Pope in Beirut: Those who wish to build peace must cease to see in the other an evil to be eliminated

The video and following excerpt is from RomeReports.com:

Continuing his call for peace, the Pope led Sunday's Angelus by calling for the violence to stop in the Middle East, especially in Syria where thousands have been killed.  

“Why so much horror? Why so many dead? I appeal to the international community!," said the Pope in Beirut.   

Benedict XVI

“Why so much horror? Why so many dead? I appeal to the international community! I appeal to the Arab countries that, as brothers, they might propose workable solutions respecting the dignity, the rights and the religion of every human person!”

Benedict XVI called on Our Lady of Lebanon, to intercede and bring peace, but part of that process, said the Pope, includes eliminating hatred and enemies. 

Benedict XVI

“Those who wish to build peace must cease to see in the other an evil to be eliminated. It is not easy to see in the other a person to be respected and loved, and yet this is necessary if peace is to be built, if fraternity is desired.”

With roughly 300,000 people from across the Middle East, the Pope also mourned for the thousands of civilians who have lost their lives in violent conflicts in the region. 

Benedict XVI

“Sadly, the din of weapons continues to make itself heard, along with the cry of the widow and the orphan. Violence and hatred invade people’s lives, and the first victims are women and children.”

Toward the end of the Angelus, the Pope also called on local Patriarchs and bishops to do their part in the peace building process, so that all people of all origins and religious convictions are respected. 

Please Join in Prayerful Unanimity for God's Spiritual Blessings

Jesus and John the Babtist - Stained Glass Window
Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

All are welcome to attend St. Mary's Catholic Church for prayer services.

The church holds a monthly service for general prayer including special prayer intentions which are submitted through the website of Christian-Miracles.com.

Previous services have included prayer for Christian Unity.

The next service is scheduled for Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 7:30 P.M. (EST). The prayer service is held every third Thursday of each month with a new theme. June will focus on John the Babtist. In addition, prayers for world peace is always included.

There is great power when people join together in agreement while praying for God’s help and intervention. However, if you cannot attend, you can still join in by praying in unity with St. Mary’s Church between the hours of 7:30-8:00 PM on June 16th.

God wants us to approach him with the desires of our heart. Our Lord calls us to connect with his divine grace in order to receive blessings in our lives. Trust and believe in God's word and wait for his timing to receive an answer to your prayers.

Miracles happen when least expected!

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. (Isaiah 65:24)

Regarding prayer, Jesus said, "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."  (Matthew 18:19-20)

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

If you live in the area or plan on visiting New Jersey, please consider attending and joining in the evening prayer service with Fr. Richard Tartaglia.

The service begins with singing of hymns followed with psalm prayers and then reading of the gospels. After the reading, Fr. Tartaglia gives his homily which is followed with a prayer of intercession for Special Prayer Intentions (prayer requests). The Lord's Prayer is recited and after that there is a closing prayer with a blessing given by Fr. Tartaglia. The prayer service is concluded with closing songs.

St. Mary's Catholic Church is located on 15 Myers Avenue in Denville, New Jersey. Father Martin Glynn is the head pastor of the church.

For directions to St. Mary's Church, please visit the following link: http://www.stmarys-denville.org/directions.htm

With the support of Father Richard Tartaglia, prayer requests that are submitted through Christian-Miracles.com are also prayed for every Monday morning after the 8:00 A.M. Mass, during Holy Hour Adoration, which is between the hours of 8:30 to 9:30 AM.

Regardless of your religious denomination, please feel free to submit your prayer request at the following link: http://www.christian-miracles.com/apps/prayers/. Your email address will remain confidential.

Loci Lenar visits Father Richard Tartaglia on a regular bases for spiritual guidance and shares with him the prayer requests. As a result, Mr. Lenar will hand deliver all emails requesting prayers to Fr. Tartaglia.


Monthly Prayer Schedule with Related Topics for 2011:

St. Joachim and St. Anne - Thursday, July 21, 7:30 P.M.

Assumption of Our Lady - Thursday, August 18, 7:30 P.M.

Mary's Birth - Thursday, September 15, 7:30 P.M.

All Saints and Souls - Thursday, October 20, 7:30 P.M.

Thanksgiving - Thursday, November 17, 7:30 P.M.

Advent and Christmas - Thursday, December 15, 7:30 P.M.

