A BENEVOLENT BRIDE

I guess I've been a bit distracted since my last post.  The whole situation in Haiti is occupying a lot of my thoughts.  I didn't even give a shout out "Who Dat!!" after the Saints beat the Cardinals last Saturday.  Now we're looking ahead to the Vikings and Brett Favre this coming Sunday.  They are the only thing left standing in our way to the Super Bowl.  There doesn't seem to be very much "trash talking" going on for this game.

It's hard to trash talk about the folks from Minnesota when you hear about this particular couple from Duluth.
With a h/t to The Deacon's Bench:

Duluth native Leah Bogen and fiance Will Nicholson were eating breakfast and chatting about wedding plans on Sunday morning in their Maple Grove home. At the same time, Bogen was reading the newspaper and was struck by a story from Haiti that included leg amputations and unsafe medical conditions.

The contrast of the earthquake devastation and the party planning struck her.

She made a decision right then and there to donate the money they planned to spend on the reception dinner — 25 percent of their wedding budget — to people in Haiti. Her fiance didn't need any convincing.

No "bride-zilla" there!! As I mentioned in my homily last weekend, it seems that these natural (and sometimes man-made) disasters such as Katrina, the tsunami, 9-11, and now Haiti's earthquake(s) tend to bring out what is good and caring in people. While natural disasters are often nature's way of renewing and rebuilding the earth,they also often result in suffering, pain, and loss of life. One positive result is the magnificent outpouring of love that is the world-wide response to these tragedies.

Please pray for the people of Haiti and for all who suffer; physically, mentally or spiritually.