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The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

Listening to Katrina’s Voice

Recently, a convoy of minivans, SUVs and pickup trucks rolled into St. Louis carrying essential supplies. Dads and armies of orange shirts unloaded tons of 19-inch televisions, mini-fridges, multiple video game systems and cases of clothing, while students and their moms developed strategies for their deployment and placement in compact dorm rooms.

Days later, a second wave of incoming students hit our midtown shores. But their arrival presented a stark contrast to that of the first. I spoke to one student, displaced from Tulane University, in the admissions office in DuBourg Hall. She comes to us with a laptop computer, a backpack of clothes and a few toiletries. Another young man from Dallas, who had planned to begin at Loyola, stood in our lobby at Gries with nothing but his guitar, laptop and three small boxes.

Is it possible for us, who remain safe, comfortable and well fed, to discover personal meaning and purpose in Katrina’s aftermath? Sadly, many will find it relatively easy to sleep through the storm and come out of it unaffected. However, many of us feel compelled to awaken and listen to Katrina’s voice.

First, her power demands that we consider what it means to live in radical simplicity. Before her attack, who among us would have considered coming to Saint Louis University with as little as a toothbrush, a laptop and a change of clothes? Now, nearly 150 of our newly enrolled students have no other choice. I am sure that they will prove to us that living in such simplicity is not only possible, but even heroic.

Secondly, her shrill cry beckons listeners to sacrifice. While victims sacrificed their homes, jobs and loved ones, others have sacrificed their security, time and finances to offer them relief. For those of us who are so removed from the damage, it is difficult to imagine what we can do to help. What sacrifice do we have to offer?

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One easily overlooked sacrifice is prayer. Offer frequent and substantial prayers for victims and relief workers. Anyone formed in Ignatian spirituality knows that prayer moves us to action. Thus, we provide much-needed financial and material aid from our own resources. Already, efforts have begun on campus to collect money and items from students, faculty and staff.

When making your contribution, call to mind the Gospel story of the widow who gave all she had as an offering. Sacrifice requires giving to the point where it hurts a bit. Only then will our sacrifice effect meaningful and purposeful change in us. What difference does dropping a few coins or a couple of bucks in a bucket make? While much appreciated by desperate victims, offering scraps from our pockets impacts our hearts very little.

At a time when hundreds of thousands need basics such as water, food and shelter, let us show solidarity with them by sacrificing our consumption of luxuries such as alcohol, fast food and entertainment. Imagine the amount of money that could be raised for relief efforts in one weekend if SLU students donated what they would normally spend on beer, pizza and movies. Like any purposeful sacrifice, such a practice would momentarily shift the focus away from ourselves and our comfortable routines and into the shoes of those who suffer.

Do not let Katrina’s voice fall on deaf ears. Her message is for all of us: Live simply and “give up” for the sake of others.

Christ, true model of simplicity and sacrifice, bless us.

 

Steven Fowler is a SLU campus minister

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