Prayer Corner
AOS USA has teamed up with the Confraternity of Our Lady Star of the Sea to pray for all those impacted by the oil spill. Remember to pray each day at 6:15 p.m., when the ladies of the Confraternity pray together. A suggested prayer is below:
God of boundless love,
At the beginning of creation
Your Spirit hovered over the deep.
You called forth every creature,
And the seas teemed with life.
Through your Son, Jesus Christ,
You have given us the rich harvest of the sea .
Bless our fishers, oil rig workers, merchant sailors and all who make a living by the sea.
Protect them from the dangers of wind and rain
And all the perils of the deep.
May Christ, who calmed the storm
And filled the nets of his disciples,
Bring healing to all those affected by this catastrophe.
We pray especially for those fishing families and communities who have already seen their rich fishing grounds of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida closed.
In a special way, we ask God's favor on those
Who are working to contain the oil spill.
May God inspire them and show them the way.
And may He show us ways of being better stewards of His earth,
Protecting his waters and the marine life which are His gifts to us.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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 President's Note
Dear Friends in Christ,
This past weekend, in the course of giving a paper on canon law and labor law at the Special Library Association at the New Orleans Convention Center, I was able to leverage the trip to express AOS USA's concerns for the fishermen and the merchant mariners who have been significantly affected by Deepwater Horizon catastrophe.
On Sunday, I met with Mike Callais of Abdon-Callais Offshore. The Callais family has been a very generous supporter of the work of AOS as well as the Port Arthur International Seafarers' Center. We talked about how the oil spill was affecting the offshore vessel industry, as well as the potential impact on a long term drilling moratorium for his company.
On Monday morning, our secretary general, Doreen Badeaux, was able to set up a meeting with Deacon Reggie Seymour of AOS-New Orleans, Margaret Curole of Commercial Fishermen of America and Tom Constanza of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. A point that I stressed was that AOS USA needed to use this tragedy to develop long term relationships with members of the fishing community, and to coordinate its efforts with those taking place in the different Gulf Coast dioceses.
In addition, our secretary general participated in the Texas Shrimpers Association annual meeting in Galveston on June 5, 2010. She made some great contacts, and many were both surprised and interested in the fact that a Catholic organization was so concerned about the plight of the gulf fishermen.
I am very excited about what is taking place through the efforts of the USCCB. Below is a video of our AOS Bishop Promoter addressing AOS' concern for gulf fishermen. In addition, our national director, Sr. Myrna Tordillo has established an ad hoc committee chaired by Deacon Reggie Seymour. AOS USA will be working closely with all these efforts to be present to all those affected by this tragedy.
Your Brother in Christ,
Fr. Sinclair
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 Statement from AOS Bishop Promoter Regarding Gulf Oil Spill
Bishop J. Kevin Boland presented a statement regarding the oil spill, and the actions that AOS is taking. It can be found on our Facebook site. Click the link below to view:
(P.S...... If you haven't joined us on Facebook yet, now's the time!)
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Remarks of the President of the Apostleship of the Sea of the United States of America
Press Conference on Gulf Fishing & Seafood
Port Arthur, Texas
June 4, 2010
On February 9, 2010, Archbishop Agostino Marchetto addressed a gathering of representatives from around the world gathered in Rome to reflect on the Apostleship of the Sea's activities with the world fishing community. In his opening words, he reminded the participants of the religious communities' responsibilities in supporting the fishing community:
"We are gathering every year, since 2003, because the Church cannot ignore the distressing situation in which many fishers and theirs families are living."
When he spoke these words, his mind was focused on collapsed fisheries and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing that was undermining the ability of artisinal fishermen to provide for their families and communities.
However, Archbishop Marchetto's words were quite prescient to our present situation. The religious community must come forward to join with government agencies and private organizations to assist and stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in our Gulf fishing communities...... |
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Read & View More about the Oil Spill
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