Msgr Sako: Baghdad Cathedral tragedy a reference point for our faith
Kirkuk (AsiaNews) - The memory of the large number of innocent Iraqis who have shed their blood unjustly - Christians and Muslims - is an important occasion to renew faith in God and strengthen faith and hope. But at the same time we must all condemn these heinous acts of violence that are an insult to religion and to humanity.
The second anniversary of the massacre in the cathedral of Baghdad October 31, 2010, in which 58 innocent people were killed, and the 37 Christian "martyrs" killed in Kirkuk since 2003 were commemorated in the Kirkuk cathedral by Chaldean Archbishop, Msgr. Louis Sako, during a ceremony in which families of the 37 victims carried a photo of their lost loved one in procession and placed it on the altar (in the photo).
In the crowded cathedral, Halla, sister of Hindi Saad, a 29 year old engineer who was kidnapped on 11 August 2005 and then killed and his body thrown onto the street, witnessed the meaning of faith for her family.
"It does not matter - she said with tears in her eyes - what we experience, it is important how we live and how we can turn these events into an encounter with God and with others, and that we make it a source of grace and renewal, life and resurrection, without abandoning ourselves to the absurdity of our brutal tragedy. "
"We did not expect this end for my brother Saad, who was in the heyday of his youth. We immagined a bright future for him, but God's plan was different. On 11 August 2005, he was abducted and brutally murdered . We were shocked and very sad, especially our parents. Words are unable to express what we experienced, but what we could not cope on our own, we discovered this spiritually through our prayer: we pondered the example of the Virgin Mary when they tortured her young son Jesus and crucified Him unjustly .. We found comfort in prayer and the power of faith: our Saad was a believer and an honest man, the words of Revelation confirmed us in the faith: "Be thou faithful unto death, I will give you the crown of life." (2:10-11). "We are confident that our Saad is in the Father's glorious kingdom because the Lord's promise is real ".
"This evening my family and I renew our faith and trust in the Lord and say: to Him, all glory and praise and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, forever and ever. Amen."
During his homily, the Archbishop said that the sacrifice of the martyrs is a reference point for our faith. "Again tonight we celebrate the memory of a great number of innocent Iraqis who have shed their blood unjustly Christians and Muslims. This is an important time to renew our faith in God and strengthen our faith and hope. At the same time we must all condemn these heinous acts of violence, which is an insult to religion and humanity and that does not honor our present civilization. "
"The tragedy of the Church of Our Lady of Salvation is still vivid in our memory but also attacks on mosques in the name of God is an offense to God and does not have anything in common with God nor with humanity. For our part, we Christians, we deplore this acts of injustice and we strongly believe that change and democracy are not brought about with weapons, but with dialogue and the willingness of collaboration. And that the God who created us is love and mercy, and He will not allow thei blood to have been shed in vain, but will welcome it as a satisfactory gift in His glorious kingdom .. And this blood is the seed of hope, peace, stability and security for our country. "
"Living together is not a formula, but it is the integration of human, social, spiritual and political culture. This requires the willingness of political leaders to dialogue, to work together and maintain the unity of the country, peace, justice and harmony. Enough violence, defend the lives of people, each person killed is a huge loss for us and for our country. "
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23/11/2007
