 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 mariners, oil rig workers, 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.
(Prayer composed by Fr Sinclair Oubre, JCL
AOS Diocesan Director
Diocese of Beaumont, TX)
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Join AOS USA Today!
To join AOS USA simply click on the following link:
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Listen to the Busted Halo Show Tonight
Fr. Sinclair will be discussing the oil spill with Fr. Dave Dwyer, on the Busted Halo Show tonight at 7:20 p.m. Central Time.
The Busted Halo Show is on the Catholic Channel, XM Radio Channel 117, or Sirius Radio Channel 159.
You can also listen to it on live streaming via the Busted Halo website:
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Have you Prayed for All Involved in the Oil Spill?
By: Doreen M. Badeaux
Secretary General
Dear Friends,
It seems that everywhere I go, I hear people asking: "When will they stop the oil leak? Don't they know what they're doing? What is the President doing about this?" And the questions go on....
And so it was strange and disappointing that the one place I went this weekend where there was no mention of the oil spill was.......Sunday Mass. It wasn't mentioned in the homily, and more importantly, it wasn't mentioned during the Intercessory Prayers. What a lost opportunity to unite people in prayer to fight this tragedy.
Sometimes our faith life is horrifically disconnected from our actual lives, and the lives of those around us. But we are challenged to make those connections, and to help others to connect their faith with real life.
Our mission with the Apostleship of the Sea is to serve the People of the Sea. Part of this service, is to pray for the People of the Sea, and to call others to do the same.
But just who are the people of the sea, especially in relation to this oil spill? Thank God people are praying for the fishermen who are often over-looked even by Maritime Ministers and Port Chaplains. But are we only praying for the fishermen?
We should be praying for the Oil Rig workers, the Workboat operators, the Coast Guardsmen and women, the armada of workers on the many vessels that are working to contain the spill, and oh yes....even the owners and workers at BP. They are all part of the people we serve.
And we must pray for all those making decisions that will affect the people of the Sea.
One major area of concern to AOS USA is the issue of the Moratorium on deep water oil drilling. There is great concern that this decision was perhaps made rashly, and without considering the many ramifications.
The following quote comes from a workboat operator in Louisiana:
With this "Moratorium" or ban of drilling in the Gulf, that means that 33 rigs are going to be put out of work. For every rig there are about 200-300 people per rig. That's somewhere in the ball park of around 9000 people. There are an estimated 3 people employed for every person who works on a rig (Crew Boats, Supply Boats, Chopper Pilots, etc.) So that brings us up to around 27,000 people out of work in the next two weeks. That doesn't include individual company layoffs. You all know I work for Chouest so let me explain.
ECO (Edison Chouest Offshore) has lost 350 million dollars this week and the oilrigs haven't even pulled out the Gulf yet. Contracts are being paid off and companies are going to head overseas. Chouest is talking about laying off over 60% of its workforce in the next two months. That's over 4000 people. And that's one company among dozens.
So, the impact of such a moratorium is mind-boggling. And in an already poor economy, imagine the fear and devastation these many people are dealing with.
Let's remember to pray for all of our brothers and sisters who make their living by the sea, and let's not forget to pray for those making the decisions that impact them. They NEED God's wisdom and guidance.
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Special Request from the ITF:
End Piracy Petition - Sign & Help Today!
Dear friends,
We are all aware of the dangers seafarers face from pirates.
As you may know, the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), along with several other industry co-sponsors, recently launched an e-petition to try to gather at least half a million signatures by World Maritime Day on 23rd September 2010. The aim is to present them to national governments to urge them to step up their efforts to end piracy once and for all.
As at 24th June 2010 50,000 have signed the petition. But to achieve our half a million target we are going to need your assistance.
There are several ways you can help.
As an individual:
§ sign our petition yourself
§ be a petition ambassador
§ distribute the link to your contacts / mailing list
§ ask your friends/associates to do the same
§ add the petition link to your email signature
As a Seafarers' Centre or a Seafarers' Welfare provider:
§ On internet access terminals, set the petition page as the browser's home page so when the seafarers approach the terminals they will see the petition and sign it
§ Talk to the seafarers you deal with about the petition, ask them to sign it and to get their ship mates to do the same
§ Download the petition and have printed copies for seafarers to sign at the centre. You can return the signed pages back to us by post or by email (scanned). Please send them in as you collect them rather than waiting until September, so that we can keep a running total.
This is the link to the petition: The following link is to pages containing further information for seafarers about piracy, including important advice flyers on how to cope with piracy attacks: http://endpiracynow.org/ ICMA has already included a link to our petition in their website, and the Seafarers' House in Port Everglades and the Tampa Seamen's Centre have already forwarded it to all their contacts, as have many others. Please do whatever you can to help, and let us know what you are planning so that we can spread the word and inspire others to get involved.
Please send your replies to Marķa at
Thanking you for your invaluable collaboration. With my very best regards,
Tom Holmer
The ITF Seafarers' Trust
Sign the Piracy Petition at www.endpiracypetition.org
P.S: We will be aiming to send you regular campaign updates, please let Maria know if you would prefer not to receive them.
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Globe-Trotting Pastor Settles into Retirement
Courtesy: The Compass (Diocese of Green Bay)
By: Patricia Kasten
(Editor's note: AOS USA congratulates Msgr. Dillenburg on his retirement. We ask our members and readers to join us in prayers of thankgiving for his many years of service to AOS and the People of the Sea. And we pray for many happy, healthy years of retirement.)
Msgr. Jim Dillenburg has worked around the world in 45 years of priesthood: in parishes, the Apostleship of the Sea, Rome's Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants, and as diocesan vocations director. All of it, he said, led to a deep appreciation for the beauty in people.
"The more you get to know other people, the more you see we are the same," said Msgr. Jim, who enters senior priest status June 30. "We have the same desires, the same hopes; maybe a different language or skin color."
As he retires as pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Green Bay, where he has served for 14 years, Msgr. Jim said one of the greatest blessings of his priesthood has been seeing the different images of God people hold in their hearts.
"You look at a tree," he said by comparison. "Head-on, I get one view. Lying on the grass, I get another view. If I'm on the 15th floor and look down at the tree, I get another view. Which is the most accurate image of the tree? It's the same thing with God. Which is the most accurate image? ... God is big enough. He's got all these different sides."
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Read & View More about the Oil Spill
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