Earthquake

My thoughts and emotions have been on a wild and harrowing ride the last month or so with many big life choices. There have been many internal turmoils that annoyed me, life events that perturbed me, and none of them brought me to my knees like the last one did.

I've never liked the news (I am going somewhere with this) and ignore it as much as I can as it is filtered content of the worst of humanity. They rarely showcase the good and beautiful in life. As a result I watch little if any news. 

Last Tuesday the news flashed on my screen at work that there had been a strong earthquake in Mexico City. 

My stomach stopped. My face and hands turned ice cold as I saw images of the street where I was married. Places I walked with my family and brother. 

Memories. Memories. Memories erasing with the mental thunder of the earthquake....

Are they ok...

When will the phones work?

How is the corner shopkeeper? The one that makes the juice? 

Angels and saints, pray for us...

What did the Aztecs do with earthquakes?...

 I felt like I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. Reports came in of buildings crashing. The phone lines were down. In those 10 minutes of finding out that my family could be dead I felt numb and an intense desire to fall at the feet of Jesus and beg for mercy. My brother and I spent more than an hour praying the rosary for our family. In the following days beauty and grace unfolded from the mountains of concrete. My family was ok. Many of the things I felt are far too precious and personal to blog on but one thing is for sure, the grace of God shines so strong in the midst of sadness and is able to bring people together in love. 

Tuesday night from 7-9 PM (EST) I will be praying in my church for the people suffering from all natural disasters. You are invited to invoke the grace of God in those hours and join me wherever you are to pray for those that died from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and the earthquakes in Mexico City and the southern areas of Chiapas and Oaxaca. Those who died, those dying, rescue workers, displaced victims and people scared and affected by these disasters need our prayers. The elderly, homebound, ill, children, mentally sick, those most vulnerable, those already suffering before the disasters, they need our prayer. If you haven't prayed in a while now is a great time to start as there are so many souls that need our help through prayer and praying for others also brings inner healing. Feeling stunted in what to say when you haven't prayed in years is common but you can do it! Our souls have the ability to reach out in the love of Christ to unite our prayers for others.The best prayer to get started is The Lord's Prayer. Each word said slowly and thoughtfully in meditation of each word is a wonderful way to say it and the individual words bloom as you mediate on them  Other wonderful prayers are the Holy Rosary (here is the one for Tuesday in Latin song) and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. On of my favorites is the Litany of the Saints in song which you can hear/pray here.

Holy men and women pray for us. 

My brother wrote an essay that is beautiful and he agreed for me to share it here. 

Life and death are complex; humanity is complex; this universe and everything in it are complex.

Two or three days ago, it would have seemed more pertinent to write about last Tuesday's earthquake in Mexico City, on September 19th of 2017 (to still impulsively start writing "of 1985" shows the significance of that date). But most of the thought or energy regarding that have been spent in solemnly watching the footage and images, wiping away silent patient tears, praying, meditating, remembering, feeling compassion, etc. 
(Apart from the initial two days of shock and getting in touch with everyone there, trying to make sense of it and accept/assimilate that it happened). The subject of Mexico's earthquakes this September, of what they mean for Mexico City (and other parts of the country), for the people who lived and died in it, for the buildings and monuments, for my mother and grandmother, for my relatives, for me, etc. 

Well, that's a realm of its own.
There's no doubt, however, that such events have a way of kindling one's love and pride for one's city and country (or one of one's countries, anyway). Especially when, as Leo Zuckermann said, the citizens of Mexico City's "usual arrogance and individualism" (indeed, the feeling of backstabbing and fratricide, of outright hatred for fellow humans) are put aside and replaced with collectively helping and saving each other. With a communal sense of fellowship and solidarity; a celebration of life and humanism, a reverent love for fellow humans (and animals, of course, particularly those noble rescue dogs).

Earth and time, Mexico's ancient mountains and volcanoes, etc. must be trying to tell us something; something about guiding Mexico's course differently (as far as the people who live there go), about guiding our lives and actions, our hearts and minds, our souls and those of future generations' (as well as our cities and towns) in a different manner. 

Something about living and dying better in that harsh but sacred land.

x