Monday’s Responsorial Psalm: “R. (13b) The Lord comes to judge the earth.”
From Associated Press:
Debbie Greco and her family cowered on a stairway landing as Hurricane Ida sent 4 feet (1.2 meters) of muddy water rushing into her home in LaPlace along the west side of Lake Pontchartrain.
Louisiana and Mississippi took stock Tuesday of the disaster inflicted by powerful Hurricane Ida, as receding floodwaters began to reveal the full extent of the damage along the US Gulf Coast and the death toll rose to four. New Orleans was still mostly without power nearly two days after Ida slammed into the Louisiana coast as a Category 4 storm, exactly 16 years after devastating Hurricane Katrina — which killed more than 1,800 people — made landfall.
Four deaths have been confirmed as crews began fanning out in boats and off-road vehicles to search communities cut off by the giant storm. A man was also missing after apparently being killed by an alligator.
It seems like every year Louisiana and, often, New Orleans — this land of tremendous Catholicism, and tremendous spiritual challenge — are threatened by a vicious Gulf storm, as is now the case with Hurricane Ida. And so, once again, we invoke Our Lady of Prompt Succor [see bottom], as we note several ironies:
If Hurricane Ida hits when and how they currently project — as a category-four on Sunday — it will arrive on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Another glaring irony: Last year, Louisiana was battered by several storms — including one named, incredibly, “Delta.”
A virus with that nomenclature is now ravaging Louisiana and, yes, specifically New Orleans, where hospitals have literally run out of beds due to covid patients afflicted with the delta variant, and now scramble to prepare for what may be the nastiest hurricane in years, perhaps even decades.
Not just intense of wind, but laden with rain, over a wide area, is Ida: It could be a story up through Louisiana and into the Tennessee Valley.
Update, Associated Press:
Hurricane Ida rapidly grew in strength early Sunday, becoming a dangerous Category 4 hurricane just hours before hitting the Louisiana coast while emergency officials in the region grappled with opening shelters for displaced evacuees despite the risks of spreading the coronavirus.
As Ida moved through some of the warmest ocean water in the world in the northern Gulf of Mexico, its top winds grew by 45 mph (72 kph) to 150 mph (230 kph) in five hours. The system was expected to make landfall Sunday afternoon, set to arrive on the exact date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier. The hurricane center said Ida is forecast to hit at 155 mph (250 kph), just 1 mph shy of a Category 5 hurricane.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against lightning and tempest, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against destruction by flood, pray for us [see full prayer bottom].
From The New York Times:
Ida could strike the state as a Category 4 hurricane — with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour — on Sunday, the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Louisiana was also battered by several storms last year, including Hurricanes Laura and Delta. On Saturday, a hurricane warning was in effect from Intracoastal City, La., to the mouth of the Pearl River, a region that includes New Orleans. Storm surge warnings were issued as well. The center said that, depending on the tides, the surge could be as high as 15 feet in Morgan City, La., and reach up to 7 feet in Lake Pontchartrain. “Ida is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the coast of Louisiana,” the center said, adding, “Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion today in the warning area along the northern Gulf Coast.”
From NBC:
Hospitals in New Orleans are bracing for public health emergencies on two fronts as Hurricane Ida threatens to strike at the same time as Louisiana is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases.
New Orleans is in the midst of a “severe outbreak” with a seven-day average of 220 new infections, according to the city’s Covid-19 dashboard. Across the state, more than 3,400 new cases were confirmed as of Friday, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. At least 2,684 people are hospitalized in Louisiana with Covid-19.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor
Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us. (Repeat three times and recite the Hail Mary and Our Father.)
Litany of Our Lady of Prompt Succor:
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Mother of the Infant Jesus, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of all who invoke you with confidence, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of all who are devout toward the Infant Jesus, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for obtaining a lively faith, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for sustaining the hope of Christians, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for obtaining and persevering in charity, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for observing the law of God, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for observing perseverance in virtue and good works, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every spiritual necessity, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the revolt of self-will, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in the occasion of sin, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every temptation, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the evil spirit, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for obtaining contrition, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of those wishing to re-enter the path of salvation, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for the conversion of sinners, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every temporal necessity, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every affliction, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of afflicted families, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of the sick and the poor, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against contagious diseases and epidemics, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every accident, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against destruction by fire, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against lightning and tempest, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against destruction by flood, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of travelers, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of navigators, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of the shipwrecked, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the enemies of our country, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in time of war, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of those aspiring to the holy priesthood and the religious life, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of laborers in the Lord’s vineyard, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of missionaries who spread the faith, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of our Holy Father the Pope, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for those searching for the faith, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the enemies of the Church, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor at the hour of death, pray for us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for the deliverance of the souls in purgatory, pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Our Lady of Prompt Succor, pray for us.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
O Almighty and Eternal God, Who sees us surrounded by so many dangers and miseries, grant in Your infinite goodness that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Your Divine Son, may defend us from the evil spirit and protect us against all adversities, that always and with prompt succor she may deliver us from every evil of soul and body, and safely guide us to the kingdom of heaven, through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.”