Prayers For the People of Haiti

I'm sure everyone has seen the terrible death and destruction in Haiti from the catastrophic 7.0 earthquake that rocked the country on Tuesday.  New York City, and especially where I live in the borough of Brooklyn, cradles Haiti's largest expatriate community.  It is hard for us to not know someone, be it a friend, co-worker, employee, neighbor, fellow student, church member, or just someone you may pass on the street every day or share a bus or subway ride with, who has not been personally effected by this sad and terrible tragedy.  We are reminded how fragile life is and how a people who have suffered so much in life are now asked to bear more suffering.  My deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers go out to those that have lost a loved one, and to those suffering from injury and the loss of property.

If good can come from tragedy it has been the response of governments and aid agencies all over the world who have banned together in an effort to bring help to the island of Haiti.  God speed their progress.

I have also been amazed by the swiftness of the technological age that has enabled people to donate to charities and how wonderful the response has been!  When I listened to the news tonight I heard that the American Red Cross already had received 3.5 million dollars from text message donations of $10 each. How just a little sacrifice from each person can add up to so much is testimony that we can all help our fellow man in times of crisis. It reminds me of what a good place this world can be.

If you would like to text a donation from your cell phone here are some options I found on the USA Today Website:

Text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross relief efforts;

Text Yele to 501 501 to donate $5;

Text HAITI to 864833 to donate $5 to United Way Worldwide's disaster fund for long-term recovery.

If you would rather donate another way the same website has many suggestions for relief organizations, faith based organizations, and other agencies that are accepting donations and also tips on "how best to obtain a list of credible responding agencies for international emergencies, and how to get valuable information on making informed decisions when supporting charities."

Whatever you did for the least of My brothers and sisters, you did for Me.   Matthew 25:40

Angel of Grief

(All photos will enlarge when clicked on)

This beautiful tombstone is the 1910 Cassard Monument, found in Green-Wood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark cemetery, dating back to 1838, located in Brooklyn, New York.  This poignant figure of an angel is known as the "Angel of Grief" or "The Weeping Angel."  It is modeled after a 1894 sculpture by William Wetmore Story, which serves as the grave stone of both the artist and his wife, located in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome.

William Wetmore Story was born to Salem, Massachusetts, in 1819, and graduated from Harvard College in 1838 and Harvard Law School in 1840.  He left the practice of law to become a sculptor and relocated to Italy in 1848.  His most famous sculpture is "Cleopatra," which is part of the collection of The Metropolitan Museum Of Art in New York City.

Sometime over the last hundred years the Cassard angel had lost her hand that dangles over the monument, and there is an effort to raise funds to restore this statue to its original state through the Green-Wood Cemetery's "Saved In Time" program.

My husband and I have been volunteers at Green-Wood Cemetery for the past six years, and we have helped with the Civil War Veteran project and other Historic Fund Projects. You can read more about this magnificent cemetery in previous blogs posts that I wrote by following this link.

This second  mosaic is another tombstone also located in Green-Wood Cemetery which  depicts the "Angel Of Grief.".  The monument is identified only by the name "O'Donahue." This angel's hand holds a wreath. According to Rochester's History -  Glossary of Victorian Cemetery Symbolism   "the use of a wreath, garlands and festoons as a funerary symbol dates back to ancient Greek times and it was adopted into the Christian religion as a symbol of the victory of the redemption.

The laurel wreath is usually associated with someone who has attained distinction in the arts, literature, athletics or the military. The ivy wreath is symbolic of conviviality (gaiety or joviality). The wreath and festoon together symbolize memory."

The remarkable and emotional realism of the "Angel of Grief" has made it famous, and it has become a copied funeral monument model all over the world, especially in the United States, where many reproductions of the work can be found .

Perhaps there is one in a cemetery in your area? 

There are many beautiful sculptures and monuments in Green-Wood Cemetery that I would like to show  from time to time, as the stories behind them are fascinating and historical.  It is a place I never tire of exploring!

* Edited to add this beautiful prose written by William Wetmore Story, which seems very apropos for his Angel of Grief sculpture:

"But the gray and the cold are haunted

By a beauty akin to pain, --

By a sense of a something wanted,

That never will come again.”

I am linking this post to Susan's "Outdoor Wednesday" event on her blog A Southern Daydreamer.
Please visit Susan's blog to find her outdoor post and links to other  participating blogs.