Christians are being persecuted all over the world and very little is being done about it. The question is: How should we respond?
In Iraq, the Church is in danger of disappearing. Over the past decade it has shrunk from nearly 1.5 million people to less than 200,000. The crisis in Syria spilled over into Iraq during the reign of one of the most terror- and hate-filled groups, ISIS. ISIS, before it was defeated in Iraq and Syria, committed mass executions, set churches on fire, and by force applied a radical interpretation of Islamic law. Thousands of Christians were among the nearly half million people who fled from these brutal terrorists – many fleeing with little more than what they could carry. The small churches in the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq did their best to care for those in need. When many of the Christians returned home, they found their homes were taken over by others and that they were still not welcome in their lands.
From the Middle East to China and to Africa and beyond, Christians and Christian values are under attack by secular media, atheists, political leaders (even those who call themselves Catholic but do not support Church teaching).
Even here in the United States, churches have recently been burned and statues of Jesus, Mary and saints have been defaced or destroyed.
Yet persecution of Christians and the mocking of our beliefs are nothing new. The Church has been under persecution and ridicule since our Founder was nailed to a cross, and we will be under persecution and ridicule until our Founder returns in glory, to judge the living and the dead.
What can we do? How can we help? Do we throw up our hands in frustration and say that there is nothing we can do? Do we shut our minds and hearts off to the rest of the world, the persecuted Christian peoples who need support? Do we bury our heads into our own activities and pursuits, ignoring the plight of others?
Or do we take a stand for them? Do we advocate for them? Do we pray for them, and for their courage and their ability to persevere?
Here at home, do we refuse to vote for candidates who claim to believe one thing in their private lives but support great evils such as abortion and euthanasia in their public lives? Do we refute the ridicule from others who do not understand our Christian morals and beliefs? Or do we just remain silent and safe? Do we simply hope these great injustices, persecutions, mockings and tragedies will go away on their own?
In the first reading at Mass for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Aug. 16, the prophet Isaiah tells us: “Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed” (Is 56:1, 6-7).
St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that besides justice, there will also be great mercy – the kind which only God can bring to the world. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 15:21–28, we hear that the Apostles wanted to send away the woman calling out to Jesus. Why was His response so remarkable? In those days, social standards dictated that men did not have public encounters with women who were not their relatives. Also, the short-sighted belief at the time was that the Messiah was coming only to save the chosen people of Israel, not the Gentiles. Jesus and the disciples were traveling outside Jewish territory seeking to minister to the lost people from Israel in those lands.
Only gradually did Jesus reveal to His Apostles His universal mission to the world and to all peoples. Only gradually did the Apostles – even in the face of great persecution – spread throughout the lands, bringing both Jews and Gentiles to the faith.
These lands in the Middle East contain some of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Jesus tested the faith of this Canaanite woman – yes, just as our faith is being tested day in and day out. She displayed the kind of faith that was lacking throughout much of Israel, and because of her great faith Jesus healed her daughter. The faith of these Christian communities in many lands is surely being tested today just as our own faith and beliefs are being challenged. Jesus came to save us all from our sinfulness and selfishness.
To be a Christian in our world today – to seek to live out the teachings of the Church – is to be a person of conviction and a person of perseverance. It is to be someone involved in speaking out against injustice, hatred, violence, ignorance, prejudice, racism and persecution. It is to be someone who loves others and will stand up for those things we hold precious to our faith. It is to be someone who is not afraid to work for peace and justice for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter where they live.
To be a member of our Catholic community is to embrace the true meaning of being Catholic – “universal” – by recognizing that when any of the Christians around the world are hated and persecuted, that it is we as a whole who are being hated and persecuted along with them, and that we stand with them in spirit. My sisters and brothers, we must decide after an examination of our own thoughts and actions, where we stand and who we will support with our prayers, finances, votes and public actions. Are we a universal Church, or aren’t we?
We cannot ignore those who are in plight – we must act to help them. We must show that great faith displayed by the woman in the Gospel and we must take whatever actions we can to alleviate the pain and sufferings of others in our world. We must be willing to pray and make sacrifices for our persecuted sisters and brothers. And we must learn to love as Jesus did when He gave His life for us all so we could be free from sin.
Deacon David Powers serves at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe.