Damage to a home after Cyclone Winston in 2016 - Fr Frank Hoare
If the Nativity was to take place today, Jesus could well be born in the middle of a war zone and have his sleep disturbed by the sounds of exploding rockets, gun fire or the anguished cries of distraught men and women.
If he had been born in Fiji, it could well have been amidst the destruction of a cyclone. In this week before Christmas, Fiji was bracing for Super Cyclone Yasa to hit around the evening of December 17 or early on the following day.
Residents were being warned to stay indoors and stock up on candles, batteries for communication devices and non-perishable varieties of foodstuff.
The peace of this Christmas and one ordination may be disrupted, but we pray for the safety of the people of Fiji.
At the time of going to print, it was not known how the super cyclone would affect the island nation, but with memories of Cyclone Winston from February 2016 still raw, authorities are expecting the worst.
Weather reports described the building Yasa as a category five and were billing it as one of the strongest to hit ever, with winds packing to be over 300kms an hour.
How this will affect the celebration of Christmas is not known, but the ordination of Aminiasi Ravuwai, set for December 19, has been postponed until the following week.
The peace of this Christmas and one ordination may be disrupted, but we pray for the safety of the people of Fiji.
Tropical Cyclone Yasa struck the low-lying Pacific island nation of Fiji on Thursday evening local time, as one of the strongest storms to hit there.
Fr Jim Mulroney lives and works at St Columban's, Essendon.
