God, the Church and the Jesuits have gained a new martyr: Fr Frans van der Lugt SJ who was killed in odium fidei in Homs, Syria.
You have considered me worthy of this day and hour,
worthy
to be numbered with the martyrs
and to drink the cup of your Anointed
One,
and thus to rise and live forever,
body and soul,
in the
incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit.
OPN
"In a talk at the beginning of Lent I cited the heroic
and faithful work of Fr.van der Lugt SJ who, in the face of
extraordinary danger and acute suffering, refused to desert the
suffering people of Homs. He personified all the best qualities and
ideals which the Society of Jesus stands for. He joins a long list of Jesuit
martyrs who have sacrificed their lives truly believing that a man has
no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.
His death is a stark reminder of the systematic campaign by Jihaddists intent on the destruction of the region's ancient churches and the contemporary Passion and suffering being inflicted on the Middle East's Christians.
The tragic news of Fr.van der Lugd's murder came just 24 hours before an Aid to the Church in Need Vigil for Syria in London's Jesuit church at Farm Street. It's a moment to honour a great man but also to raise our voices and prayers."
His death is a stark reminder of the systematic campaign by Jihaddists intent on the destruction of the region's ancient churches and the contemporary Passion and suffering being inflicted on the Middle East's Christians.
The tragic news of Fr.van der Lugd's murder came just 24 hours before an Aid to the Church in Need Vigil for Syria in London's Jesuit church at Farm Street. It's a moment to honour a great man but also to raise our voices and prayers."
Lord Alton
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