Bishop joins Guyanese in their grief over MV Barima tragedy

“There are no words” that can adequately express the gravity, the depth, the pain of the loss and grief and trauma especially afflicting the hearts of survivors, the hearts of those who have lost loved ones and the heart of the whole nation now facing the aftermath of the July 18 tragedy of the MV Barima.

So said Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB of Georgetown in an address to the nation Wednesday, July 22, the first of three days of National Mourning declared for the victims.

Speaking via video message from his chapel, Bishop Alleyne invited viewers to “stand” with him before the mystery of God. He said the Catholic Church stands in consternation, nonplussed, bewildered, flummoxed.

“In biblical tradition, we would be in sackcloth and ashes standing before God in silence,” the Bishop said, according to a Catholic Standard report. He referenced the image of Christ crucified on a wall behind him, a central image in the Christian heritage, an image of tragedy and an undeserving and untimely death. Similarly, he said, “[an] undeserving and untimely death is what the nation gathers around at this time.”

Bishop Alleyne also acknowledged an image of Mary, the Blessed Mother, to his right, a grieving mother who stood at the foot of the Cross. This image of the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe, “is an image from 16th century Mexico that inspired the Indigenous people of that place and time to lift their lives to fuller stature.”

He added, “In our tradition we invoke her intercession to guide and sustain us in our own distress.” On the Bishop’s left was the tabernacle where the Sacrament is reserved, the Body of Christ, and faithful remember Jesus’ words just before His own death, inviting the faithful to do what He did in His memory. “Doing what Jesus did, what He taught would be vital in difficult times such as these,” Bishop Alleyne said.

He emphasised that Jesus’ own witness was one of deep compassion and deep concern for those who suffered and those who were most vulnerable. “Our own desire is that we would become more like Christ,” he said. Bishop Alleyne commented that over time, he has seen Guyana and Guyanese admirably rally in the face of tragedy. He recalled the ‘Great Flood’ in 2005, the massacres of Lusignan and Bartica, the death of Adriana Young and the “long list of tragedies each delivering its own blow to the nation.”

Bishop Alleyne also mentioned the passionate expression of grief and concern, of resilience and resolve emanating from in the face of each tragedy to ensure that citizens minimise the chance of recurrence.

He prayed that these powerful qualities of the nation come to the fore at this time.

A Mass of Consolation was held Wednesday, July 29 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Brickdam, Georgetown, for the families of victims and survivors of the MV Barima tragedy. —KJ