Praying to avert storms during 2023 Hurricane Season

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - It’s the first day of the 2023 hurricane season and a good time to think about what you need to do to prepare. Some community members kick off the season with prayer and hope.

Bishop Glen John Provost led a mass that is held once a year to avert storms in a place where so many scars remain. At Christ the King Church, the mass was in a temporary building. Yet, prayers are just as fervent.

“We are all gathered here to pray for protection from all storms and destructive weather. Let us therefore ask almighty God that we all be protected, and watered from the springs of his blessings and life,” prayed Bishop Provost.

And then those who could, continue on to Our Lady Star of the Sea shrine in Cameron. The church remains closed due to severe damage from the 2020 storms.

But it’s a place some consider holy ground, and so they gathered at the shrine and prayed.

“Spare us from past tragedies,” prayed those attending the service.

Those participating say the prayer is helpful on many levels.

“When you put your life in God’s hands then everything works out. You don’t have to worry about it,” said one participant Joe Bond

And, even if things don’t go as hoped, they say those fervent prayers help the faithful cope with whatever comes their way.

“It’s just like all the saints said. God will never abandon you. God is always going to be there for you personally,” said Bond.

In the Diocese of Lake Charles, June 1 is a day of prayer and fasting at the beginning of hurricane season.

The Protection from Hurricanes prayer is here.

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