cappie Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2014/06/fr-najeeb-asks-for-your-prayers As you will have read by now, Sunni militants have driven the Iraqi government from the city of Mosul in a sudden and violent offensive. The non-combatant civilian population has been imperiled as a result, among whom are some Dominican friars. One friar living in Mosul, Fr. Najeeb Michaeel, O.P. composed the following request, which I pass along as relayed and translated for me by a confrere: Bad news. I write you in a situation of violence in Mosul that is very critical and even apocalyptic. Most of the inhabitants of the city have already abandoned their houses and fled into the villages and are sleeping in the open without anything to eat or drink. Many thousands of armed men from the Islamic Groups of Da’ash have attacked the city of Mosul for the last two days. They have assassinated adults and children. The bodies have been left in the streets and in the houses by the hundreds, without pity. The regular forces and the army have also fled the city, along with the governor. In the mosques, they cry “Allah Akbar, long live the Islamic State.†Qaraqosh is overflowing with refugees of all kinds, without food or lodging. The check points and the Kurdish forces are blocking innumerable refugees from entering Kurdistan. What we are living and what we have seen over the last two days is horrible and catastrophic. The priory of Mar Behnam and other churches fell into the hands of the rebels this morning. . . . and now they have come here and entered Qaraqosh five minutes ago, and we are now surrounded and threatened with death. . . . pray for us. I’m sorry that I can’t continue . . . They are not far from our convent. . . . Don’t reply. . . . Intense fighting in Mosul, the third largest city of Iraq, forced tens of thousand of families to leave their homes in the last 48 hours. Yesterday, according to the local authorities, an estimated 100,000 people fleeing from Mosul crossed a checkpoint into the Erbil governerate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKolbe Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 They all have my family's prayers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Credo in Deum Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Prayer's are going out to Fr. Najeeb! St. Dominic, pray for us! St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us! St. Peter of Verona, pray for us! St. Rose of Lima, pray for us! St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us! St. Albert the Great, pray for us! St. Louis de Montfort, pray for us! St. Vincent Ferrer, pray for us! St. Martin de Porres, pray for us! All saints of the Dominican Order and the entire Communion of saints, pray for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marigold Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Certainly praying. I was raised under the Patriarchate of Antioch, so everything that's happening in the Middle East is very close to my heart, and is directly affecting people I know. It's just too much to bear sometimes, we have to ask God to bear it for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perigrina Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 :pray: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comingback Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Praying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Praying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comingback Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Any news, Cappie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AveMaria02 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I will definitely pray for this situation. Lately I have been dealing with a lot of suffering due to breathing issues and shoulder pain. I will offer up my suffering for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightofChrist Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 There are terrible news reports of mass beheadings in Mosul. I pray that the reports are untrue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cappie Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 “All the faithful have left the city. Who knows whether they will ever be able to return,†Abp. Nona said. “In 2003 there were still 35,000 faithful living in Mosul. Three thousand were still there in early 2014. Now probably not one is left here, and that is tragic,†the Archbishop declared. The city of Mosul, with a population of three million, was already mentioned in the Bible as Nineveh, and for thousands of years it has been a place of Christian civilization. http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/3185/iraq_all_the_christians_have_fled_mosul.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comingback Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I have been praying all day and hoping that they were at least alive. Thank you for the update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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