Iraqi Christian Among Crowd That Worshiped with Pope Benedict in Lebanon

Beautiful images in Lebanon this morning! Pope Benedict XVI draws an enormous crowd in Beirut - leading the morning’s sermon, administering communion to Catholics.

"Christianity in Lebanon has a long and continuous history, beginning with the visits of Jesus to the southern territories, where he is said to have performed many miraculous healings."

Today, Christians in Lebanon are said to constitute close to 40% of the country's population, with Muslims making the majority. Seizing the rare opportunity to join their brothers and sisters in Lebanon to celebrate their faith are small Christian minorities from neighboring Middle Eastern countries/states.


Among them, over 200 Iraqi Chaldean Christians who made the dangerous trip across that country to see and pray with the pope. The Iraqi Chaldeans belong to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. They have suffered persecutions and fled that country, following the Iraq War – reducing their population in their country from about a million to less than half that number.

If you walk into your church with all the freedom that you have to worship, don’t forget there’s a whole Christian population somewhere in some part of the world that live in constant fear just because of their faith, and don’t forget to pray for them. May the Spirit of God dwell among His people; may His right hand protect them and may His peace be upon his children.

I may sound naïve but I see light through the darkness; hope even in the midst of all the clashes and chaos. Let’s pray for peace where there is war & violent clashes: Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen, Mali, Somalia, Sudan – name them – so Christians and Muslims can live together in harmony.

And oh, you may not like the Catholic Church or its leader, but I bet you’d find it interesting to know that even the militant Islamic group, Hezbollah, is said to have posted welcome signs in their area for the pope.

I know you cherish your pastor too, so stop the unnecessary criticisms of leaders of other faiths and/or denominations who do things differently from you, your group and your leader – for as long as they are not committing crimes. What do you gain from doing that?

Help promote peace and love in the world.