Katrina's impact changes everyday parish life in Biloxi parish

Published: 2005-09-12

BILOXI, Miss. (CNS) -- Although Hurricane Katrina did not cause severe damage to Our Lady of Fatima Church in Biloxi, its impact was being felt in every aspect of parish life. During a morning Mass Sept. 10 in a side chapel of the church, the hurricane was mentioned in the opening prayer, the homily, the petitions and the closing announcements. Even the Gospel reading from Luke was about raging floodwaters. Deacon Charles Nutter, a seminarian in the Biloxi Diocese, said in his homily that he knew everyone was "tired, exhausted and had been through a lot," but he also emphasized that the recovery period needed to be "a time of prayer where we can draw our strength." The petitions focused on those hurt or suffering from Hurricane Katrina and also for those involved in restoring order, but when parishioners were asked to state their petitions aloud, they only offered prayers of thanks either for those who helped them or for their own safety. At the end of Mass, Father Patrick Mockler, pastor, told his parishioners that he would need some extra help. His choir director, who lost everything in the hurricane, had moved to the Carolinas, and he was also looking for an organist. A more immediate need was to unload the 18-wheeler loaded with powdered milk and bananas that pulled into the parking lot just before Mass.

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