Season of the Pentecost - Pentecost Sunday

Dear parishioners and friends of St Charbel’s Parish,

Welcome to this week’s edition of Kadishat!

This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. This is the day when the Church was truly born. The disciplines were scared, confused and hiding behind closed doors. When the Holy Spirit descended on them, they poured into the streets and started preaching the Gospel. The disciplines were blessed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We also have received these gifts through our Baptism and Confirmation.

Please click here to download the full Kadishat newsletter with Arabic translation.

Year of Grace
The Bishops of Australia have declared a Year of Grace starting on Pentecost 2012. This is a time for us, as Church, to celebrate and renew our faith and life as Catholics. It is an invitation for all of us to "Start afresh from Christ", to attune our hearts and minds to the presence of the Holy Spirit, so that our lives may be transformed.

You can learn more about the Year of Grace by accessing the following website: http://www.yearofgrace.catholic.org.au/

At the end of this month of May, I entrust you all to the care of Our Lady, Help of Christians, whose feast we celebrated on the 24th of May. May she guard you under her mantle and be your guiding light to her Son, Jesus Christ.

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20th Year—Number 1010 Sunday 27/05/2012
Season of the Pentecost
Pentecost Sunday
Sunday’s Readings: Acts of Apostles 2: 1-21 & John 14: 15-20



I shall not leave you orphans
“If you love me you will keep my commandments. I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth whom the world can never accept since it neither sees nor knows him; but you know him, because he is with you, he is in you. I shall not leave you orphans; I shall come to you. In a short time the world will no longer see me; but you will see that I live and you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you” John 14: 15-20



All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit 


“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. and suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”

Acts of Apostles 2: 1-4




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Reflection of the Week

Love Requires Obedience

At the very beginning of today’s passage Jesus tells the disciples 

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

Just as important as what Jesus said is what He did not say. Jesus did not say, “If you keep my commandments, then you love me.” You can’t turn a cause and effect statement around without changing it’s meaning. “If you keep my commandments, then you love me” means that love is produce by obedience or love flows out of obedience. 

What Jesus said was, “if you love me, then you will obey my commandments.” In other words, love produces obedience, or obedience to Christ’s command is the result of genuine love. It is possible to obey Jesus’ words, and not love Him, maybe because of fear of God. However, it should be impossible to love Him and not obey Him. However, the Lord prefers obedience out of love not out of fear!

The help of the counselor

After receiving Jesus into our lives, the next step is to make him Lord over every area of our lives. That process can be long and difficult, but God helps us with His Spirit, who is also called “the Counselor.” The Holy Spirit will assist us in identifying and working on our problem areas. God has given us the Holy Spirit as our “live-in” Counselor to help us navigate to freedom. As we respond in obedience to the Spirit’s guidance, we will successfully cast off the chains of sin-slavery and move into the new life God has prepared for us through Christ.

The Spirit of truth

And I will ask the Father, 

and he will give you another Counselor to be with you for ever

 -- the Spirit of truth --”

The gift of the Counselor, The Holy Spirit is only available for those who have a love relationship with Jesus. Those who not only know about him, but have invited him to be part of their lives, to indwell within their very body. Jesus clearly teaches the importance of us allowing the Holy Spirit to fulfill his role in both our personal lives, and the life of the church. The Holy Spirit guides and leads us at all times, If we allow Him. But it is our choice if we want to be filled by him.

Do you love Jesus

All of your skills, talents, knowledge, possessions and money have no value without a loving way of life without loving God with our whole hearts. Jesus requires us to love Him. Do we really love the Lord?

Message of Pentecost

At Pentecost: three thousand different people of different nations and languages and cultures were drawn together into one church when they heard the disciples declare "the wonders of God" in their own tongues. 

The language of the Spirit transcended the differences among and between people.

This reminds us that whereas language, culture, and race may divide, it is the Lord, through His Spirit and Word, Who brings us unity. Within the church of Jesus Christ, unity is not based upon similar or like-minded viewpoints. Nor is it based upon issues or feelings. Nor is it based upon ethnic background, social class, or skin colour. Rather, all true believers are one in Christ

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Symbols of Pentecost

Fire: One of the symbols of Pentecost is fire. It is not the kind of fire that consumes and destroys; It is the kind of fire that warms, energizes, excites, and powers.

Doves are another symbol of the Spirit, since the Spirit came to Jesus' baptism in the form of a dove. The dove is also a symbol of peace, one of Jesus’ profoundest hopes for the human race.

The wind is another symbol of the Spirit, since the Hebrew word means 'wind' or 'breath'.

