Oblate Program at Belmont Abbey, NC

Tag: conflict

The struggle

I suppose one of my greatest struggles is to free myself from what others think or feel about me. This has been something that I have worked with from childhood and am not sure actually how much progress I have made in this matter. Like most people, I would like to be understood, my intentions… Read More ›

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“ISIS Is Growing,” Says Chaldean Catholic Patriarch in Iraq

VATICAN CITY — The Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, Louis Raphael Sako, says he is personally “very worried” about his nation’s future and warns that the so-called Islamic State, ISIS, “is growing” in strength and influence each day and nowadays the militant group is “like a real state.” In a recent gesture of solidarity, the Iraqi… Read More ›

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Read the words of an Orthodox bishop kidnapped in Syria nearly two years ago

Aleppo, Syria, Mar 15, 2015 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On April 22, 2013, both the Greek and Syriac Orthodox archbishops of Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi and Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, were kidnapped in Syria near the Turkish border. Their driver, Deacon Fatha’ Allah Kabboud, was killed. Today, 23 months later, the bishops remain missing – though… Read More ›

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Look for the Church which the world hates

There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing. These millions can hardly be blamed for hating Catholics because Catholics “adore statues;” because they “put the… Read More ›

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On Civil War’s 150th anniversary, historian reflects on religion’s role

Tuscaloosa, Ala., Dec 9, 2011 / 06:09 am (CNA).- Religion had a “pervasive” role in American life at the time of the United States’ Civil War, one historian says, explaining his “fascinating” discoveries about the roles Catholics played. “One of the things that surprised me was that there were certain dominant ideas, regardless of particular… Read More ›

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Contemplation No Escape from Conflict

Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude of the contemplative experience awakens a tragic anguish and opens many questions in the depths of the heart like wounds that cannot stop bleeding. For every gain in deep certitude there… Read More ›

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Seek Peace within Yourself First

All men seek peace first of all with themselves. That is necessary, because we do not naturally find rest even in our own being. We have to learn to commune with ourselves before we can communicate with other men and with God. A man who is not at peace with himself necessarily projects his interior… Read More ›

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