July 17 was the feast of the Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne killed during the French Revolution and immortalized in the book and opera The Dialogue of the Carmelites.
July 22 was the anniversary of the defeat of the Turks in the Battle of Belgrade. The Turks were once again seeking to overrun Europe and attack Christianity. The church-bells were ordered to ring at noon in thanksgiving for this victory by Pope Callixtus III and this custom continues to this day even in some of the Protestant churches.
July 26 was the anniversary of the martyrdom of Fr. Jacques Hammel murdered 2016 in Normandy France, while offering Mass, by two young men claiming allegiance to ISIS. -The Church’s Martyrology lists the men and women who gave their lives for the Catholic Faith including the many martyrs of Tyburn, the French Revolution, and the Spanish Civil-War.
Communism continues to persecute, martyr, and deny freedom to Christians and other religions:
The communists in China operate concentration camps. Recently the Cuban people openly demonstrated and called for liberation from the brutal communist regime there, pointing out the persecutions, the arrests, and the beating of people who speak out. Read the remarks of Carlos Eire, a Cuban author who teaches at Yale, about this cry for freedom. There was also a letter from a young Cuban woman in an open letter to the Pope asking why he does not speak out against the regime in Cuba and elsewhere?
There’s a website dedicated to our persecuted brethren: churchinneed.org Aid to the Church In Need is an organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted. Assist them with our prayers and our aid. Meanwhile in our country people seek to deny free speech and freedom to others for not having the approved opinions/ politics seeking to “cancel” them, if they can, all reminiscent of communist tactics and regimes. They need to be defeated.BACK TO LIST