SW News: The Chaldean Archdiocese of Beirut recently hosted an evening of prayer at the Cathedral of the Archangel Raphael in Baabda-Brasilia to urge people to pray and contemplate Iraq's and the Chaldean Church's future in the region.
Bishop Michel Kassarji, the leader of Lebanon's Chaldean minority, has endorsed the measure, which also has the approval of Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi.
During his introductory comments, Episcopal Vicar General Monsignor Raphael Traboulsi welcomed everyone and emphasized the power of prayer, saying, "Whatever you seek in prayer, trust that it will be yours, and it will be done."
He went on to claim that the divine promise inspired them to form a spiritual community "where our ideas, thoughts, and goals would travel to the highest and the holy angels would ease the throne of the Easter Lamb."
In a solemn declaration, he announced Iraq and the Church of the Word's surrender to God, and with this act, they bid farewell to their intentions, worries, and passions, surrendering control and putting their trust in supernatural power.
He further said that, despite the hardships that the people, government officials, and civilian leaders are experiencing, there is a remarkable display of unity as they engage in meaningful discussions, drawing strength from psalms, spiritual hymns, and a shared love for the Lord.
According to the bishop, Christ the Lord is capable of releasing man from the bonds of evil, no matter how great, and of restoring his name and identity, as evidenced by the fact that only Jesus, at his command, was able to cast out the group of demons from that man in the Jarasien region, while no one could bind him even with the chains that he was breaking.
He closed with a sincere appeal, expressing his hope that God would hear their prayers for peace in the Middle East and the churches situated there. "May God accept our prayers, and may the treasured territory of Iraq and the valued Chaldean Church, together with its patriarch, bishops, clergy, and devoted followers, be bestowed with the beautiful gift of peace," he said.