Author Archives: Felician Mission: Haiti

Praise the Lord! For the next few days we would like to share with you our friends this powerful message from our Holy Father Pope Francis.

Each Christian man and woman, every member of the human family, can act as a thin yet unique and indispensable thread in weaving a network of life that embraces everyone.

And God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:25). God’s gaze, at the beginning of the Bible, rests lovingly on his creation. From habitable land to life-giving waters, from fruit-bearing trees to animals that share our common home, everything is dear in the eyes of God, who offers creation to men and women as a precious gift to be preserved.

Tragically, the human response to this gift has been marked by sin, selfishness and a greedy desire to possess and exploit. Egoism and self-interest have turned creation, a place of encounter and sharing, into an arena of competition and conflict. In this way, the environment itself is endangered: something good in God’s eyes has become something to be exploited in human hands. Deterioration has increased in recent decades: constant pollution, the continued use of fossil fuels, intensive agricultural exploitation and deforestation are causing global temperatures to rise above safe levels. The increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather phenomena and the desertification of the soil are causing immense hardship for the most vulnerable among us. Melting of glaciers, scarcity of water, neglect of water basins and the considerable presence of plastic and microplastics in the oceans are equally troubling, and testify to the urgent need for interventions that can no longer be postponed. We have caused a climate emergency that gravely threatens nature and life itself, including our own.

In effect, we have forgotten who we are: creatures made in the image of God (cf. Gen 1:27) and called to dwell as brothers and sisters in a common home. We were created not to be tyrants, but to be at the heart of a network of life made up of millions of species lovingly joined together for us by our Creator. Now is the time to rediscover our vocation as children of God, brothers and sisters, and stewards of creation. Now is the time to repent, to be converted and to return to our roots. We are beloved creatures of God, who in his goodness calls us to love life and live it in communion with the rest of creation.

For this reason, I strongly encourage the faithful to pray in these days that, as the result of a timely ecumenical initiative, are being celebrated as a Season of Creation. This season of increased prayer and effort on behalf of our common home begins today, 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on 4 October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. It is an opportunity to draw closer to our brothers and sisters of the various Christian confessions. I think in particular of the Orthodox faithful, who have celebrated this Day for thirty years. In this ecological crisis affecting everyone, we should also feel close to all other men and women of good will, called to promote stewardship of the network of life of which we are part.

To be continued…

Christmas in July was a new idea for our kids. Marcia Wallander, Felician Sisters Development Director, asked us to have our kids create Christmas scenes to be chosen for Christmas cards. So, on Wednesday and Thursday, July 24 and 25, our kids got down to work creating their cards. After they finished their drawings, each kid received a solar light for their home as a sign to light the way for Jesus whose birth we celebrate in six months.

The Neocatechumenal Way came to Jacmel in May and, after a month of catechesis and convivence, the first community was called. Each week we gather to hear and share the Word of God.

On Sunday, July 21, we had our second convivence. We came to together to share Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. The psalms were sung in French (a new challenge for Sr. Marilyn because she is now the cantor and guitar player), and all listened to the Word of God. After prayer, we shared a meal where everyone brings something–kind of like a “pot luck” meal. After we finished eating, we shared what this past month was like in our personal lives, especially as we have been walking the Way together. It was a blessed day. We all look forward to next Thursday when we meet again to share the Word of God.

” If today you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts!” Psalm 95

Teaching Jean Phillip and Annette how to play guitar so they can be cantors too.

Thanks to you we can have movies, popcorn and candy!

Today we began our summer actives with our kids. Our teens have been assigned to a group of children. It is sort of like having summer day camp. The children come for activities, and then they get a hot meal. We have the activities in the morning since the afternoons get very hot here during this time of year. Today, the kids made necklaces and bracelets; learned how to play volleyball; and as always, had time to play on the playground!

Late Friday afternoon, the doorbell rang, and it was Violet with her three children. Violet had come the other day, looking for some diapers and anything we could give her children. We told her we would get something ready, so she returned today. What we saw was sad: a 7-month-old baby, 3-year-old child, and a 5-year-old child. Violet told us her husband had died, and she has nothing. We realized we needed some more clothes, and we gave her daughter a doll. The little girl has a clef lip that was repaired with surgery when she was a baby, but she has no pallet and has a speech defect. She loved the playground, and joy was all over her face. Please pray for Violet and her family.

This is the second time we have had the experience of purchasing trees. Today it was palm trees. As we bought the trees, so many of our benefactors came to mind–persons who have planted their hope and help here in the Felician Mission. Your roots are here, and we thank God for you! Our friend, Daniel (the Bishop’s gardener), helped us choose which ones would be good for our place.

We are the Body of Christ and privileged to participate in the sacred meal of the Eucharist. Today, June 20, we celebrate the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. The faithful gathered in our Cathedral for the Celebration of the Eucharist with Bishop Glandas Marie Erick Toussaint. After Mass, the Eucharistic procession began its journey through the streets. The third station was the Felician Mission. Our teens prepared the altar and sand two Eucharistic hymns.

As all walked through the streets among the poor, our prayer was for the country of Haiti to find peace and direction during these turbulent times.

We pray to be the living presence of God to all as we become what we receive–the Body and Blood of Christ!