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 not offended by Saudia having a Muslim 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.
Inshallah. Amen!
Matt, you might want to correct this:
> 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.
Fixed. Thanks!
I pray that we are finished with the endless Aero Dili non stories being shoveled out as content.
It’s really simple: don’t like them, don’t read them…
Well said, Matt. Folks can ignore or engage. Their choice. But these incessant requests to self-censor are the #1 lamest thing I see on any blog. Mur and others like ‘em need to get over it. Thank you for all these updates on your recent journey. 10/10. More are welcome, too!
I think you missed a “not” in this sentence:
“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.”
Yikes. Yes.
Are these prayers accurate for the specific faiths? They seem AI generated.
This is very cool. Just curious, but is there anything in the Catholic prayer that you wouldn’t pray as a (pretty traditional) Protestant? Is the mention of angels the main differentiator in your mind?
I’d pray it – I find no problem with it. Though I’d say it almost sounds more Pentecostal than Roman Catholic.
this is great, just read some of the comments on your alaska airlines article, and man, there are some world class whiners who can’t handle that an airline wants to provide a nice prayer card for their passengers. and I’m jewish, so, they’re not really aimed at me. but I find them charming in a way
Several Indonesian airlines include these types of prayer cards. Not surprising Aero Dili also does.
These 6 religions seem to be an exact copy of the 6 recognized by Indonesia…
Honestly, and it might shock you but I’m not offended by any of this. I have always believed everyone should have the ability to live freely with their own religious beliefs, or with none at all. Peace!
Woah, how ‘woke’ of you, Dave! Welcome to the Resistance! Bah…
What’s with all the stuff in parentheses in the Moslem prayer? I’ve seen it so many times and I don’t get it.
good question as I was wondering the same thing. found the answer on Quora:
The translator is essentially adding his own words to the translation of what, in Muslim doctrine, is supposed to be the verbatim word of God
What, no prayer for Orthodox Christians? How dare they!
So true! We must bring this up to the elders on our next pilgrimage to Mt. Athos… and they don’t even emphasize ‘name day’ over ‘birthday’… blasphemy! /s
Lol I was only kidding around. They probably only have those particular prayers due to those being the most common religions in the country (the majority and the most common minority religions) and possibly also among the visitors to the country.
Took me a sec to notice, especially since nobody in the comments mentioned it, but no Judaism? -_^
These multi faith prayer cards are common with airlines in Indonesia. I think all of the Indonesian airlines, with the exception of Garuda Indonesia, have them. They have six type of prayers printed on the card to reflect the official six religions in Indonesia.
Very interesting! Also, with this post I realized that you were a Protestant. For some reason I thought you were a Catholic. I’m guessing you’re a high-church Protestant?
And, just curious, why aren’t you Catholic? Now, I know that in your Easter Sunday post I commented that I followed a lot of Protestant/Evangelical/Non-denominational people, but I’ve since had a change of heart and become truly Catholic, rather than just a guy who went to Mass on Sundays and listened to people’s personal interpretations of the Bible the rest of the week.
Over the last month and a half I’ve found that the Catholic Church is the best way to get close to God and through which I’ve bore the most fruit, and I’ve decided to briefly list why. This isn’t a 100% complete list, and there are other important reasons, but these are why I feel that Catholicism is the true Christian Church containing the fullness of the truth that God has revealed to us.
-It was established by Jesus Himself in the Bible, with Peter being the first Pope (Matthew 16:18-19). The succession of Popes can all be traced back to St. Peter.
-We have the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It is God’s greatest gift to us, and one that can easily be enjoyed every day at Adoration and Mass. Honestly, it’s amazing to think that God Himself is present in that small piece of bread, and that we can become united to Him. It also strengthens us spiritually and gives us the grace necessary to deny ourselves and surrender to God’s Will.
-There are hundreds, if not thousands, of prayers and devotions that, together with frequent Mass (not just on Sundays), have been the key to bearing fruit for me (The Rosary, Litany of Humility, Liturgy of the Hours, devotions to the Precious Blood of Jesus, etc.).
-The Sacraments (If God has created both the physical and spiritual worlds, then it only makes sense that He would use both to grant us grace).
-An objective & infallible interpretation of the Bible and God’s teachings thanks to the Magisterium. Sola Scriptura means you rely on your own feelings and interpretations on what Scripture says, and as can be seen from the hundreds of Protestant denominations, that clearly doesn’t work. I decided to become more Catholic partially due to the condratictory claims regarding salvation that the people I listened to said. Some stated it could be lost, others said believed in Once Saved Always Saved. I couldn’t help but ask myself which one was right.
-The Catholic Church gave us the Bible, and none of its teachings contradict it.
-Veneration (not worship) to Mary, the Mother of God. It’s very easy to show why we don’t worship her and instead only venerate her. Why is she the Queen of Heaven and Earth? Because she said yes to God. Just look at Luke 1. When St. Gabriel the Archangel announced that she would give brith to a Son, she said “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) Earlier, when she is greeted by St. Gabriel, she is addressed as being full of grace (Luke 1:28). And let’s not forget the Canticle of Mary (Luke 1:46-55), which begins with “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (an incredibly beautiful sentence, by the way).
-The lives of the Saints as examples of how to live as men and women of God. We can learn something from each and every single one of them.
-It has survived through centuries of persecution and has held steadfast to its teachings, unlike other churches. For example, the Anglican Church in 1930 started to make “exceptions” that permitted the use of contraceptive methods, whereas the Catholic Church has declared it gravely sinful for the 2,000 years during which it has existed.
Again, this is just a brief look at why I think the Catholic Church is the one true Church, and it’s not an in-depth look.
Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful comment. I am indeed a Protestant, although I suppose “high church Protestant” is a reasonably fair description. I attend an Anglican Church and have a deep appreciation for liturgy, the sacraments, church history, and the continuity of the historic Christian faith.
I am not Roman Catholic because, while I respect the Catholic Church and recognize much that is beautiful and true within it, I remain unconvinced by some of its distinctive claims, particularly concerning papal authority, the nature of apostolic succession, and the infallibility of the Magisterium. I also do not believe that being Protestant necessarily means relying only upon one’s feelings or an entirely private interpretation of Scripture. Scripture should be read within the historic church, informed by the creeds, the church fathers, and faithful teachers, while remaining the final authority by which all teachings are tested.
That said, I am genuinely glad that your renewed commitment to Catholicism has drawn you closer to Christ and has produced good fruit in your life. The practices you mention, including regular prayer, worship, humility, and self-denial, are valuable disciplines from which many Christians could benefit. I may not share all of your conclusions, but I appreciate the sincere and gracious way you have explained them.