September 22, 2005
Miss Lucy is eighty-six years old and confined to a bed. Like many people her age, she can be called a “woman of faith”. “Lovin’ her Lawd Jesus” could be called a preoccupation, maybe even her profession. One could almost imagine what she looks like, especially on the “Lawd’s Day”, dressed in her Sunday best, with her wide white hat and carrying her big dog-eared Bible – the “Good Book”, as she might like to call it.
Miss Lucy was one of hundreds of displaced people our brothers met in the shelters during their ten day visit to Louisiana. Father Terry Messer called the natural disaster “9-12” – the difference being that “9-11” was a devastation caused not by course of nature, but by the choice of wicked men. Yet, in both cases, a remarkable phenomena is unveiled, namely, the compassion and concern of ordinary people and the almost supernatural resiliency of the human spirit. The saying seems to be true, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”.
Each of the friars who returned from their “mission of presence and prayer” with those affected by the storm in the Gulf region all agree with Br. Paul who told us, “there’s a whole lot of faith down there”. We all know that news reporting is not meant to form us, but to inform us. You would think that some media outlets are already engaged in pre-election campaigning. The real story of this storm is not about the governor, mayor or president, looters or arsonists – but about the people like Miss Lucy. While there are a few who point their finger in blame, there are many, many, who point their finger toward heaven. Yes, the brothers met so many like Miss Lucy who, despite their losing everything, are praying, indeed “praisin’ the Lawd”.
All of us are familiar with the famous “Where’s Waldo?” At the same time, there are people who play a game called “Where’s God?” Especially in times of unexpected car accidents or uncontrolled natural disasters, they immediately wonder if God actually exists. “Certainly”, they say, “God would never have allowed this to happen”. However, there are some people who have no desire to play this game, they know better. These people don’t ask “where” or “why”, rather they ask “what” – “what can I do”, “what can I learn”, “what good can come out of this”.
For some odd reason, news outlets often ignore the religious sensibilities of huge portions of the population. Perhaps if news editors don’t believe in “Waldo”, it makes no sense to them to even look for Him. It’s not only lamentable, it’s even unprofessional to ignore a cultural reality like religion simply because it’s not interesting or relevant to them. The fact is most people indeed have faith. The very word “culture” comes from the Latin word “cultus” which means worship. Any serious student of Western civilization will tell you that all our institutions – including the United States government – have their foundations in religion. That is, the faith of ordinary people like Miss Lucy and you and me.
You can thank Father Terry for providing “From the Friars” with an exclusive, unpublished poem written by Miss Lucy. It’s entitled, “Watchin’ the Water Rise”.
Layin’ in bed watchin’ the water rise
Knew I couldn’t get out.
All alone,
Watchin’ the water rise.
Looked out my window,
The neighbors and the kids leavin.
They knew I was there,
They drove away.
In my bed watchin’ the water rise
I knew I couldn’t get out,
Askin’ the Lord to raise the bed.
“Raise me up! He raised me up!”
Watchin my Bible float away
Then somebody yellin’
“Grandma! Grandma!
Two boys at the window.
They broke the window and took me out.
Praise the Lord!
“Where’s God”, you say? Ask Miss Lucy and the thousands who had to leave their homes with nothing but their lives. They’ll tell you, “Why the Lawd is here child, right here, can’t ya see Him?”
Fr. Glenn Sudano, CFR
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