grace4u: Devotion for today: The burning of Christian Churches in Egypt

Luke 23:34: Father forgive them for they know not what they do.

This is the terrible truth that you haven’t heard in the mainstream media about the attack on churches and Christian Institutions in Egypt. Please pray for our brothers and sisters suffering in this terrible conflict.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri Appeals For End of Violence in Egypt

Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches Calls For Dialogue and Reconciliation

By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY, August 23, 2013 (Zenit.org) - In an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, called for an end to the continuing violence in Egypt….Recently hundreds of Christian churches have been looted, burned or desecrated in attacks by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, who are protesting the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi. Fighting on both sides of the conflict has resulted in hundreds of deaths across the country.

Aida Nasif, a professor of politics at Cairo University and a senior member of the Free Egyptians Party, voiced dismay at the inaction of UNESCO, the UN’s educational, cultural and scientific organisation, in the face of the attacks on historical Christian sites. The historical churches that had been attacked, she noted, did not only belong to Egypt but were the property of humanity as a whole.
Nasif said that Brotherhood supporters had burned a fourth-century church in Beni Mazar, and no amount of restoration work could begin to repair the damage. However, she also voiced the hope that “such terrible actions will not undermine the unity of all Egyptians,” adding that many Muslims had been helping to protect churches in the Cairo suburb of Helwan against potential attacks by pro-Morsi marauders.
The Coptic bishop of Menya, Anba Makarius, denounced the attacks on churches in his diocese. Urging Christians to keep the faith, he said that “the scent of incense becomes more pervasive when it embraces the flames of fire. On this day, which some see as a bloody day, we are suffering grief and pain, but we trust that God will come to our aid. If suffering is something we have to go through because we are Christians, then it is a source of pride. To feel pain for Christ, to be robbed and insulted, to have lies told about us, these are things we can deal with. What has happened and what may happen in the next few days will only make us more attached to Christ and more loving of Egypt.”
The bishop added that “nothing is worse than seeing your church burn in front of your eyes. It is as if you are watching your only son being slain, and you cannot do anything to save him. It is as if your home or your business was being turned to dust in front of your eyes, and you cannot defend them. But we trust in God, who protects us through faith, and God is able to defend His house. We will restrain ourselves when anger threatens to overtake us, and we will not give in to the lust for revenge that threatens to rise inside us. Indeed, we must pray for those who wronged us, for they know not what they do.” http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/3775/24/The-war-on-Egypt%E2%80%99s-Copts.aspx

These are the churches and Christian institutions currently burning in Egypt:

Churches

Alexandria

Father Maximus Church

Arish

St George Church | Burned

Assiut

The Nuns School
St George Church | al-Wasta

Cairo

St Fatima Basilica | Heliopolis | Attempted Attack

Fayoum (Five churches)

Gharbiya

Diocese of St Paul | Burned

Giza

Father Antonios
Atfeeh Bishopric

Minya

Church of the Virgin Mary and Father Abram | Delga, Deir Mawas
St Mina Church | Abu Hilal Kebly, Beni Hilal
Baptist Church | Beni Mazar
Deir Mawas Bishopric
Delga Church | Attacked
The Jesuit Fathers Church | Abu Hilal district
St Mark Church | Abu Hilal district
St Joseph Nunnery
Amir Tadros Church
Evangelical Church
Anba Moussa al-Aswad Church
Apostles Church
Qena

St Mary’s Church | Attempted Burning

Sohag

St George Church
St Damiana | Attacked and burned
Virgin Mary | Attacked and burned
St Mark Church & Community Center
Anba Abram Church | Destroyed and burned
Suez

St Saviours Anglican Church
Franciscan Church and School | Street 23 | Burned
Holy Shepherd Monastery and Hospital
Good Shepherd Church (molotov cocktail thrown)- Relationship with Holy Shepherd Monastery unknown.
Greek Orthodox Church
Christian Institutions

All donations going to CopticWorld with comment of “Egypt” will go towards the Coptic Churches that have been destroyed. You can donate by going to:

https://www.copticworld.org/donate/

Donate in the “Donate to CopticWorld” seciton and put “Egypt” in the comment.

Resources for more information:

http://www.worldmag.com/2013/08/egypt_burns

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/08/22/christian-leaders-in-jerusalem-pray-for-end-of-egypt-violence/

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/3775/24/The-war-on-Egypt%E2%80%99s-Copts.aspx

Please pray the Chaplet to St. Michael to end this horrible situation.

The Chaplet of St. Michael

O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, etc.

[Say one Our Father and three Hail Marys after each of the following nine salutations in honor of the nine Choirs of Angels]

1. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Seraphim may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity.
Amen.

2. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Cherubim may the Lord grant us the grace to leave the ways of sin and run in the paths of Christian perfection.
Amen.

3. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Thrones may the Lord infuse into our hearts a true and sincere spirit of humility.
Amen.

4. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Dominations may the Lord give us grace to govern our senses and overcome any unruly passions.
Amen.

5. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Virtues may the Lord preserve us from evil and falling into temptation. Amen.

6. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Powers may the Lord protect our souls against the snares and temptations of the devil.
Amen.

7. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Principalities may God fill our souls with a true spirit of obedience. Amen.

8. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Archangels may the Lord give us perseverance in faith and in all good works in order that we may attain the glory of Heaven.
Amen.

9. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Angels may the Lord grant us to be protected by them in this mortal life and conducted in the life to come to Heaven.
Amen.

Say one Our Father in honor of each of the following leading Angels: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and our Guardian Angel.

Concluding prayers:

O glorious prince St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts, guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits, servant in the house of the Divine King and our admirable conductor, you who shine with excellence and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil, who turn to you with confidence and enable us by your gracious protection to serve God more and more faithfully every day.

Pray for us, O glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Church of Jesus Christ, that we may be made worthy of His promises.

Almighty and Everlasting God, Who, by a prodigy of goodness and a merciful desire for the salvation of all men, has appointed the most glorious Archangel St. Michael Prince of Your Church, make us worthy, we ask You, to be delivered from all our enemies, that none of them may harass us at the hour of death, but that we may be conducted by him into Your Presence. This we ask through the merits of
Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

grace4u

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Devotion for today: The burning of Christian Churches in Egypt

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