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June, Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a form of devotion to the person Jesus, and especially to His Love.
The Catholic Encyclopedia details a history of this devotion. It observed that from the time of Saint John and Saint Paul there has always been in the Church something like devotion to the love of God, Who so loved the world as to give it His only-begotten Son, and to the love of Jesus, Who has so loved us as to deliver Himself up for us. But, accurately speaking, this is not the devotion to the Sacred Heart, as it pays no homage to the Heart of Jesus as the symbol of His love for us. From the earliest centuries, Christ's open side and the mystery of blood and water were meditated upon, and the Church was beheld issuing from the side of Jesus, as Eve came forth from the side of Adam. But there is nothing to indicate that, during the first ten centuries, any worship was rendered the wounded Heart.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart developed further during the seventeenth century by the visions Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a French Visitandine nun at the convent of Paray-le-Monial. She had a vision of Christ's Heart on the feast of Saint John that was similiar to that of Saint Gertrude. Jesus permitted her to rest her head upon His Heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of His love, telling her that He desired to make this known to mankind and to diffuse the treasures of His goodness, and that He had chosen her for this work, (probably 1673, Dec. 27). In June or July o f 1674, Sister Margaret Mary said, Jesus asked to be honored under the figure of His Heart of Flesh and asked for a devotion of expiatory love -- frequent Communion, Communion on the first Friday of each month and the observance of Holy Hours.

In another visioin, on the feast of Corpus Christi 1675, Sister Margaret Mary reported that Jesus told her, "Behold the Heart that has so loved men...instead of gratitude I receive from the greater part (of mankind) only ingratitude..." Jesus then asked for a feast of reparation on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. bidding her to consult Father de la Colombiére, then superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray. He recognized the action of the Spirit of God and consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart and directed Sister Margaret Mary to write down her account and to circulate it throughout France and England. Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque was canonized in the 20th century.

On May 25 1899, Pope Leo XIII, in his en-cyclical Annum Sacrum, declared that all Catholics should consecrate themselves to the Christ's Sacred Heart, and his intention to solemnly consecrate all mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus -- although the Pope pointed out that this would simply be giving Christ what is already His.


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The Maronites and Lebanon (11)
In every stormy day there stand a Patriarch (3)

Is There a Connection, between the Maronite Patriarchate and That of Antioch, There surely is.

The Maronite Patriarch was elected in order to continue the succession over the Catholic Patriarchate See of Antioch founded by St. Peter the Apostle before he went to Rome. That is why the title of our Patriarch is still: “Patriarch of Antioch and the whole East”, and for this reason the Maronite Patriarch has the right to add Peter to his own name in honour of St. Peter who was the first Patriarch of Antioch. There are 2 main criteria that guided our Patriarchs: purity of faith and survival. Patriarchs changed their Sees directed by the winds of safety.


What is the role and authority of the Maronite Patriarch?

The Patriarch is the supreme head of the Maronite church. His only superior is the Pope.

He carries the title of Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. The Pope carries as one of his titles, Patriarch of all the West. The Pope is superior to the Patriarch of Antioch in matters which concern the whole Catholic church. But in matters concerning only the see of Antioch, the Patriarch is sole arbiter.

The Maronite patriarchs have been known for their piety, their zeal and their saintly life. Some of them were hermits before they became Patriarchs. Persecutions, suffering and martyrdom, were the characteristics of the Maronites and their patriarchs. A lot of them sought refuge during persecutions in caves and grottoes. While others died for their faith or performed miracles. Some others were prominent scholars and writers. One European traveller described them by saying: “Their staffs are of wood, but they themselves, they are of gold”.

What is the final message ?
We should all remember that persecution, suffering and martyrdom were and still are at the heart of Maronite history. Our history has been written in the blood of Martyrs. Maronite survival living in this cursed East was only possible, due to the faith in their own destiny, their clinging to their traditions and their judicious choices they learned to make.

Lamartine a famous poet and French philosopher, who visited Lebanon in 1832, found in the Maronites a potential for the awakening of the whole Levant. Referring to Egypt’s Mohammad Ali, Lamartine quoted: “Egypt has but a man; Lebanon has a people”. This is what we really need now if we are survive.

References:
Rev Dau B, (1984) History of the Maronites, Lebanon.
Rev Tayah W.P. (1987) The Maronites Roots and Idendity, Florida- USA, Bet Maroon Publishers.


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'The Demise of Guys' : How video games and porn are ruining a generation

By Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo and Nikita Duncan, Special to CNN

May 24, 2012 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Authors argue that video games and porn create "arousal addictions"
• Young guys are digitally rewired in a new way that demands constant stimulation
• Video games go wrong when the person playing them is desensitized to reality

(CNN) -- Is the overuse of video games and pervasiveness of online porn causing the demise of guys?

Increasingly, researchers say yes, as young men become hooked on arousal, sacrificing their schoolwork and relationships in the pursuit of getting a tech-based buzz.

Every compulsive gambler, alcoholic or drug addict will tell you that they want increasingly more of a game or drink or drug in order to get the same quality of buzz.

