Blasphemy?

Catching up on some world news, I see an interesting allignment of stories. 

Asia Bibi, the Christian condemned to death in Pakistan for defending her faith, condemned under the country's blasphemy laws, goes into hiding with her family, as she awaits the result of an appeal.  Now a Muslim cleric has put a price on her head.  We must pray for her.

The Aid to the Church in Need reveals in its bi-annual report that Christianity is the most persecuted religion on earth - much of the persecution coming from Islam in the East and secularism in the West.  

An Islamic alliance is sponsoring a draft resolution in the UN that seeks to create a global anti-blasphemy law. 

America atheists put up a billboard proclaiming Christainity is not reasonable, and their religion is.

Not sure about you, but I see a pattern. It's hard being a Christian today - not fashionable or reasonable, it seems.  We seem to be caught in an, albeit unwitting, unholy alliance between Jihadist Islam and aggressive secularist atheism.  How do we respond - well, Jesus has the answer to that in the Gospel.  But lest we get too disheartened, something to remind us of the beauty of our faith and its truth - something uplifting and positive, as we pray with hope.

The sublime Credo from Palestrina:




The wonderful Credo from Mozart's Mass in C Minor

And in honour of the Holy Mother, for the time that is in it: