A letter from
Knights of Columbus
(Mar Toma Council)
San Diego
to the Graduate of 2007
Chaldean Martyr Father Ragheed Ganni: An
Inspiration to our Graduates
After
graduating with a degree in engineering, Fr.
Ragheed went to Rome to study theology. He was
ordained in the Chaldean Rite of the Catholic
Church in 2001. As a very talented young priest
who speaks six different languages and very much
respected by his superiors and his peers, Fr.
Ragheed could have spent his life safely in the
Vatican. Instead, he returned to his native
Mosul. As he put it, “This is where I belong;
this is my place.”
As
pastor of Holy Spirit Chaldean Catholic Church
in Mosul, Iraq, Fr. Ragheed faced death
literally every day. But he identified with his
parishioners, for whom “exile was unimaginable.”
As he told them, “[Christ] challenges evil with
His infinite love. He keeps us united and
through the Eucharist He gifts us life, which
the terrorists are trying to take away.”
“Without Sunday, without the Eucharist, the
Christians in Iraq cannot survive.” That was how
Fr. Ragheed spoke of his community’s hope. Being
of a community that is used to facing death on a
daily basis, the same death that faced him on
June 3rd, 2007 (at age 35) and three
of his sub-deacons, on their way home after
celebrating holy Mass. After having fed his
faithful with the Body and Blood of Christ, he
gave his own blood, his own life, for Iraq, for
the future of his Church. Fr. Ragheed had
willingly and knowingly chosen to remain by the
side of his parishioners. His reasoning was
simple: “without him, without its pastor, his
flock would have been lost.”
Father
Ragheed’s death challenges us to work harder to
create a world where each human life is revered.
Fr. Ragheed will be sorely missed. Yet, he has
attained the highest of positions in the Church,
to die as a martyr of faith, a man of peace,
while acting as a father to his people. Surely,
nothing can be more Christ-like, and we are
reminded of John 15:13, 'Greater love has no man
than this, than to lay down his life for his
friends.'
The
Church in Iraq has lost an intellectually and
pastorally gifted priest, whose voice on behalf
of his suffering people was heard across the
world right up to the last days before his
death. In doing so, however, it has gained a
martyr whose ultimate witness will not be
forgotten and whose intercession for Iraqi
Christians will now continue to be their
strength.
Fr.
Ragheed’s example is an inspiration to our
graduates and to all of us to:
- Be another Christ to others and offer
ourselves as a living sacrifice to (our spouse
or our future spouse, our family, our church,
and our country)
- Be not afraid to stand up for what we believe
- Seek excellence in the spiritual life which
will lead to excellence in everything else
Let us
promise Fr. Ragheed to work for the same goals
that he died for and take our holiness and our
morality seriously and always be self giving.
Let us always remember to ask Father Ragheed to
pray for us for the protection of the Church.
