The most unique thing on my Aero Dili flights was the oecumenical prayer card onboard, a spiritual safety card.
A Very Unique Prayer Card On Aero Dili
There are no screens, Wi-Fi, or streaming entertainment on Aero Dili, but the most unique prayer card I’ve ever seen was placed at each seatback.
Timor-Leste is 97% Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant, and about 1% Sunni Muslim (with a smattering of other faiths too small to quantify). Even so, a prayer card offered six different prayers:
- Moslem
- Catholic
- Protestant
- Hinduism
- Buddhism
- Confucian
Let’s look at each prayer:
Moslem Prayer
By the name of Allah, (hopefully) accompany the journey and the landing (of this plane). Surely, my Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful (Q.S.Hud: 41). Holy God almighty who has given us the ability to utilize this (plane). While we alone (without His help) are not able to control it. O Allah, You are a companion on the journey and You are also a protector for the family. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the difficulties of travel and the gloom of sight. (Prophet Muhammad’s Prayer)
Catholic Prayer
In the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen. We ask You: Grant us a safe journey, with good and pleasant weather. Give us the guidance of Your holy angels, including the air crew, so that they can take us to our destination safely, We also ask that our family- whom we left behind, please comfort them in peace, until we can finally be in touch with them again. Blessed be Your name, now and forever. In the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.
Protestant Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your endless grace. Today we call upon Your holy name to accompany us on our journey. May God protect this plane from being disturbed and harmed, as well as the air crew. May God also lead and give them the ability to carry out their respective duties well, so that we can arrive at our destination on time safely and in joy. Thank you for your help and unchanging love from the past, now until forever. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we raise our prayers. Amen.
Hinduism Prayer
Om Shangyang Widhi Wasa, the Glorious One who overcomes all death, we adore You. Protect us from harm. Om Shangyang Widhi Wasa, all profits, wealth, intelligence are due to Your holy blessings. May our conduct and thoughts be clean and attain inner and outer happiness.
Buddhism Prayer
Homage to Him, the Blessed One (Bhagava), the Holiest, who has attained enlightenment (3x). May all living beings be happy. Like how it should be. (Paritta Chanting Book)
Confucian Prayer
The presence of TIAN, the one and only God, in the highest place, With the guidance of the Prophet Kong Zi, glorified Shang Di, the almighty God. Provide guidance to all air crew, so that they can carry out their duties properly. Give the best gift, so that we can all safely arrive at our destination and reunite with our beloved family.
Aero Dili Is Not Alone…
Does anyone remember the old prayer cards that were served with meals on Alaska Airlines? I still have some somewhere and was never offended by them…just like I’m offended by Saudia having a Muslum prayer area in the back of its Boeing 777 jets.
Many carriers from majority-Islamic nations begin their flights with a prayer that the Prophet Muhammad made before his journeys.
CONCLUSION
I’m a man of (Christian) prayer myself and not so very ecumenical (let alone oceumenical), but I do believe strongly in religious liberty and the qualities I look for in a pilot and flight attendant are not a like-minded faith but competence. Still, this was interesting…and yes, I did pray the Protestant prayer.
so are the prayers next to the safety card for any specific reason?
I don’t know of any other airline that has prayers of multiple faiths. I’d love to know if there are any other airlines that do that.
And, yes, AS and DL both had prayers – mostly on meals served at the holidays. Eliminating meals makes it easy to do away with the prayers; not even the inflight magazine remains in most US airline seatbacks.
I just pray that the wifi works one the flight.