Hope for Haiti?

In the immediate days and weeks following the Haitian earthquake the response from around the globe staggered the imagination. So many governments and private organizations were quick to answer Haiti's plea for help. From the devastation came a light of hope shining for the nation; they wished to rebuild a better nation like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

Exactly one year has passed since the January 12th earthquake. The past year has left many Haitians nearing hopelessness. Government corruption, an unresolved December election, a cholera epidemic, and inefficiency among other things all create a rather grim scenario. An article and slideshows from wsj.com portrays the continued devastation and the living conditions that linger in the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.

Article: In Haiti, Hope Is the Last Thing Lost

Slideshow: Haiti Slow to Recover

Slideshow: Haiti, A Year After the Quake

I mourn for the dead. I mourn for the suffering. I hope and pray that the Haitian people are able to have access to the Sacraments, which may be the only thing holding many of their lives together. Let us not forget the work that still must be done in Haiti.

Let us pray on this first anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti and offer to the Lord all the suffering, pain, and failing that might make anyone lose hope.

Read comments by Archbishop Bernard Auza: Haiti Quake: The Pope's Man In Port-au-Prince

EDIT: 01/12/2011; 3:57pm: The Vatican never disappoints. Neither does Dr. Elizabeth Lev. Mass in Rome to Mark Anniversary of Haiti

Photo from ineedmotivation.com taken 18 Jan 2010, a man standing in the ruins of the Port-au-Prince Cathedral. (QMI Agency)