Posts in Culture
Suicide Prevention

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), suicide is currently the 12th leading cause of death in the United States. There is an average of 130 deaths by suicide every day. In 2020, 45,979 Americans died by suicide and there were an estimated 1.2 million suicide attempts. The suicide rate in 2020 was 13.48 per 100,000 individuals.

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Habib Hannona: A Man of Many Talents

Pioneers deserve recognition and celebration. They serve as our foundation, a guiding force toward an advanced and progressive society. They act as catalysts for passing wisdom onto new generations, inspiring individuals to become their best selves. Habib Hannona is a living example of one such pioneer. His achievements in the United States, Kuwait, and Iraq exemplify human strength, enduring spirit, survival, and success.

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Celebrating Lent

As the season of Sawma Raba (Great Lent) begins in the Church, we must not forget the point of Lent – to prepare our hearts and minds for the glory that is the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Resurrection of Christ is the central aspect of our faith; it is the reason why we offer our hearts to Christ as we celebrate Mass each week. As you prepare to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday – the greatest event in all of human history, and dare I say, the entire universe – you must ready your heart to understand this key event of our faith by traveling and fasting with Jesus in the desert.

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Celebrating the Gulf Cup Around the World

Eevin Esho, 25, and his mother were shopping at the Dream Market Supermarket in Sterling Heights, at the corner of 15 Mile and Ryan roads, when suddenly they saw two people excitedly running outside with Iraqi flags. More people began rushing outside, cars started honking their horns, and people danced in the parking lot. Esho, too, bought a flag from the adjacent store and started celebrating with the crowd.

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Chai Al-Iraqi

As one of the world’s most popular beverages, tea has fascinated us, stimulated us, motivated us, and calmed us for well over two thousand years. Tea, or “chai,” as we call it in Iraq, is an authentic part of the local heritage. The Iraq’s long love affair with tea is amazing and historic, although it is difficult to cultivate in Iraq because it needs special environmental conditions.

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Love in Bloom

Many people say that the secret to a good marriage is intimacy, commitment, and communication; however, the ingredients to a happy, healthy marriage vary across time and across cultures. With faith and family prioritized, it is no wonder that the Chaldean community has so many couples that have been married for so long. We interviewed two of those couples to discover what goes into a longtime happy marriage.

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Dave Nona: Dedicated to a Life of Service

Dave Nona’s life began in Baghdad, Iraq, where he was the oldest child in a large family, having six brothers and two sisters. His father, a banker, moved the family to Amarah, in southeastern Iraq, when Dave was five. “Like most [Iraqi] cities, Amarah was predominantly Muslim,” Dave said. “There were maybe 10 or 15 Christian families, but we did have a Chaldean church and a priest there.” Dave remembers being the only Christian in his primary school.

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Chaldean Catholics in India

Built in 1814, Marth Mariam Cathedral is a Chaldean Syrian Church—the oldest church in Thrissur, a town in Kerala in southern India. This is where people from the Middle East settled long before St. Thomas arrived at its coast in 52 A.D. to spread the Gospel. They came because it was an international trade center. It was known for its natural resources, such as black pepper, which was highly in demand in the West because it was used as an antibiotic.

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