride, vanity, and self-love.  Help me to know myself as I really am, and to learn meekness and simplicity of heart.

I realize God’s great love for me.  Help me to reflect this love through works of mercy and charity toward my neighbor.
 

SEVENTH DAY

Good Saint Ann, by the power and grace God has placed in you, extend to me your helping hand.  Renew my mind and heart.

I have unbounded confidence in your prayers.  Direct my actions according to your goodness and wisdom.  I place myself under your motherly care.

Pray that I may receive the grace to lead a devout life on earth, and that I may obtain the everlasting reward of heaven.
 

EIGHTH DAY

Saint Ann, you gave birth to Mary, whose divine Son brought forth salvation to our world by conquering death and restoring hope to all people.  Help me to pray to him who, for love of us, clothed himself with human flesh.

May I be guided from anything that is displeasing in the sight of God.  Pray that the Spirit of Jesus may enlighten and direct me in all I do.

Good Saint Ann, keep a watchful eye on me.

Help me bear all my crosses, and sustain me with courage.
 

NINTH DAY

Good Saint Ann, I have come to the end of this novena in your honor.

Do not let your kind ear grow weary of my prayers, thought I repeat them so often.

Implore for me from God’s providence all the help I need to get through life.  May your generous hand bestow on me the material means to satisfy my needs, and to alleviate the plight of the poor.

Good Saint Ann, pray that I may praise and thank the Holy Trinity for all eternity.

In the decade we have walked with the people of St Catherine's, our sister parish, we have accompanied their deep daily struggles as well as the ravages of earthquake and hurricane.  But for many, 2019 is their deepest struggle yet.  Plagued by inept, corrupt and defiant government, Haiti is in the midst of a deep social and economic crisis. Many Haitians can no longer afford food in the marketplace or travel anywhere safely.  The people, fed up with years of living without infrastructure, order or hope, have responded with persistent demonstrations, roadblocks, and sporadic violence.   Shadowy forces, related to gangs or regime, inflict periodic violence.  Unrest continues unabated.

Haiti's leaders have stolen at least $2 billion US from PetroCaribe development funds, resulting in government payment defaults, severe gas shortages, periodic electricity shortages (for those cities that have electricity) and a 40% currency devaluation this year.  Consequently cost increases have priced many Haitians even out of food markets.  "The situation in Haiti is critical," Fr Claude says in a recent text. "We want the resignation of the president of the republic. There is demonstration in all the cities of the country. The streets are barricaded. Burning tires. The president has become incapable of assuming his responsibility. He does not keep his promises. People are angry at a president who has lost all his legitimacy. For almost a month, the schools have been closed (safety concerns). Thanks to God, we are, until this moment, the only school in the area that remains open."

Our interpreter, St Louis adds: The President will not leave.  People will not accept him.  Because of demonstrations, road blocks and violence, we cannot travel.  We cannot do anything.  I cannot even go to the market.  So we wait til the country is fit to travel.  All we can do is wait and pray."

The bishops of Haiti this week asked the President to listen to the "voice of wisdom," meaning please resign, now.   He continues to resist.  Demonstrators say they will not stop until they force a change.

Fr Claude cannot travel to banks, to cities for supplies, or to Port au Prince to see if his visa has been approved.

As we thank God for our affordable, accessible food and water, open gas stations, passable roads, general safety, & education, things everyone deserves, Please pray that our Haitian friends will soon be able to enjoy these life necessities again.  Pray for justice and peace in Haiti.  Just wait and pray.

-Deacon Kevin

Thank you very much, mesi anpil, simply isnt enough, but we do want you to know that Fr Claude, the people of St Catherine's, all friends of Haiti here, and I, do send our deep thanks for your amazing generosity in response to the collapse of St Catherine church in Bouzy Haiti.

When the earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, you immediately responded very generously with $35, 000 in gifts for local relief and life saving efforts.  When Hurricane Michael hit Bouzy in late 2016, you responded with additional $25,000 for emergency food and roofing supplies.  Unfortunately rebuilding a church, even in Haiti, is in a much bigger league of costs.  Yet you astound us with your generosity again.  Since February you have responded to the church calamity & our brothers' need in Bouzy with over $80,000 in gifts to rebuild the church, even while sustaining our everyday programs in education, water and health!  Thank you!  Thank you for your love for our sisters and brothers in Haiti.

