Prayer is where we must start, though. And then the next step must be to raise awareness about this problem throughout the West. Our secular media has made us blind and deaf to the cries of our Eastern brethren. I would venture to guess that the vast majority of us in the West don’t even know that there are sizable Christian minorities in Syria, Iraq, and throughout the Middle East. This is especially true in a culture that believes that Christianity is the problem, not the solution, to society’s ills. Seriously, how many times on the secular news have you heard the plight of the Eastern Christians being mentiioned when they talk about the Islamist groups fighting in the Middle East? Very little - and then it involved the Coptic Christians in Egypt or the Ethiopian Orthodox in Sudan.
Only the Pope has the authority to call a Crusade. And, unfortunately, today, even most Catholics would laugh it off. Our aid must start with prayers, raised awareness, and humanitarian aid.
Lord Jesus, why have you allowed us to remain blind and deaf to the plight of our brothers and sisters? Please, help us to protect all victims of injustice - the unborn, the elderly, the disabled, and our persecuted brothers and sisters worldwide whom you have redeemed by baptism. Help us to be lights in the darkness and show the world the Truth of Your Divine Love and Mercy. Amen.
