7 Cyclone Winston: Catholic Women’s Faith …
131
Faith and Prayer in the Midst of Chaos
All the women consistently said their faith in God kept them safe during the cyclone
and that they felt strengthened and empowered by their faith and prayers. Placed
close to the entrance of the Evacuation Centre in her wheelchair, Seini watched as
the tidal surge brought water right into the building. She was unable to help herself but
remembered that she had a bottle of holy water in her handbag beside her so she took
it out and sprinkled the holy water around her, sure that God would help her.
From the verandah of the Evacuation Centre villagers watched the tidal surges
sweep through the village. One woman watching her home being destroyed, prayed,
“Lord, I love my family and everyone but you love us more and you won’t let anything
happen to us”.
Elderly Akanisi and her husband watched as an electricity post fell on their house
and the waves washed most of it away. Akanisi whispered to her husband to comfort
him, “That’s God’s will to us … God brings it, God takes it, he’ll give it again”.
Her words link to the Old Testament Book of Job in which the Devil wagers with
God that he can make Job lose his faith. Job loses everything he ever owned and all
those he loved, yet he never wavers in his faith, holding fast to the belief that all he
had was God-given and that God could take it all from him. Job lost everything but
was subsequently richly rewarded for his strong faith. Akanisi’s words express the
belief shared by all the women that everything in life is a gift from God; that God
was present in all that was happening; and that they should accept what they were
going through, trusting that God would take care of them.
One woman said her faith helped her get through it all. She prayed the Rosary at
home during the flooding, trusting that Mary would help her. “We just pray… God
helps in everything”, she said. Ruci, a single mother, said that praying the Rosary
every day was what helped her most during and after the cyclone; she knew her faith
in God would get her through the difficult times and that “everything was going to
work out”. Reijeli said she knew God was listening to her when she prayed because
“what was asked for, was given to me”. For Arieta, her daily prayers were her major
support that made her strong for her family and children:
The one thing that helped me [was] I had to pray every day, I believe that, with my health
being okay and with my prayers, we’ll get through everything together … My faith kept me
strong and kept me going to get the family going and be there for everyone.
By 10.30 p.m. the cyclone had passed and the wind had died down. There had
been no electricity from around midday so the only source of light in Reijeli’s home
was a torch and a solar light.
While everyone was cleaning the house, the Eucharistic Minister from the church
came to ask the household to look after the ciborium. The church had been damaged
and flooded and he was searching for a safe place to keep it. This was an unprecedented situation. The ciborium contains hosts (the wafers consumed at Holy Communion) that have been ‘consecrated’ during Mass. To Catholic faithful, the ciborium is
understood as containing Christ’s actual Body under the appearance of the hosts. It
is kept in what is known as the tabernacle that is locked and placed in the most holy
131
Faith and Prayer in the Midst of Chaos
All the women consistently said their faith in God kept them safe during the cyclone
and that they felt strengthened and empowered by their faith and prayers. Placed
close to the entrance of the Evacuation Centre in her wheelchair, Seini watched as
the tidal surge brought water right into the building. She was unable to help herself but
remembered that she had a bottle of holy water in her handbag beside her so she took
it out and sprinkled the holy water around her, sure that God would help her.
From the verandah of the Evacuation Centre villagers watched the tidal surges
sweep through the village. One woman watching her home being destroyed, prayed,
“Lord, I love my family and everyone but you love us more and you won’t let anything
happen to us”.
Elderly Akanisi and her husband watched as an electricity post fell on their house
and the waves washed most of it away. Akanisi whispered to her husband to comfort
him, “That’s God’s will to us … God brings it, God takes it, he’ll give it again”.
Her words link to the Old Testament Book of Job in which the Devil wagers with
God that he can make Job lose his faith. Job loses everything he ever owned and all
those he loved, yet he never wavers in his faith, holding fast to the belief that all he
had was God-given and that God could take it all from him. Job lost everything but
was subsequently richly rewarded for his strong faith. Akanisi’s words express the
belief shared by all the women that everything in life is a gift from God; that God
was present in all that was happening; and that they should accept what they were
going through, trusting that God would take care of them.
One woman said her faith helped her get through it all. She prayed the Rosary at
home during the flooding, trusting that Mary would help her. “We just pray… God
helps in everything”, she said. Ruci, a single mother, said that praying the Rosary
every day was what helped her most during and after the cyclone; she knew her faith
in God would get her through the difficult times and that “everything was going to
work out”. Reijeli said she knew God was listening to her when she prayed because
“what was asked for, was given to me”. For Arieta, her daily prayers were her major
support that made her strong for her family and children:
The one thing that helped me [was] I had to pray every day, I believe that, with my health
being okay and with my prayers, we’ll get through everything together … My faith kept me
strong and kept me going to get the family going and be there for everyone.
By 10.30 p.m. the cyclone had passed and the wind had died down. There had
been no electricity from around midday so the only source of light in Reijeli’s home
was a torch and a solar light.
While everyone was cleaning the house, the Eucharistic Minister from the church
came to ask the household to look after the ciborium. The church had been damaged
and flooded and he was searching for a safe place to keep it. This was an unprecedented situation. The ciborium contains hosts (the wafers consumed at Holy Communion) that have been ‘consecrated’ during Mass. To Catholic faithful, the ciborium is
understood as containing Christ’s actual Body under the appearance of the hosts. It
is kept in what is known as the tabernacle that is locked and placed in the most holy