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Although strange to some, the connection between siblings with big age gaps can be incredibly strong, with many older siblings taking on an important parental role in their younger siblings' lives. And that is my story when it comes to my sister Elsy who is 14 years older than me. As a child, I grew up very much in her arms as my mother had nine children and often seemed overwhelmed. My sister Elsy would carry me around, study and do her school lessons while keeping me over her shoulders. As an adult, she was my inspiration and she taught me patience and perseverance. Patience is one of those virtues that we all strive to maintain in our everyday lives. Trials and tribulations are part of our humanity, but they do not define who we are. That’s where I would often remind myself about Elsy and take a chapter from her life for myself. I am just grateful for her life, and may God bless her with eternal bliss.
The weather here has been one I wish we had in California. It has been heavily raining every day. Two nights ago, I was awakened by a cyclonic storm, a tornado of sorts that lashed out on the school where I am staying with my brother priest Fr. Santhosh. We are all safe and sound. The school suffered some damages around, but no one was hurt. In the neighborhood several houses were damaged, and trees uprooted after the storm. My brother reminded me that weather patterns have changed in the country, and extreme weather conditions have appeared in recent years, causing anxiety and worry among people.
Recently I read an article in the local newspaper titled, From furnace to flood: World's hottest city in Pakistan now under water. A southern city in Pakistan, Jacobabad was the hottest city in the world in May this year, where students passed out in their classrooms. Now, after heavy monsoon rains submerged large parts of the country, these classrooms are flooded and many of the 200 students homeless, struggling to get enough food and caring for injured relatives. Such extreme weather events in a short space of time have caused havoc across the country, killing hundreds of people, cutting off communities, wrecking homes and infrastructure and raising concerns over health and food security.
Pope Francis has called on world leaders to heed the Earth’s “chorus of cries of anguish” stemming from climate change, extreme weather, and loss of biodiversity. Pope Francis said rich countries have an “ecological debt” because it is they who had caused the most environmental pollution over the past two centuries, marring nature’s song. “Tragically, that sweet song is accompanied by a cry of anguish. Or even better: a chorus of cries of anguish. In the first place, it is our sister, Mother Earth, who cries out. Prey to our consumerist excesses, she weeps and implores us to put an end to our abuses and to her destruction,” he wrote.
Finally, I would like to thank our parish clergy, staff and volunteers who have stepped up to take care of our communities. I am grateful for your patience and understanding as several funerals and other events that I was involved in had to be changed at the last minute.
I am reading a book loaned to me by one of our parishioners titled The Pope at War: the secret history of Pius XII, Mussolini and Hitler, authored by David I Kertzer. It is an interesting read which shines a light on why the Pope stayed silent in the face of the mass murders of Jews. It challenges a number of my own assumptions about the evils of today, and awakens in me a sense of accountability to protect and nurture life at all costs.
Fr. Paulson
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