The reading from Acts for this Tuesday of the 6th Week of Easter continues to give account of the great trials and wonders of the Apostolic preaching.

Apparently, the two go together.

In Acts 16.22-34, St. Paul and his companion Silas are in prison, having been arrested by local Roman officials for disturbing the peace. "About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened, there was suddenly such a severe earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose."

In hearing this account, we might remember our brothers of the Province of the Most Holy Name, who serve a mission in Mexicali, which suffered an earthquake on Easter Sunday. It registered a 7.2 on the Richter scale - in other words, a more severe earthquake than the one that hit Haiti. This Province's own Fr. Joseph Barranger, O.P., is at the mission, working alongside Dominicans from the Western Province.

Since Easter, there have been countless aftershocks, some of them reaching 4.0. There are tens of thousands of people who have been rendered homeless, and the civic authorities are not facing the challenge of aid well, and the news media have offered rather minimal coverage of the devestation.

On the one hand, Fr. Barranger has had to witness the despondency and death of many. On the other hand, he also gives this account of a certain glory in the midst of the trial:

[This past Sunday], I celebrated First Communions in our parish church. The children were so excited and beautiful...

During the Mass we suffered a 5.2 earthquake. The church began to shake violently, and two chandeliers fell, thankfully not killing anyone. I pushed the altar boys under that altar of sacrifice, and as many of the children out the side doors as possible...

Recall St. Paul. While in prison, "they were singing hymns to God while the prisoners listened..." And after the earthquake, the jailer - astonished by the peace and joy of the prisoners, astounded at the earthquake's shaking of foundations, and inspired that the prisoners did not take the opportunity to escape - the jailer asks to be saved. In the midst of it all, the disciples did not flee. The earthquake was a sign of God's power, present in the fidelity and joy of His disciples in the face of death. Recognizing this power, the jailer received the grace of faith, and his entire household was baptized. In turn, he brought St. Paul and company "into his house and provided a meal and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God."

Let us keep the people of the Mexicali region on the Baja Peninsula in our prayers. For those interested in contacting the mission to offer support, their American-side address should be used:

Frailes Dominicos
233 Paulin Ave. PMB 5923
Calexico, CA 92231