#309 – Dick Bernard: Prelude to Bells for Haiti, 3:53 p.m. CST January 12, 2011
One year ago today – it was Sunday, January 10, 2010 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis MN – I was privileged to hear one of the most powerful messages for justice I have ever heard.
The event is described in a blog post I did at the time. You can access it here, and it speaks for itself.
The speaker, a Catholic Priest long serving in Cite Soleil, arrived in Minneapolis late the previous day, and left early the next, and was back home in Haiti when the earthquake took its awful toll.
I have thought often of Fr. Tom since that extraordinary Sunday one year ago; and the following Tuesday when he escaped serious physical injury, but not so the residents he served, nor the facilities of his ministry.
Someone has said that he’s now back home on leave, the stress of the past year having taken its toll.
We live in comfort as the Haitian continue to struggle. We all have our stories about where we were when we heard about the devastation of the Haiti earthquake, or our personal connections. We each can continue to do our part.
Bells will ring at Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis Wednesday afternoon.
I hope to be there for those 35 seconds.
More about the Bells for Haiti observance Wednesday, January 12, 2011, here.