***

St. Mary's Weekly Mass Schedule:

Sunday: 7:00, 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 AM

Saturday: 5:00 PM

Weekdays: 8:00 AM and 12:05 PM - (Except June ~ Labor Day - No 12:05 PM)

First Fridays: 8:00 AM, 12:05 PM, 8:00 PM - (Except June ~ Labor Day - No 12:05 PM)

Holy Days: 7:00 AM, 8:00 AM, 12:00 noon, 7:00 PM

Eve of Holy Days: 5:00 PM

Our Lady of Medjugorje's Message of February 2, 2011

Our Lady - Photo by Loci B. Lenar

Our Lady Queen of Peace of Medjugorje - Message given through visionary Mirjana Soldo on February 2, 2011

(For Non-Believers)

“Dear children, you are gathering around me, you are seeking your way, you are seeking, you are seeking the truth but are forgetting what is the most important, you are forgetting to pray properly. Your lips pronounce countless words, but your spirit does not feel anything. Wandering in darkness, you even imagine God Himself according to yourselves, and not such as He really is in His love. Dear children, proper prayer comes from the depth of your heart, from your suffering, from your joy, from your seeking the forgiveness of sins. This is the way to come to know the right God, and by that also yourselves, because you are created according to Him. Prayer will bring you to the fulfillment of my desire, of my mission here with you, to the unity of God’s family. Thank you.”

Pope Calls for Peace Summit to Halt Violence between Religions

Egyptian Muslims and Christians raise a copy of the Quran and a Cross
 in Shubra district, Cairo to protest against the terrorist attack on a
Coptic Christian church in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria.

 

Pope calls for peace summit to halt violence between religions - International - Catholic Online

The photograph and following excerpt is from Catholic Online:

Pope Benedict has called for a summit among religious leaders to discuss how they can promote peace. Benedict told visitors in St. Peter's Square the aim of the summit, scheduled for October in Assisi would be to "solemnly renew the commitment of believers of every religion to live their own religious faith in the service of the cause for peace."

Read More: Peace Summit

U.S. Catholic universities seeing influx of Muslim students

U.S. Catholic universities seeing influx of Muslim students

The following excerpt is from The Washington Post:

By William Wan -Washington Post Staff Writer

On a quick break between classes last week, Reef Al-Shabnan slipped into an empty room at Catholic University to start her daily prayers to Allah.

In one corner was a life-size painting of Jesus carrying the cross. In another, the portrait of a late priest and theologian looked on. And high above the room hung a small wooden crucifix.

After her more than two years on campus, though, it has become routine and sacred in its own way. You can find Allah anywhere, the 19-year-old from Saudi Arabia said, even at the flagship university of the U.S. Catholic world.

In the past few years, enrollment of Muslim students such as Shabnan has spiked at Catholic campuses across the country. Last year, Catholic colleges had an even higher percentage of Muslim students than the average four-year institution in the United States, according to the Higher Education Research Institute. The influx has astonished and sometimes befuddled administrators. Some Catholic campuses are creating prayer rooms for new Muslim students and hiring Islamic chaplains to minister to them. Others are unsure how to adapt.

Muslim students say they enroll at Catholic schools for many of the same reasons as their classmates: attractive campuses, appealing professors and academic programs that fit their interests. But there is also a spiritual attraction to the values that overlap the two faiths.

"Because it is an overtly religious place, it's not strange or weird to care about your religion here, to pray and make God a priority," said Shabnan, a political science major who often covers her head with a pale beige scarf. "They have the same values we do."

Muslim students find themselves immersed in what can seem at times alien iconography. Almost every classroom is adorned with a crucifix. Statues of the Virgin Mary and Holy Child dot the campus. Professors often open their classes with an appeal to Jesus. Courses in theology are an undergraduate requirement.

That's how Shabnan found herself buying her first Bible, for a required Old Testament class. It's also the reason, she said with a smile, that she registered for an introductory course on Islam.

"I was looking for an easy course," she said. "I learned a lot that was new to me . . . and just seeing how someone completely outside our religion views it was fascinating."

During his more than four years as a graduate student at Catholic, Ali Basiri has become one of the regulars at the small chapel in Caldwell Hall, the oldest building on campus. Basiri, 27, has spent so much time in the chapel's pews that he has befriended the organist who practices there.

In Iran, Basiri said, all schools run by the Islamic government are religious. The Iranian university where he studied for his bachelor's degree was named after a Muslim cleric, and his engineering department had detailed rules for praying and a dedicated room separated for men and women by blankets.