Video game and porn addictions are different. They are "arousal addictions," where the attraction is in the novelty, the variety or the surprise factor of the content. Sameness is soon habituated; newness heightens excitement. In traditional drug arousal, conversely, addicts want more of the same cocaine or heroin or favorite food.

The consequences could be dramatic: The excessive use of video games and online porn in pursuit of the next thing is creating a generation of risk-averse guys who are unable (and unwilling) to navigate the complexities and risks inherent to real-life relationships, school and employment.

Stories about this degeneration are rampant: In 2005, Seungseob Lee, a South Korean man, went into cardiac arrest after playing "StarCraft" for nearly 50 continuous hours. In 2009, MTV's "True Life" highlighted the story of a man named Adam whose wife kicked him out of their home -- they have four kids together -- because he couldn't stop watching porn.

Norwegian mass murder suspect Anders Behring Breivik reported during his trial that he prepared his mind and body for his marksman-focused shooting of 77 people by playing "World of Warcraft" for a year and then "Call of Duty" for 16 hours a day.

Research into this area goes back a half-century.

In 1954, researchers Peter Milner and James Olds discovered the pleasure center of the brain. In their experiments, an electrical current was sent to the limbic system of a rat's brain whenever it moved to a certain area of its cage. The limbic sytem is a portion of the brain that controls things like emotion, behavior and memory. The researchers hypothesized that if the stimulation to the limbic system were unpleasant, the rats would stay away from that part of the cage.

Surprisingly, the rats returned to that portion of the cage again and again, despite the sensation.

In later experiments, when they were allowed to push a stimulation lever on their own accord, they self-stimulated hundreds of times per hour. Even when given the option to eat when hungry or to stimulate the pleasure center, the rats chose the stimulation until they were physically exhausted and on the brink of death.

This new kind of human addictive arousal traps users into an expanded present hedonistic time zone. Past and future are distant and remote as the present moment expands to dominate everything. That present scene is totally dynamic, with images changing constantly.

A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that "regular porn users are more likely to report depression and poor physical health than nonusers are. ... The reason is that porn may start a cycle of isolation. ... Porn may become a substitute for healthy face-to-face interactions, social or sexual."

Similarly, video games also go wrong when the person playing them is desensitized to reality and real-life interactions with others.

Violence in video games is often synonymous with success. Children with more of a propensity for aggression are more attracted to violent video media, but violent media, in turn, can also make them more aggressive. This could be related to the fact that most video games reward players for violent acts, often permitting them to move to the next level in a game.

Yet research reported in the Annual Review of Public Health suggests a link between violent video games and real-life aggression: Given the opportunity, both adults and children were more aggressive after playing violent games. And people who identify themselves with violent perpetrators in video games are able to take aggressive action while playing that role, reinforcing aggressive behavior.

Young men -- who play video games and use porn the most -- are being digitally rewired in a totally new way that demands constant stimulation. And those delicate, developing brains are being catered to by video games and porn-on-demand, with a click of the mouse, in endless variety.

Such new brains are also totally out of sync in traditional school classes, which are analog, static and interactively passive. Academics are based on applying past lessons to future problems, on planning, on delaying gratifications, on work coming before play and on long-term goal-setting.

Guys are also totally out of sync in romantic relationships, which tend to build gradually and subtly, and require interaction, sharing, developing trust and suppression of lust at least until "the time is right."

Less extreme cases of arousal addiction may go unnoticed or be diagnosed as an attention or mood disorder. But we are in a national, and perhaps global, Guy Disaster Mode that needs to be noticed and solutions advanced to fix a totally novel phenomenon, which will only increase in intensity and breadth without the concerted efforts of educators, gamemakers, parents, guys and gals.

It's time to press play and get started reversing these trends.

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Check out Zimbardo's 2011 TEDTalk on "The Demise of Guys."

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo and Nikita Duncan.

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Psychologist Dr. Philip Zimbardo is a professor emeritus at Stanford University and is world-renowned for his 1971 research, the Stanford Prison Experiment. Zimbardo teamed up with artist and psychologist Nikita Duncan to write "The Demise of Guys: Why Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It," released Wednesday by TED Books.

Dr. Philip Zimbardo and Nikita Duncan are the authors of "The Demise of Guys."

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original article : http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/23/health/living-well/demise-of-guys/index.html

Season of the Resurrection - 7th Sunday

Dear parishioners and friends of St Charbel’s Parish,

Welcome to this week’s edition of Kadishat, St Charbel’s weekly newsletter! Please click on this link to read the full newsletter with Arabic translation.

In the Gospel for this Sunday we read from John 13: 31-35 where Jesus gives His disciples and us a new commandment: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ And then Jesus continues by saying that it is our love for one another that should characterise us as Christians. It is so easy to love our friends and families and the people who love is. The challenge in fulfilling this command is to love the people with whom we disagree and who may not always love us back.

