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Spiritual support for Supporting tsunami victims in their faith is one of the hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to those in need today. In the village of Kottilpadu in South India, our Sisters have been active in tsunami relief for several months. Father Xavier Lawrence, the parish priest for about 700 Catholic families, noted that the villagers desperately needed spiritual help. The tragedy of the tsunami had deeply shaken their faith. They needed someone to listen to their faith stories, and to meet with them as basic Christian communities.
"Sister-Doctor Mary Pakkiam and I were the first Medical Mission Sisters to take up this challenge," says our Sister Clare Muthukattil. The two Sisters were invited to stay with a family of nine. "Life with a tsunami-affected family, deprived of everything, was hard," recalls Sister Clare. They spent each day visiting some of the victims. "Often our response was a compassionate, silent presence." In the evenings, they met and prayed with the basic Christian communities. The children of the village befriended Sisters Clare and Mary, and put on programs to entertain them in the evenings. "We enjoyed their laughter as a precious gift, as laughter and fun had gone out of their lives," Sister Clare explains. Accompanying the villagers through Holy Week was a very touching experience.
"Participation of the community in the services was good, though the mood was one of great sadness," Sister Clare remembers.
On Easter Monday at about 11:00 p.m., the villagers woke our Sisters with a warning to leave immediately, as there was the possibility of another tsunami. "One man whom I had never seen held on to my hand, and Sister Mary walked behind me. It was pitch dark … an exodus to nowhere, an experience of the Way of the Cross! …I continued to ask the Lord to save the people, to save all of us," says Sister Clare. After finally finding refuge in a church, the people waited together through a fearful, sleepless night. When no tsunami came, they slowly returned to the village. "I experienced the generosity of the deprived poor, their sharing attitude, the responsibility they took to save our lives even at the risk of their own lives, the love and care, the pain, sufferings, and the darkness of faith they were going through," reflects Sister Clare. "This is where I found God's presence!" Two other Medical Mission Sisters have now taken Sister Mary and Sister Clare's place in Kottilpadu.
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