Catholics unite around faith as bergoglio forces Mass evacuations

Catholics unite around faith as bergoglio forces Mass evacuations

A sign of the times....

In the Philippines a volcano prepares to erupt while in the Vatican bergoglio's synod prepares its own volcanic eruption.

Pray a Hail Mary for the lives and homes  of the people of the Philippines and another for the lives and souls of Catholics all over the world....

“Prayer work miracles, and only God can save us.”

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"Filipinos unite around faith as volcano forces mass evacuations"

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Legazpi City, Philippines, Sep 20, 2014 / 04:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Residents near the restive Mayon volcano in the Philippines are turning to prayer as the mountain begins to erupt, and the nation's Catholic charity agency is preparing to help those whose lives are disrupted.

A lava dome appeared at the top of Mayon volcano last month, and on Sept. 15 increased rockfall and seismic activity led the Philippine Institute of Volcanology to raise the alert level to three (on a scale of zero to five), which indicates high unrest, magma at the volcano's crater, and a possible hazardous eruption within weeks.

The government has forcibly evacuated more than 27,000 residents from an six kilometer (four mile) radius around the volcano.

On Friday, there were reports of lava flowing down the mountain's slopes; 22 seismic events; 70 rockfalls; and lahar, a volcanic mudflow with a consistency similar to that of wet concrete. According to International Business Times, seismologists describe Mayon as “erupting already but not at an explosive level.”

Fr. Nic Bilono, rector of St. Gregory the Great cathedral in Legazpi City – which is a 28 mile drive from the base of Mayon volcano – told CNA Sept. 17 that the evacuees “have moved to safety in nearby schools,” adding that “the livestock are kept safe near some protected slopes.”

While St. Gregory the Great is a 28 mile drive from the volcano, the round-about drive is much longer than the nine mile distance separating the two.

Despite this, the cathedral is safe, Fr. Bilono reports, “due to the hilly topography surrounding the area … the molten lava has erupted but not actually exploded, and is gushing down the slopes.”

The local people are typically “deeply religious,” the priest said, adding that when calamity strikes “the conviction of faith unites the people to pray fervently, imploring the saints and especially Our Lady of Salvation, the patroness and protectress of the Diocese of Legazpi.”

“Prayer work miracles, and only God can save us.”

Fr. Bilono also noted that the diocese has established “oratio imperata”, or “ordered prayer”,  which is recited in times of calamity, and traditionally said at the end of Mass.

The oratio imperata are being recited daily throughout the Legazpi diocese, and parishes are monitoring the situation for the safety of their people, Fr. Bilono said.