Feast of the Ascension
This week, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read about that day when Our Lord, gathered with His Apostles, was taken up into heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us in His glorious kingdom. The daily struggles and concerns can distract us and make us forget that we were made to join God in heaven. We pray that we may always keep our gaze set on this reality.

Walk with Our Lady
As we continue through the month of May, dedicated to Our Lady, I invite you all to join with our youth on Friday 25 May at 8pm at St Charbel’s Church to pray the Maronite evening prayers followed by a candlelit rosary procession to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Queen and Mother.May Our Lady accompany you this week and every day of your lives!

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20th Year—Number 1009 Sunday 20/05/2012

Season of the Resurrection

7th Sunday

Sunday’s Readings: Ephesians 1: 15-23& John 13: 31-35 

A new commandment

“When he had gone, Jesus said: Now has the Son of man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified. 

If God has been glorified in him, God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon. 

Little children, I shall be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and, as I told the Jews, where I am going, you cannot come. 

I give you a new commandment: love one another; you must love one another just as I have loved you. It is by your love for one another, that everyone will recognise you as my disciples.” John 13: 31-35

Reflection of the Week

Love is all you need - No favourites

"Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." 

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”

The commandment: “love one another”

Jesus says those same words to all disciples today. This is Jesus’ last message, His last words, the last important instruction for us. This is what we are supposed to do: “love one another”. We are “commanded” to love one another.

The condition to the commandment: “as I have loved you”

But there is a condition to the commandment. The key to the commandment to love one another is the phrase “as I have loved you.” We have to love as Jesus loved. How did he love? He gave his life for people. He served people. He helped people. He healed people. He fed people. He liberated people. He taught people. He encouraged people. He blessed people. He prayed for people. He felt compassion for people. He forgave people. He was nonviolent toward people. He resisted evil for people. He laid down his life in love for everyone and he says to us, “Now you go and do the same thing. Love others as I have loved you.” It’s a great challenge, but it’s also the best way to live, to walk in the footsteps of Jesus on the road of love, trying to love as Jesus loved us.

The measure “everyone will know that you are my disciples”

“If you love one another as I have loved you, then you will be my disciples and everyone will know that you are my disciples.” So the measure of our discipleship to Jesus is not whether or not we are popular or successful or law-abiding or rich or patriotic; not whether or not we support our country; not whether or not we did what everyone else did--but whether or not we love one another.

Jesus was the love of God wrapped up in flesh. Christians represent the love of Christ wrapped up in a fellowship. There is an absolutely amazing power in genuine love. There is a love that can really last. It is the love of Christ living within his people. It is a love that will not die even when death comes. It is truly the love that can last -- not only for now, but forever!

The road of love

Love is like a road. Love is a path. There are many roads and paths we can take, but if we follow Jesus, we walk one road, one path: the road of love. The road of love leads to life, which means it is a way of life. It also means love has boundaries. On the road of love, some behavior is no longer permissible. One day, when we reach the end of the road of love, we will be welcomed home into the house of love, as we hear in the book of Revelation, where there are no more tears, no more suffering, no more pain, no more violence, no more empires, no more wars, no more nuclear weapons, and no more death, and we will be ready to spend eternity in the land of love because we know how to love one another.

Why is love so important?

We are commanded to do many things for each other in the New Testament, but the command to "love one another" occurs 16 times. Simply because it demonstrates the true character of God. God is a Trinity of persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who have always existed in relationships of love. The Bible says that "God is love" (1 John 4:8). He commands us even to love our enemies because that is what God does And there is nothing that will more readily convince others of the true nature of God than Christians showing this love to one another. We learn what love is by seeing how God has acted. It is the cross that defines so much of how we should behave. Christian love is self-giving action on behalf of another.

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Saint of the Week

St Rita of Cassia,

The Miraculous, Saint of the impossible

Feast Day 22 May

Daughter of Antonio and Amata Lotti, a couple known as the Peace-makers of Jesus; they had Rita late in life. From her early youth, Rita visited the Augustinian nuns at Cascia, Italy, and showed interest in a religious life. However, when she was twelve, her parents betrothed her to Paolo Mancini, an ill-tempered, abusive individual who worked as town watchman, and who was dragged into the political disputes of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Disappointed but obedient, Rita married him when she was 18, and was the mother of twin sons. She put up with Paolo's abuses for eighteen years before he was ambushed and stabbed to death. Her sons swore vengeance on the killers of their father, but through the prayers and interventions of Rita, they forgave the offenders.

Upon the deaths of her sons, Rita again felt the call to religious life. However, some of the sisters at the Augustinian monastery were relatives of her husband's murderers, and she was denied entry for fear of causing dissension. Asking for the intervention of Saint John the Baptist, Saint Augustine of Hippo, and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, she managed to bring the warring factions together, not completely, but sufficiently that there was peace, and she was admitted to the monastery of Saint Mary Magdalen at age 36.

