Persecution

The Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian in 253 and 258 remind us of the Roman persecutions, but alas, persecution did not stop with the Fall of the Roman Empire.  A shattering and enlightening letter from the "Blue Marists" in Aleppo, reveals that indeed, Christians in Syria and Iraq are being persecuted today by atrocities that match those of the Romans.  The "rebellion", "war", "events" of the past three years have worn the people out, as well as having killed nearly 200,000 people: not only Christians, but Muslims as well, the culprits being the "rebels" once supported by the West, but now "out of the closet" as ISIS (ISIL) our newest enemy.  Our Marist Brothers and lay collaborators, known as the "Blue Marists" are still able to operate, but are serving a fast diminishing population as Christians is opting to its their homeland for all parts of the globe.  The people do not want to bring up their children in a land where shelling goes one daily, where water and electricity are severely limited, where there is no work, and where the threat of death for being Catholic is mounting to the point it reached in Mosul.  In a few years, states the letter, when the final column of refugees leaves Aleppo, it will be a thin line of people who held on longer than others, only to take the same road they did:  to leave Syria and start over elsewhere.   It is ironic that this was the cradle of Christianity, where Paul and his companions preached and converted with such success; ironic, sad, and a testimony to a lack of courage to face up to the enemy.  May our Blue Marists stand as a witness to the faith, to the courage the world lacks, and at least merit our prayers.
Bro. Rene