Meanwhile, over the past several months, the St Joseph the Worker Knights of Columbus Council initiated, led and completed a very successful Hope for Bouzy benefit that netted nearly $25,000 more for the rebuilding of the church.  We never could have done this on our own, and are deeply grateful to Knights leaders Patrick Farrelly, Dan Broten, Andy Fischer, Barry Shea and to all the Knights and Lady Knights for this great effort of love.
When the Knights conceived this program, their idea was to market it outside our parish.  That was a significant help, but not as much as they hoped.  Again thanks to all of you who joined in and made this benefit a rousing success.  Special thanks to Fr Mike, our leading fundraiser, for graciously agreeing to donate not one but three dinners during the live auction.

These efforts, together with a big one-time pledge, mean that we have now raised $155,000 toward rebuilding the church this year.  While final budgeted costs are in the process of being whittled down one more time, we believe that this will cover well over half, maybe up to three quarters of the cost of a new church.  Mesi anpil!!

Planning and budgeting are not the well developed art in Haiti that they are here. Sometimes it seems that planning is a luxury for desperate people.  Usually the Haitians have to build in small spurts over longer periods of time, as funds are available, and deal with significant, unpredictable inflation.  Small progress is a sign of hope in Haiti.  Americans on the other hand want to see the entire plan and know where all the funds will come from before they build.  We are progressing in an effort to understand and satisfy their needs and ours.  We wont have plans like we have in the US, but we will get more information and an accountability process before they build further.  They build.  We advise.

The initial drawing and budget had total costs of approximately $380,000, excluding interior contents.    Finding this beyond our reach, Fr Claude sat down with the engineer and whittled it down to $225,000 to 250,000, but they hadnt repriced materials and currency devaluation/ inflation is terrible this year.  They are reworking their budget and plan one more time.    Meanwhile the people of St Catherine's have cleared the rubble, and dug a foundation by hand.  Fr Claude has a committee of knowledgeable construction people in the parish to oversee construction, and has added a couple of trusted diocesan engineers to the team.    The rainy season is coming to an end.   Once the unrest in Haiti subsides, and final budgets are in place, construction will resume in earnest.

The people of St Catherine's depend on your generous support.   Thank you. Thank you.
Please contact any member of the Haiti Core Committee with your comments and questions.

-Deacon Kevin and
the SJTW Haiti Core Committee

We and our Haitian sisters and brothers spend much of our time seeking to understand each other. Though we love each other deeply, our differences in culture, geography, language, government, economics, and experiences generally leave us far apart. Simple examples:

· In the US, we smile for photos, even if we didn't feel like it. In Haiti, they don't smile for photos, even if they felt like it.

· In Haiti, abandoned partially completed buildings are signs of hope, not discouragement. When we remember that there are no loans, banks or insurance, and high inflation, this finally begins to make sense to us.

· When agenda-driven Americans arrive in Haiti, they are greeted by people who have all the time in the world for them, a gift that drives some of us nuts. Agenda driven Americans often encounter bright people who are unwilling to talk or make decisions because they must defer to more senior people in their hierarchical society.

· When Americans arrive in Haiti to do something good, we are surprised that we must first overcome centuries of harm and mistrust. When rebellion in Haiti first brought independence, America, still protecting slavery for another 60 years, treated Haitians as international pariahs and refused trade with them. After world war I, America occupied Haiti for 15 years, allowing the elite & US businesses to oppress the poor further and prevent rebellion. America continued to support decades of rule by the cruel autocratic Duvaliers. Well-meaning American business interests have often unintentionally crippled small Haitian businesses when they came to help- examples abound in rice, pork, construction, and other trades. Even after the earthquake, the US military turned back planeloads of volunteer doctors intent on saving lives, for several days, until they established complete command and control of airports and ports.

