The Iran War: Can Humanity "Break Free from its own Destructive Tendencies?"

I have mixed feeling about the war in Iran. On the one hand, it is terrifying to think of Iran having nuclear weapons with a naval fleet or submarines capable of delivering annihilation to any city in the United States. Europe is under particular threat which may explain the reluctance of Spain and the U.K. to get involved. Is their anti-U.S. talk designed to protect them from retaliation considering their proximity to the conflict? Somehow I doubt that carries much weight with fanatical terrorists!

The Forgotten Minority in the Holy Land

Most of the debate over the Middle East is about the conflict between Jews and Muslims. Another group seems mostly invisible. While gallons of ink are poured out about Hamas and Israel, Judaism and Islam, you hear very little about these forgotten people who are rapidly disappearing from the Land of Christ's birth -- the Christians.

In 2019 The Catholic Register described their plight in an article titled Holy Land Christians: Threatened With Extinction, but Still Bearing Witness:

...the Christians of the Holy Land — who are often forgotten in this crisis, as they are ignored by worldwide media, and whose number has been reduced to an alarming level — struggle every day for their own religious identity.

On This Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Let Us Pray for Peace...

...in our families, our parishes, our communities, and our world. Pray the rosary for peace.

 

What's the Answer to the World's Mess? Don't Ask Me!

This post was inspired by a comment about the bombing in Iran that I didn't approve for two reasons. It was too long and included multiple links. I appreciate all those who comment on the blog, but I've reached the point that I won't post comments that go on and on and include link after link. I don't have time to check all those links for one thing. Sometimes I agree with the person commenting as I mostly did with this one. Nevertheless, it went into my spam folder. 

A blog reader sent me a request to promote the Chaplet of Our Lady of Fatima and I am happy to do so. Mary's apparitions at Fatima are one of the greatest gifts God has given our fallen world. It was a miracle of grace given not just to individuals as a private message, but to the whole world.

Shall We Urge Every Diocese to Imitate the Diocese of Lincoln and Hold a Rosary Crusade?

Thousands surround University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus to pray rosary for peace

They were inspired by Poland's rosary at the border. Just imagine if every diocese in the United States organized a rosary crusade around a public school campus in their boundaries! In my own state of Virginia I can imagine the impact of rosary crusades surrounding George Mason in Northern Virginia and James Madison in Harrisonburg and UVA in Charlottesville and VCU in Richmond. What would that do to bring about conversions and shower blessings on this state, the birthplace of our country.

Imagine the graces flowing to those campuses and those communities. And what a power for healing in places like Charlottesville. What a thought! 

Think I'll send this article to Bishop Burbidge and ask for a rosary crusade in our diocese. After all, should protestants like Billy Graham outdo us in their public acknowledgement of the Lord of all creation and our Blessed Mother?

If you want to say thank you to Bishop Conley for this public witness, you can send an email to the bishop here. Gratitude is the mother of many virtues. Let's send an army of thank you's to Bishop James Conley and pray that other bishops are inspired to imitate his diocese!

Famous Last Words about Iraq! I Wonder how "Impressed" Uncle Joe is Today...

...as Iraq sinks into chaos.



But we can all take comfort from the fact that the U.S., under the policies of neo-cons with bogus "weapons of mass destruction" claims, deposed Saddam Hussein to liberate Iraq. Lucky Iraqis, eh?

 Isn't it high time the U.S. recognized that the Middle East is a cauldron and has been for centuries? Here's what Pat Buchanan wrote about our intervention in Iraq last year on the 10th anniversary. Was Iraq worth it?

Of course not, but once we got in we had an obligation to those people.

And now what have they got? Civil war between battling factions, mass murders, and complete chaos. Frankly, it reminds me of Vietnam. We went in and the politicians tied the hands of the military and didn't fight to win. Then we abandoned the south and let the Communists take over.

We're pretty good at abandoning our friends. (Check out this New York Times article from 18 months ago. It's truer today than it was then.) Heck! Obama and Clinton abandoned our own American family in Benghazi; why would they hesitate to abandon anyone else? And, as Hillary says, "What difference at this point does it make anyway?" Let the Iraqis pay the price for our insane foreign policy. (Do we have a foreign policy?)

Pray for the Iraqis and the entire Middle East. Imagine what it would be like for your family if you lived in Baghdad. Pray the rosary for peace. Our Lady of Fatima is the answer. 

A New Film on Fatima - Check it Out!

The 13th Day opens this month in the UK and Portugal. Looks like a powerful film. Pray for its wide release in the United States. Remember the Blessed Mother's promise if her requests are carried out: "My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will Consecrate Russia to Me, which will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to mankind."

We obviously are not experiencing "a period of peace" which lends credence to the belief of those who say the consecration of the world to Mary by Pope John Paul II did not fulfill the Blessed Mother's request. Pray the rosary daily for peace. And on this Memorial Day, pray especially for the repose of the souls of those who died in the wars of this country, our living veterans, and for those on active military duty, especially those posted to hot spots around the world. Our Lady Queen of Peace, pray for them.