Back home after the visit to the Church of the Ascension, I found an e-mail from reader Nicolas at St. Augustine's concerning the current situation in Haiti, very troubling —
"I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! The country has been blockaded since Wednesday with barricades [probably burning tires, the usual], demonstrators in the streets. No ordinary vehicle or tap-tap traffic at all. The demonstrators pillaged the markets, the stores, in Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes, Gonâves, etc. Even at Cyvadier [normally very calm] there were barricades and demonstrators filling the streets, trying to combat the mounting cost of life, high food costs especially, absence of available work....
"I speak with Fr. Ambroise often [by cell-phone] in order to have word of the faithful at La Plaine; thanks be to God, they are well. Just about all activity was paralyzed, but now it's a bit more calm. A few offices opened their doors today, and there are a few vehicles moving timidly about the streets. We pray that the situation may return to normal."
According to a CNN report, the price of rice has risen 50%, and that of pasta doubled (both critical staples in Haiti) in the past six months. Needless to say, incomes have not risen proportionally, if at all. Such is my country; so is life for your brothers and sisters. Keep them in your prayers!