But at Catholic, he has forged new ways to connect spiritually. Several times a week, the electrical engineering student makes his way past the marble statue of the Virgin Mary at the Caldwell chapel entrance and listens in the pews to Islamic prayers on his MP3 player.

"I feel there is something powerful here because people are thinking about God all the time and not just about their own life or studies," Basiri said.

He has struck up friendships with equally fervent Catholic believers.

"We do this thing where he teaches me his prayers in Arabic, and I share with him the prayers I say as a Catholic," said one of his friends, Kenny White, 20, a sophomore from Annapolis. "I've learned about God by learning about him and his own faith. It's been a really important and beautiful part of being here."

"I think there's a lot of benefits to having students of other faiths here," he said. "They bring the grace of many of their own religious traditions."

Muslim students there say they have benefited as well. In his years at Catholic, Basiri said, he has experienced a long list of firsts: meeting a nun and priest, celebrating Mass, witnessing Easter and Thanksgiving.

Read More: U.S. Catholic Universities See Influx of Muslim Students

Kamal Saleem: A Muslim Cries Out to Jesus - CBN.com

Kamal Saleem heard a voice call his name and saw a vision of Christ. This was miraculous, because up until then, Kamal was a Muslim. Watch the amazing interview from CBN.com and witness the miraculous transformation of Kamal Saleem.

Virgin Mary Appearing in Egypt

Numerous reports in various articles throughout the internet have claimed that the Virgin Mary is appearing at the Coptic Orthodox Church in El-Warraq, Cairo, Egypt. Is it a sign from God that Christians and Muslims should work together for a common cause? Is the claims of an apparition of the Virgin Mary a call for Christians and Muslims to live together in peace?

The Daily Star - Arts & Culture - Late nights in Egypt with the 'Virgin Mary'

The following excerpt is written by Agence France Presse from The Daily Star:

CAIRO: Every night in the run-up to Christmas, thousands of Egypt’s Coptic Christians have been gathering in a Cairo suburb eager for a glimpse of a vision that has given hope to their marginalized community.

It is three hours past midnight in Al-Warraq, a poor working class neighborhood, and a 10,000-strong crowd is silently staring at the sky. Then the appearance of a mysterious light over the church’s bell tower jolts the gathering into a frenzy of cries and ululations. They imagine it is an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

Thousands have been coming nightly since the first sighting of the Virgin Mary on December 10, in the hope of being blessed by her light. The prospect of benediction is being depicted as a much-needed morale boost for the Christian minority, which complains of systematic discrimination and marginalization.

Tea vendors and sweet sellers snake through the crowd where thousands of families have gathered with young children and babies.

“The first person to spot … the Virgin Mary was a Muslim neighbor,” said Father Fishay, a priest at the Warraq church. “He took a video and pictures and distributed them to everyone.”

Hassan, the Muslim neighbor in question, was sitting at his coffee shop at around 8:30 p.m. when he saw a strong light coming from the church. Others began to notice the light and saw a bird circling overhead. At around 2 a.m., Fishay said, a vision of the Virgin Mary appeared.

News of the apparition prompted hundreds to rush out with mobile phones to capture the momentous event. “It’s her, with her blue-and-white clothes,” enthused Rami, 36. “There is no doubt about it. It cannot be an illusion.”

“The church closes its doors in the evening,” said Fishay in his measured manner. “We were not there when the image appeared the first time, so we decided to come back the second night.”

Nabil, 32, his wife Mariam, 28, and their three children came from Shubra al-Kheima, some 20 kilometers away, to receive the Virgin’s blessings. “Her appearance means she approves of us and if she blesses us,” Mariam opined. “We will stay ’til morning.”

Her husband said the sighting proves that Christianity is still alive. He is angry over the recent publication of an article in a periodical of Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s highest seat of learning, questioning the foundations of Christianity. “The apparition of the Virgin Mary,” he said, “means that Christianity is real and the Bible is real.”

Around 10 percent of the 80 million population, Egypt’s Christians complain they are kept out of jobs in the army, judiciary and universities.

“It is not possible to know the reason for the Virgin’s appearance,” Fishay said.

“Maybe it will end the state of tension between Muslims and Christians and an end to extremism. Maybe it’ll bring back forgiveness like there once used to be in Egypt.”

