Prayers for Hurricane Katrina over the world

[Guest guest]

Sai Ram

Across North Jersey Friday, people found time in hectic schedules to slip

into temples, mosques and churches and say a prayer for the victims of

Hurricane Katrina.

Whether during Muslim Friday prayers or Catholic noon Mass, special prayers

were added to services, and religious leaders were busy drafting sermons for

the coming weekend, when faithful of every denomination will focus heavily on

the national tragedy.

"This is an opportunity that God is showing us, to awaken the human spirit.

We've been losing that," said the Rev. Luis A. Rendon, in Spanish.

Rendon, a parochial vicar at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Paterson,

said many of his parishioners have been deeply affected by the disaster and are

seeking answers in the church.

"Yesterday, a woman asked me: 'Father, why did God send this punishment,

this fury?'" Rendon said. "I said: 'You're wrong. This is something we humans

have a hand in, the way we've destroyed the ecology, the deforestation that has

changed the climate. These phenomena have a human hand.'"

Rendon said he's tried to focus on the positive in his sermons, emphasizing

that when human beings are left with nothing - no possessions, no food, no

homes - their faith and their spirit remain and endure.

"It's a very difficult situation, but something positive came out of it," he

said. "It has awakened the human spirit."

Miriam Sanoguel of Paterson listened to Rendon at noon Mass Friday and said

her own quiet prayer for the victims, in addition to the daily recitations she

makes for her son, Norberto Sanoguel, a Marine serving in Iraq.

"This is something we've never seen," Sanoguel said. "I think it's the end

of the world. I think it's God telling us to be strong and to stand together.

It's a calling from God to pray more."

And prayers were pouring in from every religion. The Council on

American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, declared Friday "Hurricane Relief Day" and

urged mosques and Islamic centers to collect funds during Friday prayers to

donate to the Red Cross and other relief organizations.

The Clifton Hindu Temple Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (BAPS) said it would hold

a special prayer service for the hurricane victims this weekend. "Our spiritual

leader from India instructed us to give this help, right away," said Mukesh

Mehta, a spokesman for the temple. "He instructed that we have a prayer and to

pray for the victims and families. Regardless of religion or race, we will try

to help."

In addition to comforting their own parishioners with prayer, many churches

are mobilizing to collect funds. The Rev. Frederick LaGarde Jr., pastor of the

Community Baptist Church of Love in Paterson said Friday his church would ask

parishioners to make special offerings of $50 during weekend services. "It is

our obligation. It's our duty," LaGarde said about helping the hurricane

victims. "We believe that any of us could have been in those people's shoes."

He said he also planned to give a special sermon on Sunday, including

prayers for the victims. "In our church, we believe we are our brother's

keeper," LaGarde said. "The way we treat people is the way we treat God."

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