Yet the people of Bouzy love us- simply because we return, because we want to walk with them in their struggles, but also because we bring better health and water, & because we bring much-improved education opportunities for their children.

· We might believe that the unrest in the streets- roadblocks, tire burnings, & related violence is a thoughtless, angry, dangerous, & unproductive response, hurting struggling people more than the leaders they protest. But there's a logic, a history, and reasons why this response makes sense to Haitians. Haiti has never had rule by and for the people. Most Haitians are desperately poor and powerless. Their first such uprising bought them freedom from French slave masters in 1804. Since then, a long series of internal leaders have oppressed the masses and entrenched them in generations of poverty. There's no stabilizing middle class in Haiti, just a few elite and the many desperately poor. With little to lose, persistent resistance has brought regime change more often than you'd guess, though these changes never brought justice for all. Sadly, the next leader has always oppressed too.

· We plan and build very differently, too. We are presently seeking to bridge a few gaps in our understanding and preferences before resuming the rebuilding of St Catherine's church. We are confident that with God's help, there are no long-term obstacles between us.

More on this in our Haiti rebuild update.
-Deacon Kevin &
the SJTW Haiti Core Committee

Haiti Mission Team. Ann O'Connor is standing at left.

Haiti Reflection by Ann O’Connor

On our flight to Haiti, the flight attendant asked where our destination was. At our answer, she replied, “Haiti, that sounds like fun.” I smiled and thought “fun” was not the first word that came to my mind when I thought of traveling to Haiti. I was intrigued by her remark and thought each day, “What word would come to mind when I described my day in Haiti?”

“Tiring”. It is physically tiring to awake at 3:20 a.m. for the drive to the airport.  Travel days are long filled with hours of waiting, unfamiliar heat, humidity and bugs.

“Suspenseful”. Will we get through customs with our over-the-counter medications? Will there be enough gasoline? There is a gasoline shortage in Haiti. At least, half of the gas stations were closed.  The open gas stations would only sell 4 gallons of gas.  Will those four gallons get us to Bouzy? Back to Port au Prince?  We are in control of nothing in Haiti.

“Welcomed”. We are greeted with hugs and kisses on both cheeks when we arrive in Bouzy. It is such a warm, hospitable welcome that continues through the week. I realize that they give us their beds when we are staying at the rectory.

“Satisfying”. Our work at the dispensary include refilling empty dispensary shelves with crucial scarce medicine, hypertension and deworming clinics, and home visits to the ill and housebound. It is satisfying to work as a nurse again where the need is so great.

“Restful”. On Sunday, we celebrated a two-hour long Mass. The Mass does not seem that long. Due to the gasoline shortage, we chose to stay in Bouzy and went for a long walk with our Haitian friends.   It is a real day of Sabbath rest.

“Blessed”.  The Kingdom of God is here.  I was fortunate and blessed to be able to represent the parish of St. Joseph the Worker in Haiti.  It is too rare to have an experience where I can see and feel the working of God in everyday life.  In the evening when we gathered on the porch to pray and share our days’ reflections, I really feel the presence of God.

“Fun” is a word upon reflection, I can use to speak of my trip to Haiti. This was my fifth trip to Haiti, and each time I come home humbled and grateful.

