When [the Lamb] broke open the second seal, I heard the second living creature cry out, “Come forward.” Another horse came out, a red one. Its rider was given power to take peace away from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. And he was given a huge sword.
Revelation 6:3-4

ISTANBUL — A bomb exploded in a crowded downtown neighborhood during the afternoon rush hour today, killing eight people and injuring more than forty others. Victims included three teenagers returning from Quranic classes at a nearby mosque.

MARJEYOUN — Unexploded cluster bombs continue to be a major hazard in southern Lebanon. Since the cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, fourteen persons have died accidentally in the Marjeyoun area, mostly farmers working their fields.

ARBIL — The violence of the recent explosion in this northern Iraqi town shocked people who felt themselves safe in the Kurdish-controlled area. The Chaldean patriarchal seminary had been temporarily relocated there because of the dangerous situation in Baghdad.

TEL AVIV — A Palestinian suicide-bomber blew himself up in a crowded shopping center on Friday afternoon. Preliminary estimates are that at least twenty-five people were killed and five shops were totally destroyed.

ZERQA — Jordanian authorities apprehended six young men, members of a cell of militant extremists who were planning an armed attack on tourists in Queen Alia Airport near Amman.

BAGHDAD — U.S.-led coalition forces swept through a densely populated Shiite neighborhood. Crossfire between Americans and insurgents killed several bystanders, including two children.

GAZA — The Israeli army continued its air strikes against Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, hitting at least eight different locations and taking aim at a rocket-launching cell.

TEHRAN — The Iranian government ignored the threat of a major expansion of international sanctions as it continues its program for the enrichment of uranium.

SDEROT — A rocket landed in the yard of a house in the Israeli border town of Sderot, wounding three civilians, while another hit a nearby factory. The Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for these attacks.

FALLUJA — The growing confrontation between tribal leaders and Al Qaeda took a violent turn today when a suicide bomber drove into a crowd gathering for a funeral procession, killing at least twenty-seven people and wounding dozens of others.

After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb … These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress … God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Revelation 7:9a,14b,17b

Msgr. Archimandrite Robert L. Stern