By Margie Fenelon, the National Catholic Register.
ISIS destroyed another ancient Christian holy site last week. The latest casualty in their 26-year-long campaign to wipe Christianity from the face of the earth was the Mar Elian monastery in the town of Qaryatain near Homs, Syria.
They first kidnapped 230 people—including dozens of Christian families—after taking Qaryatain, releasing about 48 of them and transferring 110 to Raqqa province, the headquarters of the Islamist group. Then they bulldozed the monastery.
How many times has something like this happened? One hundred? More?
It’s getting to be old news, and yet, it should alarm us as much as if we were hearing it for the first time.
It also should motivate us to uncompromisingly own our faith.
When I read the accounts of the bombing and bulldozing of churches and monasteries in the Middle East – mainly in Iraq and Syria, but there have been others – and of the thousands of Christians kidnapped and slaughtered, I’m reminded of the Early Church.
Between the first persecution under Nero in 64 to the Edict of Milan in 313, Christians experienced 129 years of persecution. It’s unknown exactly how many Christians were killed during that time, but we can imagine the impact based on historical documents, inscriptions, and the catacombs.
It wasn’t easy being a Christian in the first three centuries.
Yet, they carried on. How?
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The United States Commander in Chief is hiding under his desk; Barack Obama’s silence is alarming. These are certainly confusing and strange times we live in; yet prayer and the Holy Spirit will always be with us. Contact your US Rep and US Senator to voice concern. Things will hopefully change after the 2016 election. Sadly, I doubt the Pope’s political sales call to the US next month will even bring up this critical topic. Early reports indicate this controversial Pope’s visit will be a major politically charged, divisive gaffe.
Sometimes, we have “to draw a line in the sand” and stand our ground. God will protect us.