Tensions Escalating in the Middle East

While violence in Syria continues to escalate, the situation with Iran is also deteriorating.

U.S. Navy Opens Fire on Fishing Boat

The suicide assassination of top officials in Syria reminds me of the trigger point for World War I, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. God help us, people need to seriously pray and fast for peace. As the Blessed Mother so clearly pointed out at Fatima and, as Blessed Mother Teresa often said, war is a punishment for sin. If you kill the baby in the womb what is left for us to do to one another? The administration says they won't intervene until after the election.

Will Obama Intervene in Syria 

But who knows what will actually happen as the heat is turned up in the Middle East. If Iran tries to close the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping lane, tensions will rise even higher and Iran has warned us to stay out of it or else. We may think because we are so far away, these things don't affect us. Look at history. And see how closely connected we are to Israel. The neo-cons will agitate for action to support Israel in case of an Israel/Iran confrontation. If we are sucked into another major war you will see the draft restored overnight and our daughters and granddaughters will be drafted along with our sons. It they aren't there will be an instant lawsuit demanding "equal treatment.

I'm sure no expert on foreign affairs, but I can read the signs of the times and they are anything but encouraging. Pray the rosary daily for peace. Remember that when the bomb dropped on Hiroshima one of the only places left standing was a house eight blocks from the blast zone. Eight Jesuit missionaries were living the Fatima message there praying the rosary together daily. The house survived intact while the Church next door was demolished. The missionaries' survival and subsequent lives without any evidence of radiation sickness or other bomb-related illnesses is considered the "rosary miracle of Hiroshima." 

Please live Our Lady of Fatima's requests in your home. Pray the rosary daily for peace. Foster devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Make the First Saturday devotion perpetually in reparation for sins and outrages against Mary. Today's Mass readings remind us that God is faithful to His people. Psalm 94 assures us that "the Lord will not cast off his people, nor abandon his inheritance." Matthew's gospel urges us to be "childlike" in our trust. No matter how dark the night Jesus is the light of the world and His name means "God saves."

Our Lady of Fatima, intercede for us. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.