Muslim writer defends crucifixes in Italy

The following article appeared on the Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Young Muslim writer defends crucifixes in Italy

Rome, Italy, Nov 13, 2009 (CNA) - A young Muslim writer named Randa Ghazy has written an article entitled, “I, a Muslim, Defend the Crucifix,” in which she expresses her opposition to a ruling by the EU Human Rights Court that ordered all crucifixes be taken down in classrooms across Italy. The article will appear in the December edition of the magazine Mondo e Missione, a publication of the Pontifical Institute Missioni Estere.

“One of the most beautiful memories of my childhood and adolescence was of Father Bruno,” she writes. “I would often go to the oratory with my little brother and the sisters would treat us with great kindness and care.”

Ghazy recalls as well that “Father Bruno made us truly laugh. When it was time for Mass, my brother and I would run off to play ping pong and eat candy. Every day Father Bruno would ask us to stay with the other kids who were there in the church, which we embarrassingly declined to do.”

“One day, Father said to us, ‘Why don’t you come and say your prayers?’ And so we did. During Mass my brother and I slowly recited prayers from the Koran. So the crucifix, all the different kinds that I remember (from grade school to college) was always a symbol of security for me, a projection of the greatness of the heart of Christ, and in some way, of Father Bruno."

For this reason, Ghazy says, “I support and encourage every possible debate between Muslim and Christian citizens, all discussion about the secularity of the State, but with respect for the great models of humility that each one can find in his past and his experiences."

“I turn off the television so I don’t see the continuous verbal assaults, I remember Father Bruno and I smile, thinking about those two little Muslims who looked at each other in that beautiful church. I almost feel nostalgia for the 90s,” she writes.

The young Muslim writer was born in 1987 in the Italian region of Lombardy to Egyptian parents. She has written three books, the first when she was only 15, entitled, “Dreaming of Palestine.” The book is about the friendship shared by a group of young people in the occupied territories.

Her second book, “Bloody Trial,” was published in 2005. In 2007 she wrote, “Today I'm Not Going to Kill Anyone: Short Stories of a Young Muslim Who is Not a Terrorist.”

1 Million Children Pray Rosary for Peace - Catholic Online

The following article and photo appeared on Catholic Online from the Zenith News Agency:

CARACAS, Venezuela (Zenit.org) - Venezuela's National Council of the Laity is encouraging children throughout the world to pray for peace and unity.

The plea is part of the annual campaign "One Million Children Praying the Rosary," which is set to take place this year Oct. 18.

The council explains on its Web site that the reason for the project is "because the world urgently needs peace and unity. Because God wants us to pray. Because prayer leads to faith, faith leads to love, love leads to service and service leads to peace."

This year, the organizers are asking children to pray three times: once on Oct. 16 in their schools, the second time on Oct. 17 in their parishes, and the third time on Oct. 18 with their families and friends.

The campaign recalls St. Pio of Pietrelcina's words: "And to think that if one million children prayed the Rosary. How many graces would be shed over the world!"

Those participating in the campaign are encouraged to send photos and testimonies of their local events.

Hall of Candles and Saints

Regarding saints and their intercessory help from heaven, Sirach 46:13 and 20 states, Beloved of his people, dear to his maker, dedicated from his mother's womb, Consecrated to the Lord as a prophet, was Samuel, the judge and priest. At God's word he established the Kingdom and anointed princes to rule the people. Even when he lay buried, his guidance was sought; he made known the King his fate, And from the grave he raised his voice as a prophet, to put an end to wickedness.

Wisdom 3: 7 and 9 states, In time of their visitation, they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble. Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love; Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with the elect.

How do you pray for intercessory help through a saint?

One method is to pray a novena for 9 successive days as a private devotion. A novena can also be prayed once a week for 9 consecutive weeks. A novena is a prayer used to petition God for a specific need.

In the Catholic Church, it’s a common practice to pray for intercessory help through a particular saint. The saint intercedes on an individuals behalf before the throne of God. Through faith we believe that God answers our requests through the saint's intercession.

For additional information on praying a novena, please visit the following link: http://www.mycatholictradition.com/

For information on praying to a saint, please visit the following link:

http://www.catholic.com/library/Praying_to_the_Saints.asp

Displayed from the right are Saint Jude, Saint Therese, and Saint Anthony.

During a recent visit to the Shrine of Saint Joseph, I made an offering for a candle to be lit for seven days on behalf of world peace and Christian Unity. Please join in prayer for the Lord to intervene in our world and change the course of history into an era of peace with unity. Thank you very much for the prayer support.

The Catholic shrine is located on 1050 Long Hill Road, Stirling, NJ, USA.

Copyright 2009 Loci B. Lenar

Christian-Miracles.com