Showing posts with label Religious Unity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religious Unity. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Pray for Christian Unity and Healing of Divisions

Prince of Peace - Photo by Loci B. Lenar

By Loci B. Lenar

Through prayerful discernment, Our Lord Jesus is calling everyone to pray for Christian unity and healing between religious denominations by reconciling differences. This goal will be accomplished with the power of prayer and through the Holy Spirit.

"Thus the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, listen to the house of Israel saying, 'The vision he sees is a long way off; he prophesies of the distant future!' Say to them therefore: Thus says the Lord God; None of my words shall be delayed any longer; whatever I speak is final, and it shall be done, says the Lord God."  Ezekiel 12:26-28

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

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


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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Has God's Timing Arrived for Church Wide Healing and Reconciliation?

Our Lady of Fatima - Blue Army Shrine, Washington, NJ
Photograph by Loci B. Lenar

Commentary by Loci B. Lenar

On October 10, 2010, Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk is quoted as saying that "A Christian spring is just about to arrive. The 21st century will see the divisions between Christians healed and a rebirth of the faith, gift of God, just as it was preached by the Apostles and preserved by the Fathers."

(Read the complete news story on Catholic Online: Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Predicts Christian Springtime, Healing of Divisions)

In reference to Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev's statement, I believe God's timing has arrived to move forward with a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit for an upsurge of church wide evangelization. This will not be limited to Catholics and the Orthodox Church, but all Christian denominations as well. My testimony regarding the matter is posted on Christian-Miracles.com.

In the 1990's, I had a spiritual locution which I shared with my spiritual director, Father Richard Tartaglia of St. Mary's Church, (Denville, NJ) regarding God's plan to move forward in our millennium by building a bridge of peace and unity between people and cultures, including reconciliation amongst religious denominations.

I believe the events are beginning to unfold, while Our Lady of Fatima's Message regarding an era of peace will come to fruition.

A sign from heaven with my testimony on the matter can be read by visiting the following link: Tribute to King: Signs from God's Heavenly Kingdom

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Friday, October 08, 2010

Orthodox Archbishop Predicts Healing of Christian Divisions

Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev

Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Predicts Christian Springtime, Healing of Divisions - Living Faith - Home and Family - Catholic Online

The photograph and following excerpt is posted on Catholic Online:

Dynamic Leader Urges Return to the Church Fathers

Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk is quoted as saying: "A Christian spring is just about to arrive. The 21st century will see the divisions between Christians healed and a rebirth of the faith, gift of God, just as it was preached by the Apostles and preserved by the Fathers." 

The prelate described as "erroneous" the consideration of the present time as a "post-Christian" era, and those claims that Christianity will disappear from the religious map in the third millennium and be absorbed by Islam.

Read More: Healing of Christian Divisions


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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Pray for Peace of Jerusalem

Millions to Pray for Peace of Jerusalem

The following excerpt is from Charisma News Online:

By Adrienne S. Gaines -



Organizers say 300,000 churches in 175 nations—including underground congregations in China and the Middle East—will participate in the Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem, which is considered the world's largest Israel-focused prayer event.

Eagles' Wings founder Robert Stearns, who is hosting the prayer day with Foursquare Church leader Jack Hayford, will lead a prayer event from the Tayelet Haas Promenade in Jerusalem. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Christian Broadcasting Network President Michael Little and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat are scheduled to participate in the gathering, which will be broadcast on God TV.

"We are living in challenging days, when Jerusalem is under tremendous pressure on all sides," Stearns said. "The prayers of faithful people on her behalf will make a difference, especially as Christians and Jews from the nations, along with Arab Christians and Jews from Israel, stand together in Jerusalem on Oct. 3."

The eight-year-old effort is rooted in Psalm 122:6, which calls on believers to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. But Stearns said Jerusalem is growing increasing central in world events, which should further motivate Christians to intercede.

"The centrality of Jerusalem to global affairs has never been more obvious and more at the forefront," he said. "... The city of Jerusalem is [having] and will have in the future massive global geopolitical ramifications. So Christians must become educated on the complex issues surrounding the city of Jerusalem."

Stearns said Christians will intercede for all Israel's inhabitants, both Arabs and Jews, and the prayer day won't center on politics.

"We do not pray from nor towards a specific political agenda," he added. "But we pray from a scriptural basis, which we believe transcends momentary political understanding and ultimately works toward God's intended blessing for all people."

Read More: Pray for Peace

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Thursday, August 26, 2010

Orthodox and Catholic Embrace in Rimini: Signs of Christian Unity

Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, of Moscow,
and Pope Benedict XVI

Orthodox and Catholic Embrace in Rimini: May the Two Become One - International News - Catholic Online

The photograph and following excerpt is from Catholic Online:

By Deacon Keith Fournier

Full communion between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches is being prompted by the Holy Spirit. It is the most important development of the Third Christian Millennium and has implications for the whole world at this critical time in history. This coming communion between the Orthodox and Catholic Church will mark the beginning of the re-Christianizing of the West and a new missionary age.

Read More: Orthodox and Catholic Embrace in Rimini


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Thursday, August 12, 2010

Religious Harmony in the Middle of New Jersey

Deputy Adam Gussen and Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin
Jews and Muslims Live in Harmony in the Middle of New Jersey - CBS News Video

The following article is from CBSnews.com :

By Dave Price

CBS - Any public discussion about religion can quickly turn into a loud argument these days. Dave Price from The Early Show shows a town that's become an example of how to get along - despite your differences. Far away from the religious strife of the Middle East and the simmering tensions of our post September 11 world, there's an oasis of hope in the small community of Teaneck, New Jersey.

Thirty percent of its residents are Jewish, and their new mayor is a practicing Muslim.

Working together to keep this community not only intact but flourishing, are Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin and his Deputy Adam Gussen - an Orthodox Jew.

Mayor Hameeduddin says Teaneck "is an incubator for understanding." He added, "it's not a homogeneous community - and you want your children in a community where they're going to meet all different kinds of people."

"The things that are most important are the things that we share in common," Gussen added. "Our differences become less important."

Teaneck is like looking through a cultural prism - reflected on "Main Street" throughout its restaurants and shops. The sounds of prayer that ring out from the town form a diverse constituency within a tiny 6 square mile radius.

"Is there a Jewish way to fill a pot hole? Is there a Muslim way to plow the streets," Gussen asks. "The answer is, no."

It's that practicality and synchronicity that are sources of pride for Teaneck's residents.

"There are people of all kinds here, and you should be able to get along with everybody," said Teaneck resident Aggie Siletski.

"So what do you say to the people who say this is a small community in New Jersey - this isn't the rest of the country," Price asked.

Teaneck resident Amber Sheikh replied, "Small little people, small little communities are the ones who get into the world and change it slowly, right?"

This town of 39,000 has often been at the forefront of cultural diversity and change - stretching all the way back to the Civil Rights movement in the 1960's.

In the spring of 1964, Teaneck became the first American town with a white majority to desegregate its schools.

Fast forward 46 years and that mission for equality is still clear.

"Are there things that happen in Teaneck that could happen elsewhere? Yeah, I really think there are," Gussen said.

"It shows that kids can dream a little bigger - that they don't have to worry about all the stereotypes," Hameeduddin added. "Anybody can do anything," he said. "That's what it really comes down to.

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Friday, May 21, 2010

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.


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Saturday, November 14, 2009

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.”


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