Rita lived 40 years in the convent, spending her time in prayer and charity, and working for peace in the region. She was devoted to the Passion, and in response to a prayer to suffer as Christ, she received a chronic head wound that appeared to have been caused by a crown of thorns, and which bled for 15 years.

Confined to her bed the last four years of her life, eating little more than the Eucharist, teaching and directing the younger sisters. Near the end she had a visitor from her home town who asked if she'd like anything; Rita's only request was a rose from her family's estate. The visitor went to the home, but it being January, knew there was no hope of finding a flower; there, sprouted on an otherwise bare bush, was a single rose blossom.

Among the other areas, Rita is well-known as a patron of desperate, seemingly impossible causes and situations. This is because she has been involved in so many stages of life – wife, mother, widow, and nun, she buried her family, helped bring peace to her city, saw her dreams denied and fulfilled – and never lost her faith in God, or her desire to be with Him

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The Maronites and Lebanon (10)

In every stormy day there stand a Patriarch (2)

Who was the first Maronite Patriarch?

The first Maronite patriarch was St. John Maroun who lived in the 7th Century. He studied at the Convent of St. Maroun and then completed his education in Constantinople. St. John became an outstanding member of his community. 

He was ordained priest and in a few years of priesthood and missionary life converted many to the Catholic faith. He was presented by the French prince Eugene and the French Colony of Antioch to the Pope’s delegate in Syria, who consecrated him Bishop of Batroun, one of the Phoenician cities of Lebanon on the coast between Byblos and Tripoli. Under his guidance, the Maronite Community flourished in a few years increasing in number, power and extension. He was very active in visiting his people throughout his diocese, teaching the Word of God, converting the heretics and sinners and the weak and the sick. In 685 AD,

Lebanon and the whole Near East were afflicted by plague. St. John Maroun used to visit cities and villages healing those who were ill with his prayers. He wrote a special Mass for this purpose which is still celebrated by priests at the time of a plague. 

At the death of Patriarch Theophanis in Constantinople in 686 AD, the Maronites and their allies, compactly organised in a religious, cultural and military force, elected St. John Maroun as Patriarch of Antioch. When he was elected Patriarch of Antioch, St. John Maroun met the delegate of Pope St. Sergius, at Tripoli. (One of the Lebanese coastal cities)/ (Pope St. Sergius, was born in Syria, elected pope 687 AD and died 701 A.D.). Patriarch St. John Maroun accompanied the Pope’s delegate to Rome. In Rome, Pope Sergius confirmed St. John Maroun as Patriarch of Antioch.

Was the election of St. John Maroun legitimate?

It certainly was : 

1) The Maronites did not elect a patriarch against another existing patriarch of Antioch. 

2) They have formed the only Catholic organised presence in the whole diocese of the East between (640 - 742). 

3) The Maronites had simply filled an ecclesiastical vacuum created by a series of heretic Melkite Patriarchs, who were not residing in the city of Antioch. 

4) The frequent inconsistent interference of the emperors in the affairs of the church and the serious upheavals caused by the Muslem impact, gave them another reason to step in, prompted by a sense of urgency, in order to secure Apostolic Succession. 

5) Above all, it was explicitly recognised by the Holy See.

Next Sunday: In every stormy day there stand a Patriarch (3)

Is There a Connection, between the Maronite Patriarchate and That of Antioch?

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Links:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Charbels-Maronite-Catholic-Church-Sydney/365277440154672

http://www.stcharbel.org.au/

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Season of the Resurrection - 6th Sunday

Dear parishioners and friends of St Charbel’s Parish,

Welcome to this week’s edition of Kadishat in which we reflect on the reading from the Gospel of St Luke about Jesus appearing to His disciples and sharing a meal with them. Jesus explained to His disciples that all what took place was foretold by the prophets, and was necessary for the salvation of man. Jesus “opened their minds so they could understand Scriptures”.

YouCat Group launches at St Charbel’s Parish

A new youth group started on Monday 7 May in our Parish- the YouCat group. YouCat is a study group for young people that explores the key teachings of the Catholic faith as they are expressed in the Church’s new Catechism for youth. It is also a remarkable method for young people to connect with other young people and in turn support each other in the faith. This group is for young people aged 18-22 and runs in the Youth House every Monday night from 7.30pm followed by Rosary and Adoration in the Church. In his introduction of the YouCat book, Pope Benedict XVI writes: “I invite you to study this Catechism! This is my heartfelt desire.” So I hope all young people heed this call and join us on Monday night!

St Gianna Molla

This year marks the 50th year of the death of St Gianna Molla, a mother and a pediatrist and one of the Patron Saints of the Anti-Abortion movement. Gianna Molla chose to give life to her daughter over her own life. She is an example of heroic qualities and unfaltering love. We remember her during this year and we ask for her intercession for our families and for mothers going through difficult pregnancies or considering abortion. May they choose life over death and may they realize that the baby in their womb is a human being with a lot of potential.

