Monday, September 20, 2010

To Pray for the Flood Victims in Pakistan

Feast of Saints Eustachius
It's still raining in Pakistan. At the end of July, some of the worst flooding ever recorded began to take place there. By early August, torrential rains caused the Indus River to rise above it's banks, making upwards of eight million people homeless. Yes, you read that right. 8,000,000,000. Think of everyone in the entire state of Virginia being homeless, with hardly any food and barely any drinkable water, and you can imagine what is the scale of this disaster.

There has been a lot going on in the world since the end of July. None of which seems to include helping the people of Pakistan. What hasn't happened is a huge outpouring of aid from the West to the people of this flood ravaged country. There has been no "Berlin Airlift" for the Pakistani's, no visits from Western leaders giving speeches where they proclaim "I am a Pakistani" like President Kennedy's "Ich Bin ein Berliner" speech.

What's a poor boy in Tennessee to do but lift my hands up in prayer? There are hearts and minds to be won in Pakistan, but more importantly, there are mouths to feed and healthcare to provide.  An outpouring of honest to goodness charity is needed, as well as relief provided from charitable donations. Charity, the kind of love that Archbishop Sheen once said,

was not much used in the classical Greek; it was a love so noble and divine that Christianity alone made it popular. 

Below are some recent videos uploaded to YouTube by Catholic Relief Services. Take a look  at them and read the news releases here, here, here, and here.

If you have the means, please send them what you can. But please, send the people of Pakistan, God's children,  your prayers.