This Sunday, September 20th begins the International Week of Prayer and Fasting. It is our opportunity to do battle with the evil and darkness of this world. Throughout this week, I am going to post suggested family activities for this important week. I apologize in advance for this lackluster post, though, I am still without a laptop and attempting to do this via my Kindle, but God is good.
I struggle often with how much to tell my children about the true character of the world. I do not want them to grow up thinking everything is rose colored and everyone is a saint; however, I can remember being exposed to more than I was emotionally ready to handle and still struggle with those little losses of innocent. They know that there are Christians being mistreated and killed that need prayer, but the graphic and heinous nature of the actual news reports is more than even I can truly comprehend and process.
I choose to expose the children to the world and its flaws through the lives of saints. There are so many of our holy friends who have suffered greatly. However, when presented through a story of a greatly devoted lover of God, seeing what this cold, broken human race is capable of is uplifting instead of degrading. Even still, it amazes me often the saint tales my children can listen to and not be frightened. I suppose that is the blessing of a child like faith. They implicitly trust that God works all things for good and His good and faithful servants are resting happily in Heaven. Despite all that their saintly heroes have endured, my children long to be saints. I pray that is always true.
Please read, pray over, and share the request below and come back tomorrow for my first post on preparing to do battle as a family of Prayer warriors. Thank you.
PS If you are not following Facebook, please consider doing so, since I am able to post there more frequently. Just search Veils and Vocations and click like. God bless.
This is an urgent prayer request that I just received. Please pray.
Father Ben is a Priest that fills in at our Parish and is from the Maiduguri area in Nigeria, which is located in the state of Borno near the state of Adamawa. Yesterday, he told us that his family and parishioners are in great peril from the Radical Islamists in Nigeria who are targeting and attacking Christians in that area; killing and maiming non-Muslims; kidnapping women and girls as young as 15 and robing them in burkas rigged with explosives-making then human bombs or selling them into slavery. They are taking over Catholic and other Christian churches and using them as bases. Priests and Bishops have fled and along with many of the people there are hiding in the bush, surviving by eating grass and plants.
> Father Ben said that many of his family members-brothers and sisters; nieces and nephews have fled or have been captured as he has no contact with them and has no knowledge of their safety.
>
> Father had talked about his Diocese in the past as one of thriving Catholicism, where people pack the Churches knowing full well that terrorists have in the past and are continuing in to gun down parishioners as they leave and blowing up Churches. He paralleled it to the indifference of the faithful regarding Mass attendance prevalent in America.
>
> Recently we did a fundraising drive to provide for the children in his diocese, many of whom have been orphaned and raised a good deal of money for them. However, because there is a fear that Boko Harum and the Radical Muslims will take over the accounts, that money is being held for those people until it can be channeled to whom it was intended.
>
> Speaking to those who are on the front lines of atrocities like these opens your eyes to the truth. Political correctness, while attempting to show respect for all, only hides the truth. We must call it as it is,or we may all be in peril. In America, we have not yet had to guard against the dangers that they have in Nigeria, but little by little freedoms are being eroded. Freedom of religion; Freedom of Speech-unless you agree with what is popular.
>
> We need to pray for those poor people in Nigeria; the Christians and others in Iraq and Syria under the thumb of the same satan and we need to pray for peace.
Father Ben is a Priest that fills in at our Parish and is from the Maiduguri area in Nigeria, which is located in the state of Borno near the state of Adamawa. Yesterday, he told us that his family and parishioners are in great peril from the Radical Islamists in Nigeria who are targeting and attacking Christians in that area; killing and maiming non-Muslims; kidnapping women and girls as young as 15 and robing them in burkas rigged with explosives-making then human bombs or selling them into slavery. They are taking over Catholic and other Christian churches and using them as bases. Priests and Bishops have fled and along with many of the people there are hiding in the bush, surviving by eating grass and plants.
> Father Ben said that many of his family members-brothers and sisters; nieces and nephews have fled or have been captured as he has no contact with them and has no knowledge of their safety.
>
> Father had talked about his Diocese in the past as one of thriving Catholicism, where people pack the Churches knowing full well that terrorists have in the past and are continuing in to gun down parishioners as they leave and blowing up Churches. He paralleled it to the indifference of the faithful regarding Mass attendance prevalent in America.
>
> Recently we did a fundraising drive to provide for the children in his diocese, many of whom have been orphaned and raised a good deal of money for them. However, because there is a fear that Boko Harum and the Radical Muslims will take over the accounts, that money is being held for those people until it can be channeled to whom it was intended.
>
> Speaking to those who are on the front lines of atrocities like these opens your eyes to the truth. Political correctness, while attempting to show respect for all, only hides the truth. We must call it as it is,or we may all be in peril. In America, we have not yet had to guard against the dangers that they have in Nigeria, but little by little freedoms are being eroded. Freedom of religion; Freedom of Speech-unless you agree with what is popular.
>
> We need to pray for those poor people in Nigeria; the Christians and others in Iraq and Syria under the thumb of the same satan and we need to pray for peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment