Hurricane Ike & the "goddess of the Sea"

I was looking at photos of Hurricane Ike on the Washington Post web site. Photo #33 caught my eye. It was of Cubans carrying statues that appear to be of Mary. The text alongside the picture says, "Residents of Batabano Surjidero in Havana, Cuba, participate in a procession to request the Goddess of the Sea, the Virgin of Iemanja, to move Hurricane Ike far from Cuba." That's it. People carrying a statue of a woman, praying to an ancient pagan diety. People ask us, "Why go as a missionary to a Catholic country?" The answer is as simple here as it is in the U.S.; i.e., no country is Christian or non-Christian. Rather, people are Christian or not. In Latin America, there is huge confusion because of ancient pagan dieties with Christian names. We're here to clear up the confusion.

There is only one person who has the power to calm the storm, his name is Jesus.


I couldn't include a photo of "the virgin of Iemanja," if you want to see the photo on the Washington Post site, click here and go to photo #33: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2008/09/08/GA2008090801274.html