 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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Tune in to The Star of the Sea Show on Radio Maria
Today, Friday, July 9 at 1:00 pm. Central Time
Fr. Sinclair will have 2 special guests on his Star of the Sea Show on Radio Maria. They will be discussing issues related to the BP Oil Spill.
Guests:
- Deacon Reggie Seymour, AOS USA's Vice President who is heading up the AOS Gulf Task Force.
- Ken Wells - President of Offshore Marine Service Association
Listen to it via live streaming on the internet by clicking here and then click on the "Listen Live" button:
http://radiomaria.us/ |
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SEA SUNDAY
Dear Friends,
Just a reminder that Sea Sunday is already upon us. We hope that you will be celebrating a special Mass this weekend.
If you do, please take some pictures, and send us a paragraph or 2 about your event, via e-mail to aosusa@sbcglobal.net
Remember that the Mass of Our Lady Star of the Sea is a beautiful text that can be used. It can be downloaded here:
However, before you use this Mass text, please remember you do need to seek your Competent Authorities' permission to divert from the regular Sunday Mass form.
We encourage you to use this Sunday to inform your parishioners about the effects of the oil spill upon so many of their brothers and sisters who work as Fishers, Workboat Operators, Oil Rig Workers, etc, in the Gulf. And encourage them to pray daily for them, and for a resolution to this critical issue.
The article below by our long time member, Mr. Anthony Maranise is an excellent reflection that may guide you in your thoughts for homily preparations this weekend.
The prayer composed by Fr. Sinclair, directly to the left of this article, may also be helpful to you for your Mass or Service this weekend.
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 Oil Will Not Overwhelm Us:
Encouraging the Laity to Respond Prayerfully to the Disaster in the Gulf
By: Mr. Anthony M.J. Maranise (AOS USA Affiliate Member)
For a storm like Katrina, property damage costs were easily overlooked and an intense focus rightfully turned to the unbelievable human suffering, physical and emotional pain that followed it.
As vividly as Gulf Coast residents may recall Hurricane Katrina, nearly five years later, the focus now is on another disaster which also formed far from land in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A new date - April 20th, 2010 - is being added to the "memory banks" of many coastal residents, tourists, workers, and those who rely heavily on the products of the Gulf for their sources of income.
On this day, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana regrettably claiming the lives of eleven workers who were manning it at the time of the explosion. This disaster, different from Hurricane Katrina in its number of fatalities and the means by which it affects coastal residents, carries with it similar concerns and anxieties for many. We must face the "surprising reality" through this disaster as well as every disaster that we are, in fact, responsible for our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. I call this a "surprising reality" because in my years of theological experience studying the human responses to disaster and suffering, it is always remarkably beautiful to witness the ever-abiding willingness to stand together, to come together, to greet one another as brother and sister when we are faced with overwhelming circumstances.
We certainly saw the collective faith, fraternal sense of togetherness, and effort to rebuild and restore after Katrina. As faithful Catholic-Christians, we readily have an answer to that age old question found in the book of Genesis: "Am I my brother's [and sister's] keeper" (cf. Genesis 4:9)? It is quite clear. We are indeed!
So, faced with this newest disaster, one which will have lasting environmental and economical impact, how are we to respond to the plight of our brothers and sisters along the Gulf Coast? We must begin with reality of life itself.
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AOS Gulf Task Force Fund
Sr. Myrna's office with the Apostleship of the Sea at the USCCB has established a Gulf Task Force to deal with issues surrounding the BP Oil Spill and it's impact on Fishers.
They have established a special fund specific to this task. If you wish to give to this fund, the information is as follows:
Apostleship of the Sea Gulf Coast Task Force or AOS Gulf Coast Task Force
Accounting Department
7887 Walmsley Avenue
New Orleans, LA. 70125-3496
For more information about this fund, contact Deacon Reggie Seymour at PH: 504-596-3087
rjcmore@bellsouth.net
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Cleanup hitter?
Bruce Buls
Courtesy Workboat Magazine
July 5, 2010
It's almost obscene to predict that there will be some benefits as a result of the ongoing Gulf oil leak. But if anything good does emerge from the disaster, it could be the development of new technology for preventing leaks and for cleaning up the mess when leaks and spills do occur.
A recent article in the Washington Post says that both BP and the Coast Guard have been swamped with suggestions for plugging the leak and cleaning up the oil that continues to escape from the damaged well. Most are either totally crazy or totally inappropriate, but some are probably worth pursuing.
A Web-based non-profit called InnoCentive has been actively seeking ideas for stopping the leak and cleaning it up from its "global network of more than 200,000 of the world's brightest minds on the world's first Open Innovation Marketplace." These creative thinkers include engineers, scientists, inventors, and business people. InnoCentive says that it has received many potentially valuable ideas, but BP so far has refused to listen.
One of the most intriguing cleanup innovations is now in the Gulf undergoing testing. A Whale, a 1,100-foot converted oil and ore carrier (according to various Web reports), can reportedly separate enormous amounts of oily water. TMT Shipping of Taiwan converted the recently delivered ship to a skimmer in Portugal after the April 20 blowout and is now hoping to put it to work in the Gulf. Maybe by the time you read this, Coast Guard tests will have been completed and the vessel's skimming operations will be underway. Or maybe it will be a huge bust. The nature of the Gulf oil slicks may not be the best environment to test the ship's potential.
In any event, the presence of A Whale dramatically demonstrates the possibility of new technology for oil-spill cleanup. I'm sure the demand for better response means we'll see a lot more.
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Read & View More about the Oil Spill
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