BAGHDAD (AP) — The toll from the bloody siege of a Baghdad church rose Monday to 52 dead with dozens more injured, Iraqi officials said.

The standoff began at dusk Sunday when militants wearing suicide vests and armed with grenades attacked the nearby Iraqi stock exchange and then entered the nearby Our Lady of Deliverance church — one of Baghdad’s main Catholic places of worship — taking about 120 Christians hostage.

Iraqi forces stormed – More …

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Variety #203 – The Life of an Iraqi Catholic ( 35 min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

An interview by Fr. Joseph Michael Mary with Marwan Istephan about his experiences as a Syriac Catholic in Iraq and Jordan.

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Homily #131226n ( 08min) Play – Fr. Angelo comments on the seeming paradox of how the  liturgical celebration of Christmas is extended through an entire week, the  Octave of Christmas, but the individual days are dedicated to martyrs. It seems strange that the day following Christmas, today, is dedicated to the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen. However, as Father shows us, sacrifice and Christmas are intimately linked, Christ came into this world to sacrifice Himself for our salvation, and the liturgy is showing us we are to imitate His example of self-sacrifice as the 37 Christians killed yesterday in Iraq did. (story here)
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Stephen – The Protomartyr – Feast – Form: OF
Readings: 
1st: act 6:8-10, 7, 54-59
Resp: psa 31:3-4, 6, 7, 8, 17, 21
Gsp: mat 10:17-22

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Homily #140727n ( 18min) Play – Father reminds us that “that all things work for good for those who love God,” and that this presupposes Faith in Providence (a.k.a. God’s loving plan for everything) and Love of God. As an example, Father turns our attention to the tribulation Iraqi Christians are currently undergoing and gives a short commentary on Islam and how we all can defend against it by living lives strongly founded on Christian Faith. For an example of strong and courageous faith, we can take the example of our Iraqi brethren and, in particular, the example of Patriarch Sako in his exhortation to the Christians in Iraq. Father asks us to examine ourselves, if we aren’t ready to practice our faith in peace, how will we be ready when persecution comes to us?

The pastoral address quoted by Father may be found here: http://saint-adday.com/permalink/6326.html .
Ave Maria!
Mass: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sunday – Form: OF
Readings: 
1st: 1ki 3:5, 7-12
Resp: psa 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130
2nd: rom 8:28-30
Gsp: mat 13:44-52

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Variety #248 – Situation in Iraq with Chaldean Christians ( 40min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Fr. Angelo Geiger makes a special guest appearance on Radio Gate of Heaven, a weekly program run by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in Perth, Australia. He speaks about the current situation in Iraq with the Chaldean Christians. The program concludes with a telephone interview with an Iraqi Catholic living in Sydney, Australia.

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Homily #140829n ( 15min) Play – Father Matthias comments that today’s liturgy calls martyrdom a “privilege.” He comments on the continuing horrors in the Middle East, its potential to spread to the West, and the place of violence in Islamic theology and history. We must look to the example of constancy that our brothers in the Middle East are giving, and strive to spiritual prepare for the possibility of being asked to do the same. Finally, let us have recourse to the Rosary, for “Rosary Crusades” have proved themselves as a decisive weapon in the fight against the forces of darkness.
Ave Maria!
Mass: The Beheading of St. John the Baptist – Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Friday in the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
1st: 1co 1:17-25
Resp: psa 33:1-2, 4-5, 10, 11
Gsp: mat 25:1-13

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A Day With Mary #118 – Our Lady Help of Christians ( 14min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

Fr. Joseph Michael speaks on Our Lady during the “Day With Mary” held at St. Cecilia Parish in Floreat, Western Australia on 6 September 2014.

Audio (MP3)

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Ave Maria!  I noticed this beautiful story about the return of Christians and the Virgin Mary to the city of Erbil in Iraq, following ISIS’ defeat.  In contrast to the rest of Iraq, Christians are repopulating this city and restoring the beauty of its ancient heritage.

In 2014, ISIS overran the city of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, with a majority Catholic population. The people were given an ultimatum, and to show they meant business, they proceeded to sack churches and destroy statues.

Christians were given a choice, convert to Islam, stay and pay a punishing tax, or leave on foot, with nothing at all. Most chose to flee, living destitute in refugee camps. Everything they had was gone.

Erbil has serves as the Kurdish capital, so the ISIS occupation of the city did not last as long. The city was retaken, and while places like Mosul were slowly destroyed by constant warfare, Erbil was rebuilt. Today, the city appears strikingly modern and is welcoming to outsiders.

Many Christians have returned, but there are still some who are so traumatized by their brief encounter with ISIS they refuse to go back. Their churches have been rebuilt, but they are still plain, and not as they were before.

A French Catholic association has decided to help fix that problem. L’Oeurve d’Orient is sending 15 Virgin Mary statues to be processed through the streets of the city and installed in the various Catholic churches there. It is hoped the return of the statues will also warm the churches for those who have lost so much in the past few years.

Erbil is slowly becoming a Christian city once again, filled with Chaldean and Syriac Catholics who are rebuilding one of the most ancient Christian enclaves in the world. The courage and the faith of the Kurdish people, both Christian and Muslim, has won the city back for Christ and Our Lady.

It’s a striking contrast with the rest of the region where Christians remain on the verge of extinction. But perhaps with the return of the Christian faith to Erbil, other places will follow. If so, then this is a historic moment, a turning point toward triumph over hatred and despair. Our Lady remains forever victorious over evil, and it is right to sing her praises.

Source: The Virgin Mary returns triumphant to city ravaged by ISIS! – Middle East – International – News – Catholic Online

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Iraqi refugee Mothana Butres of Zahle, Lebanon, works on an icon in this undated photo. CNS photo/courtesy of Mothana Butres

When Islamic State fighters overran Qaraqosh, Iraq, in the summer of 2014, Mothana Butres was able to grab only a single volume from his father’s collection of thousands of Syriac books and manuscripts. The handwritten, 600-year-old book of Syriac hymns now inspires much of Butres’ work as an iconographer…

Source: Iraqi iconographer honors his Syriac roots – TheCatholicSpirit.com : TheCatholicSpirit.com

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