You are all in my prayers as I lead our parish pilgrimage to Jerusalem! Please keep me and all the group in your prayers as well!

I invite you all to click on this link for the full PDF version with Arabic translation to view our parish newsletter for this week

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20th Year—Number 1008 Sunday 13/05/2012

Season of the Resurrection

6th Sunday

Sunday’s Readings: Roma 10: 1-13 & Luke 24: 36-48

You are witnesses of these things

“.While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.'” Luke 24: 36-48

Reflection of the Week

“You are witnesses of these things”
In this Sunday’s reading, the apostles and their companions are gathered together. Suddenly Jesus is there with them. He says, “Peace be with you.” He tells the apostles to look closely at his hands, and to touch him. He reassures them that he is not a ghost and he even asks them to give him some fish so that he can eat and prove it.

Jesus is real
He is really alive, and he has a real body just like ours. Jesus who drops by and asks for something to eat as a real human being, with a body they could see and touch.

What does it mean to believe in a God who shares our human nature, who lived and died as one of us? It means we believe in a God who truly understands what it means to be human. Jesus understands the doubts of the followers who are gathered in that room, and he is patient with them.

Jesus does not blame his disciples
Even though he has been preparing them for this, and even though once again it is clear that they still don’t really get what Jesus was talking about in all that time they spent together, he understands. He doesn’t blame them for having questions. He explains again the things he has already taught them. He opens their minds to understand the scriptures, and he says to them: “You are witnesses of these things.”

You are my witnesses
This is about choosing to live your life as a witness. The kind that not only sees what happened, not only tells what happened, but who is so transformed by what happened that they cannot help but become a new person because of it. They cannot help but act like a person who has seen the risen Lord. And their lives and actions reflect it.

We do not have to get front page headlines to be a good witness to Christ. In fact, in most cases those might work against us. Instead, we just have to do this: we have to live our life in such a way that others look at us and see God’s grace and love at work in us. We just need to do the small things with a great love for Christ.
Our purpose in life, in everything we do, is to remember Christ’s call to the disciples, and to us: you are witnesses. We are the ones who tell the story of Christ’s grace and love.

When you think of witnesses to Christ, who do you think of? Are they the early disciples? Are they the saints? Are they the ones who have done great things like Mother Teresa? If yes, how about you?

Christ our God longs and desires to open our minds to understand the scriptures, 

to understand all that has been written, spoken, and revealed about him 

in whatever form that happens and has happened. 

That is what Jesus did for the disciples and it is what he does for us. 

They are witnesses based not on what they know, 

but on who they are, how they live, and their relationship with the risen Christ.

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Ascension Thursday

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’

When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. 

When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bar-tholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Acts of the Apostles 1: 1-14.

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The Maronites and Lebanon (9)

In every stormy day there stand a Patriarch (1)

Antioch is a city where the word of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ was preached in the Early Church. It was the place where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. It was here that St. Peter founded the See of Antioch and probably spent about 7 years. St. Paul resided in the city. Saints Mark & Barnabas also preached the Good News there. It was one of the primatial Sees of the area. From the 5th Century onward, Antioch, Syria and the whole region suffered a great loss of membership and prestige.

What were the reasons for this?

One reason was that many of the Christians of Syria decided to follow the Monophysite heresy. An important event occurred in the 7th Century that was to have a great effect upon the Christians of Beit Maroun. 

This was the rise of the prophet Mohammed and his followers, the Muslims. Mohammed claimed to have experienced a vision that called him to be prophet of God. He urged the Arabs to worship the one God and to accept him as God’s prophet. 

After many trials, he was successful in conquering Mecca, the Capital of Arabia. Most of Arabia then became Muslim. For several hundred years prior to the time, Syria had first been part of the Roman Empire, and then part of the Byzantine Empire, whose capital was Constantinople. 

In 636 the followers of Mohammed defeated the Byzantine Empire’s army in Syria. Syria then became Muslim land. The first Caliph, Omar, who followed Mohammed after his death was the Conqueror of Syria, and issued anti-Christian legislation which made it difficult for the Maronites to practice their faith. The policy of Islam was to give Christians a choice; either they became Muslims and then be on the same footing as the other Muslims, or to stay Christians but had to pay a high tax, and accept humiliation. Their policy was: ( “Aslem, taslem”, meaning : be Muslim, then you will be safe).

Next Sunday:

In every stormy day there stand a Patriarch (2)

Who was the first Maronite Patriarch?

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Links:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Charbels-Maronite-Catholic-Church-Sydney/365277440154672

http://www.stcharbel.org.au/

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Season of the Resurrection - 5th Sunday

Dear parishioners and friends of St Charbel’s Parish,

Welcome to this week's edition of Kadishat. This week, we read the Gospel of St John (21: 15-19) where Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves Him. This passage shows the continued confidence that Jesus had in Peter and it reminds us that although sometimes we may have turned our backs to the Lord, He will be always waiting for us.