Haiti Reflection by Lori Henke 

It was an emotional journey. Many different feelings surfaced as I spent time in Bouzy. There were times of sadness and mourning as I walked thru the rubble where St Catherine’s church had stood, and remembered all of the times I had sat on the benches, prayed and sang with the people there. Witnessing the grief on Madam Duprey’s face as we stood with her near the gravesite of her husband Vicour to offer our condolences; the loss was tangible and real. I felt concern as we gently examined a very ill elderly woman as she lay in bed unable to walk and being cared for by her family as best they could. I have heard it said that compassion heals the places that medicine cannot touch. I prayed that just our being present with what little we could offer to her would make a difference.
As I reflect on my recent visit to our Sister Parish in Haiti, I see that we have a church community bound together with the community in Bouzy. Over the past 10 years we have come together to celebrate, to worship, and to mourn and support each other. With the death of Vicour and the church collapse I felt a deep sadness and loss. When I saw the ruins of the church, and grieved along with Vicour’s family, I was able to see God’s grace and mercy as well. Memories cannot be crushed into piles of gravel as the church walls were. We still celebrated together and they showed us their love and their faith.  We know that God is good and He gives us hope that something new will replace what was lost. I can see that they will get thru this, rebuild and go on, as this has already begun. The new doctor in the community, the re-instatement of the Water program, working hard to clear the rubble and building a temporary chapel are positive signs of this. Along with the sadness were many moments of joy and friendship. Happiness to see the many familiar faces of the men and women in Bouzy who greeted us personally, and to visit all of the schoolchildren in their classrooms, we shared some phrases in English and some music together. Watching the elderly smile and exclaim as they tried on new reading glasses and could make out letters on the page, and many the people at the clinic and families on the clean water program getting their needed medications, I could see the impact that our parish is making. Witnessing their responses as I spoke to them with my limited Creole, confirmed there is value in our efforts. 
Our presence in their community and our prayers and support is giving them hope. They are not defeated; still positive and optimistic. We have been with them thru the struggles of the past 10 years; thru the earthquake, hurricanes, floods, church collapse and loss of community leaders. Yet I saw a community not in despair, but positive and moving forward because of their faith. As I said to them after mass one morning, we love them and we need them. We need to see their hope, beauty, wisdom and resilience in the face of repeated loss, hardships, illness and lack of resources. They seem to understand a key to living a peace-filled life; that pain and joy can co-exist side-by-side. God can show us his presence thru the pain of loss. The most beautiful waterfalls happen in the steepest parts of our lives. Love keeps us going and hope moves our feet. Happiness is born of our ability to see all that is beautiful and good. Pouring out love and compassion can help to reframe the negative moments in our lives.
As we look at the rubble where the church used to stand, let us remember that love and God’s presence doesn’t need a building, it never has. It just needs the community of which we are now a part, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share in their lives.

Haiti Reflection by Pat Grev

In the devastating loss of their church, I saw the people in Bouzy rise up to rebuild the cherished building that no longer existed.  
On the Saturday we were there,  men were busy taking down more of the remains of their church.  They are salvaging materials from their fallen church to use in the new one.  It was in the high 80’s, humid and on the weekend, but these men were there doing their part.
Most impressive to me were the two men that worked every day,  taking the big blocks of cement and chipping them down with a hammer into small pieces.  These little pieces could then be used for the construction of the new church.  Although paid a minimal amount, they were out there every day since the church had collapsed - in the heat and humidity.  Just think how long it will take to reduce all the rubble to small pieces? Their dedication and perseverance are admirable. This is only one example that shows the heart of the people in Bouzy. Their love for God’s house. The love for their church. Nothing will diminish their spirit in Christ.

Pat Grev

What makes a Church?

Since I first heard that St. Catherine's church had collapsed the same versus kept coming to me; Matthew 18:20 "Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."  I didn't know what to expect when we turn the corner and saw the holy resting place of the church.  It didn't seem real at first, and there was no time to process.  We were whisked into getting settled and greeting Father Claude.  As I greeted the community people, they were as welcoming as ever; all I wanted to do was go to the Church.  

There are no words to sum up the sadness I felt as I stood in the rubble of the church.  The tears came slowly, as the helplessness set in.  I was at the beginning of the grieving process and took the time to truly appreciate this loss and remember all the amazing memories I have been blessed with over the past 9 years.  

We recognize that the people of St. Catherine's don't have the money to rebuild their church.  What they do have is passion and love for God and each other.  While in Bouzy we witnessed a second collection where more than half the people gave what they could to the building of the church.  We saw people from the community spend their Saturday tearing down part of the old church.  We witnessed other volunteers building a roof over different structures so there was a place to worship out of the sun and rain. People have delivered rock and cement to aid in the building of the foundation.  A full community, without their beloved structure coming out in large numbers to celebrate together and with us.  

Yes, where two or three are gathered, but it will be wonderful to do it in a building built with love, prayer, and community.
 
Suzanne Koenigs

Father Claude sent Deacon Kevin these videos from mass a few weeks ago.