THIS IS BIGGER THAN I THOUGHT

THIS IS DAUNTINGLY SCARY

There have been many things that have happened to me without warning.  Not all of them are equally good or equally bad;  not all are equally overcome or equally impossible to vanquish.  Some are so all consuming that they drive us humans to stand there, mouth agape, body trembling, heart pounding overtaken by the wish that what is happening will end soon -- like, SOON.  Somehow, it never does.

Real story from experience in a 3rd world country

Like this one.  7:00 PM during the first few moments of a parish meeting on the ground floor of the rectory, two young men crashed in from outside and breathlessly shouted that they needed help because the central marketplace was on fire.  The eastern edge of the marketplace was but 150 meters west of where we were.  

We responded in a quick reflex move that took us out of the door and running toward the blaze.  As we approached, we separated and each went his way to assess the situation.  Our group was quickly fractured, four became awe-filed spectators and two became engaged, driven by an inner force that they somehow could not define but which looked and felt like cunning, defensive anger.  The two forged ahead and discovered ways to fight back.  Like little Chihuahua dogs, finding openings where they could cheat the fire and steal some of its forage.  The two of us suddenly discovered that there were some pockets where valuable equipment could still be salvaged.  

We rounded up spectators and got them to help us save what could still be saved without putting ourselves in imminent danger.  We worked our strategy the length of the 150 meter frontage of the all wood structure.  We were in a "good" position since we were downwind from the flames and therefore somewhat protected by the soon to be consumed material before us.  Behind us was the open space of the central "common," as we say in Massachusetts.  It was there that we placed what we were saving.

The adrenaline was an inner tsunami that could not be quelled.  There quickly came a moment when we discovered that the dwellings across the street from the inferno were in danger of being torched.  We were able to marshall some young people to collect water so that the dwellers in the endangered buildings could hang wet blankets and other materials out of the windows to prevent the fire from spreading.  Some were able to bring water to the roof.

If we thought that our efforts to salvage material belongings was a steep challenge, we were in for a deeper and more painful reality:  accompanying the weeping and disoriented owners of the shops who, in the space of a few short, calamitous hours, found themselves completely divested of their entire inventory of goods, cash, equipment and, in some cases, shelter.  

In the end, we who were powerless to prevent the ravaging of the market, who had not lost our material assets, who were not totally downtrodden and able to bring a visible and tangible reality of human fraternity to those who were suffering huge losses, approached them and did our best to console them at the moment of devastation.  We did not stop the holocaust but we like to think that our miniscule outpouring of physical and emotional leverage brought some comfort and hope to those who were victimized.  

This happened 50 years ago.  I have not visited that town since then.  It might be possible that they have invested in a disaster preparedness organization over the years.  

Parish priest, San Mateo, Isabela, Philippines