Month of May
During the month of May which the Church dedicates to Our Lady, we look up to Mary who carried the Saviour, the Word of God, in her womb. She is our model of faith because she accepted God's will in her life. We pray that we may all be like Mary when confronted with challenges offering ourselves to God with trust and obedience.

Pilgrimage to the Jerusalem
As you may be aware, I am leading a pilgrimage tour to Jerusalem and other countries starting from the 13th to the 27th of May. I ask you to keep me and all the pilgrims in your prayers so that God may bless us with a blessed tour.

I invite you all to click on this link for the full PDF version of this weeks Kadishat with Arabic translation to view our parish newsletter for this week.

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20th Year—Number 1007 Sunday 06/05/2012

Season of the Resurrection

5th Sunday

Sunday’s Readings: Ephesians 2: 1-10 & John 21: 15-19

Do you love me?

“..When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?' 

He answered, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my lambs. 

A second time he said to him, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' He replied, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Look after my sheep.' Then he said to him a third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time, 'Do you love me?' and said, 'Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep. 

In all truth I tell you, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.' In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, 'Follow me.' ” John 21: 15-19

Reflection of the Week

Today's gospel tells how Jesus restored the ministry of the apostles when they all felt guilty for letting Jesus down during His trial and crucifixion. God worked in the lives of the apostles to re-create the events that lead to their first call. There is the night of fishing without a catch, the miraculous catch at Jesus' command, and Jesus' final call to "Follow me." In this way, Jesus teaches the disciples that they still belong to Him and He still has work for them to do.

Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him, but Jesus is not looking for a simple yes or no answer. He is looking for much more. Whether we love Christ does not depend upon what we say but upon what we do. There is a connection between loving Jesus and feeding His sheep. Every time we reach out to feed and care for the sheep and the lambs we are confirming our love to Jesus. We are all called like Peter to feed and save Christ’s sheep. This is our task and responsibility.

Jesus came to restore

We all know why Jesus asked Peter this question. Three times Peter was asked if he was one of Christ's disciples. Three times Peter denied this because he was afraid. Jesus did not bring up Peter's fear and denial and did not condemn him for his failure. Jesus did not ask, "Simon, why did you deny me?" Rather, He asked, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" Jesus came to restore Peter for the feeding of the lambs and sheep of this world.

Do not feel ashamed to confess your love to Jesus

Those who love Jesus are not ashamed to confess Him before men. If we love Jesus, if we truly love Him, then we do not deny knowing Him. If we love Jesus, if we truly love Him, then we stand before the world and say: "I believe in Jesus. He is my Saviour and my Lord."

"Do you love the Lord?"

God stops us in our tracks with that question. In our headlong rush through life He wants us to look at our hearts, to do a self-test. No matter how much we love Him, we can never love Him enough. Our love for Him can never match His wondrous love for us, a love which led him to die on the cross and be buried in the grave.

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May is a month dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary

1st Sunday of May Feast of our Lady of Lebanon

Mary's Life

Her life speaks to us. It speaks of love, of faith, of hope, of obedience, of perfect co-operation with God, of perfect union with Christ.

Mary's Yes

In this month of May, let us reflect and learn from the life of Mary.

Faithful God, I live in the certainty that you have my name engraved on the palm of your hand. I accept now that I am first in your thoughts and you will never allow me to be separated from you. I believe this with all longing and all peace. Lord I am with you in ceaseless reverence without awareness of fear or anxiety.

I unite myself with those troubled by the unexpected and those who experience emptiness and disillusionment. Mary, be with me as I accept the possibilities God's love can create in my life.

(A Reflection by Shane O' Connor)

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Saints Of The Week

St Dominic Savio,

Feast day 06 May

Dominic was born on 2nd April 1842 at San Giovanni di Riva, near Chieri (Turin). When he made his first Holy Communion, at the age of seven, he wrote down the following as his plan of life: “I will go to confession very often and go to communion as often as my confessor gives me permission. I will celebrate Sundays and feast days as holy days. Jesus and Mary will be my friends. Death rather than sin.”

When he was twelve he was accepted by Don Bosco to go to the Oratory in Turin, and he asked Don Bosco to help him ‘become a saint’. He was a gentle lad, always calm and cheerful, and he put great efforts into his studies and into helping his companions in every way, teaching them their Catechism, tending the sick, sorting out quarrels, etc.

One day he told a boy who had just arrived at the Oratory: “You ought to know that here we find holiness through being very happy! We try to avoid sin, which robs us of God’s grace and our peace of mind, and we carry out our duties as well as we can.” He kept faithfully to this plan.

