Welcome to the Children of Hurricane Katrina
Column by Bishop J. Terry Steib, S.V.D., D.D.
Bishop of Memphis
September 7, 2005
Sunday morning, August 28, began with the sun shining ever so brightly! I was at Divine Word Seminary in Bay St. Louis, MS, visiting with the members of the SVD community. Later in the afternoon, I was planning to drive to my folks in Vacherie, LA to spend some time with them before returning to Memphis.
However, Hurricane Katrina was churning the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The forecast called for it to hit landfall at the mouth of the Mississippi River and perhaps slide more westward; but by mid-afternoon as it came closer to land, it became clearer that the Gulf Coast was more and more involved in the path of the storm. At the same time, it was too late to leave the seminary either to go to Louisiana or to return to Memphis because of the traffic congestion and the evacuation plans involving the interstates.
I had weathered many hurricanes at the seminary – with Hurricane Camille being the most noted. The seminary was located on the highest ground in Bay St. Louis. For many years, it served as a shelter for the community and many of the town's people. Others drove their cars to the campus to avoid potential flooding and falling trees. Moreover, several years ago, the seminary had acquired a generator in case of hurricanes. Late in the evening, my brother called to let me know that I would be "in harm's way." But besides not being able to get out, I thought that the seminary was as safe a shelter as possible.
And it was….. until the water surge on Monday morning! It was unbelievable how quickly the water rose about six feet above the ground! It was incredible how easily the water rose to two and a half feet on the first floor of Christmann Hall where the priests and brothers lived. It was not a pretty sight to watch some thirty cars floating in the water, trunks and windows opening to let in the water, until they disappeared! It was like being on an ocean.
All of this was happening while the hurricane winds were howling and whizzing by, carrying whatever was in their paths: leaves and tree branches, tiles and roofs, garbage cans and frames of all kinds, and debris from near and far.
Contingent plans were made should we have to go to the roof! Unfortunately, there was no escape hatch to the flat roof building. Yet, thank God, the water surge reached to a peak, and slowly the water began to recede.
In the lifetime of the senior citizens at the seminary, this ocean of water had never ever reached the buildings of the seminary. In terms of time, we were on the "bad side" of the hurricane for nine hours. We had heard in the morning that the eye of the hurricane would pass over Bay St. Louis, but that was not the case!
That night, amid soggy floors and dripping roofs, amid candlelights and flashlights, we thanked God that the Hurricane Katrina had passed and we tried to assess the situation. Other people made their way to the seminary with their horrifying tales of how they had to escape from their homes, or climb to their attics, or get on top of their roofs, or cling to trees. It was a night that will not soon be forgotten.
Early the next morning, I went walking outside to pray Morning Prayers. It was an eerie feeling to pray in the midst of rubble, and fallen trees, and pockets of water. Psalm 37 from Office of Readings said: "Calm your anger and forget your rage; do not fret, it only leads to evil. For those who do evil shall perish; the patient shall inherit the land."
How appropriate! How easy it would be to blame nature, blame others, or worse, to blame God for what happened. Yet, as I prayed, I looked to the east. Through the leafless and branchless trees that withstood the ravages of the hurricane, through the pine trees whose tops were snapped to the ground like toothpicks, the sun was coming through bright and clear! The dragon flies were flying here and there! There is life! God is still with us! And the sun was proof to me that God is still good _ all the time!
It is from my experience of this disaster that I ask the people of the Diocese of Memphis to welcome the sisters and brothers of Hurricane Katrina. Join me in welcoming our sisters and brothers from the (Arch)dioceses of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast as they come to us for safe haven in order to put their lives together again. Let us make them feel at home as they contemplate their future. Let us be their home away from home in their social, educational, and spiritual life. Let us pray with them as they give thanks to a good and gracious God.