Posted on 08/06/2015 8:54:19 AM PDT by NYer
Fréjus-Toulon, Gap and Embrun, Bayonne, Avignon, Ajaccio, and now Digne ... So far, six bishops have decided that the bells will ring in all the churches of their diocese on Saturday, August 15, 2015. The faithful are called to gather in front of their churches at noon to show their brotherly support of the Eastern Christians who are prey to the wickedest persecutions because of their faith.
A year after the fall of Mosul and Qaraqosh
This initiative comes exactly a year after the dramatic events that Aleteia was among the first to relay, as early as August 7, 2014 : the fall of Mosul, then Qaraqosh and all the plain of Nineveh. The mass exodus of Christians on the roads and the massacre of Yezidis at mount Sinjar finally made the international public opinion react. But a year later, can we really say that there has been a true reaction to Daesh and the Syrian drama?
Launched by Archbishop Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon, this initiative has already been taken up by several other bishops, and by the Catholic Church in France. But this is just the beginning, hopefully: can we not dream of hearing all the bells of France ringing in honor of our persecuted brothers? Or, who knows, the bells of all the churches around the world?
Faced with the persecutions and massacres suffered by the Christians of the East, especially in Syria and Iraq, these dioceses want to express in this way their solidarity and pray for them. "This is a gesture of prayer, solidarity, peace and faith,” says Archbishop Jean-Pierre Cattenoz, archbishop of Avignon. “We believe it can have a real impact." Sometimes one gesture can change everything...
Our Lady who brings down the walls
Why choose the date of August 15? First, because it coincides almost to the day with the dramatic events experienced by the Christians of Iraq. But above all it is on the day of the Feast of the Assumption that the bells will ring at noon and Christians as well as all "people of goodwill" will be invited to gather in front of their churches to pray silently for a few minutes before praying the Virgin Mary for peace in the region.
"Easterners often have a strong devotion to Mary," says Bishop Cattenoz, who specifies that this will be a prayer to "Our Lady who brings down the walls." "The walls that must fall are vast: those that separate nations and peoples who are killing each other, but also those that divide communities, including in France."
Catholic ping!
Good.
The good nations who have armed forces need to crush ISIS and rescue the Christians (as well as the Yazidis and other targets of terror.)
When will some nation actually spring to their physical defense?
Do you pray for the oppressed and persecuted people? Please do.
I think we should also pray that the oppressors be expedited to the infernal regions. Then we should pitch in and help both causes.
I am currently on a 30 trip to the UAE. Engineering support type work which has me interfacing with some of the UAE guys that are trying to stabilize the bad places over here(for both Moslem and Christian). I should be back to SoCal in a week or so and I plan on writing up some detailed thoughts on this topic and will pass them along. God bless!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.