God blessed him with special gifts. When Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on 8th December 1854, Dominic consecrated himself to Mary and began to make even greater progress in holiness. In 1856 he set up the ‘Sodality of Mary Immaculate’ with a group of his friends, to carry out apostolic work together.

Dominic died in Mondonio on 9th March 1857, just under a month before his fifteenth birthday. His remains are in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians. He was canonized on 12th June 1954.

Pope Pius XI described him as “small in size, but a towering giant in spirit.” He is the patron saint of boy choristers.

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The Maronites and Lebanon (9)

The foundation of the Maronite Church (2)

How can we explain the formation of the Ma-ronite Hierarchical Church?

There were many factors which contributed to-wards the establishment of the Maronite Church:

1. Spiritual and Monastic leadership: The spiritual movement founded by St. Maroun was very powerful. Many monastic and spiritual centres were formed attracting large lay communities.

2. Theological leadership: The monastery of St. Maroun was the head of the Syriac speaking Chalcedonians. The Syriac language was predominant in the rural areas, while the Greek language was spoken in the cities. Historical documents show that between the years of 517 - 518 AD there were around 50 Chalcedonian monasteries led by the monastery of St. Maroun.

3. Cultural leadership: Before the Arab invasion, Syria was bi-cultural, with Hellenic (Greek) culture predominate in the main cities and the Aramaic or Syriac culture prevailing in the rural regions. The Aramaic speakers were famous in the fields of theology, philosophy, poetry, literature, architecture, painting and other arts. The Maronites were the representatives and leaders of those Aramaic speakers.

4. Aspiration for independence from the Byzantine Empire: The existence of the Hellenic and Byzantine civilisations in Syria, and the indigenous Aramaic and Syriac people had led to rivalry between them. The indigenous Syrians worked hard to bring back their own national civilisation, by freeing it from Greek and other foreign influences. Since the Council of Chalcedon, there had been increased interference of St. Maroun’s monks in church affairs, for the purpose of forming a Syrian church independent of Byzantine influence.The monks with the Syrian people considered that the traditions and constitutions of the Syrian Church had been inherited from Christ, the Apostles themselves and from the successive generations of saints, doctors and martyrs. It was their most sacred duty to preserve the tradition from any intrusion from the Byzantine church and empire.

5. Failure of Constantinople to defend Christianity against the Persians and Arabs: The 2 greatest empires at the time were the Byzantine and the Persian, and they were continuously in a state of war with each other. Syria was located between them and was constantly their battlefield. In 611 - 614 AD, the Persians invaded Syria, occupied Antioch and took over Jerusalem and Palestiine. As a result of these invasions disastrous consequences occurred for the Christians of Syria. 

In Jerusalem alone, the Persians killed 57,000 Christians, arrested Patriarch Zacharias, and took the holy cross. In addition to that, the clergy from the See of Antioch were sent into exile and the Patriarchal See remained vacant for 38 years. From the years 622 to 628, Emperor Heraclius responded with a series of victorious campaigns. But in 636 to 640, the Arabs conquered Syria. The Byzantine army collapsed and the majority of Syria were no longer Christian. This was a major catastrophe for Christianity in the whole Near East.

6. Vacancy of the Patriarchal See of Antioch: Due to the Persian and Arab invasions the Patriarchal See of Antioch remained vacant for more than a 100 years, from 609 to 742.

The Patriarch of Antioch, Anastasisus II, died in the year 609 at the hands of the Jews during the Persian invasion. After him the See remained vacant for 30 years because of the wars between the Byzantine Empire and the Persians and the Arabs. Afterwards, Constantinople started to appoint Patriarchs for Antioch who did not reside in the city. Macedonius, Macarius, Theophanus and Georgius were only holding the title of Patriarch but never came to occupy the Patriarchal See of Antioch and had never fulfilled their pastoral duties. After the death of Georgius in the year 702, Constantinople stopped appointing Patriarchs for Antioch, because it new fully that the Arab Caliphs (rulers who were descendants and successors of Mohammed) would not let them enter Syria. As a consequence the See was left vacant for 40 years.

How the Maronite Church has been formed?

Given all the above reasons, in addition to the critical circumstances in which the Antioch Church found herself in the 7th century there was an urgent need for a good shepherd. Unfortunately, the official Patriarchs which were appointed by the Emperor continued to live in a princely splendour in Constantinople abandoning their flock, and forgetting the example of Christ. So in order to provide the Church in Antioch with a good shepherd, the Maronite people, clergy and monks decided to elect a Patriarch, according to the Antiochene constitutions, who is able to stay with his people and guide, defend and feed them with a divine life. When in 686 the Maronite community elected John Maroun (one of the monks of St. Maroun monastery) a Patriarch of Antioch. It was then that the Maronite Church received its first hierarchical organisation.

Next Sunday: In every stormy day there stand a Patriarch

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Links:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Charbels-Maronite-Catholic-Church-Sydney/365277440154672

http://www.stcharbel.org.au/

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