Saturday 7 July 2012

Season of the Pentecost - 7th Sunday

Dear parishioners and friends of St Charbel’s Parish,

Our parish is preparing to celebrate the feast of our Patron Saint, St Charbel. We prepare ourselves spiritually for this feast looking up to St Charbel who led the perfect life of a hermit detaching himself from the world so that the heroism of the monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience could triumph in his hermitage. May we learn from this Maronite saint to detach ourselves from earthly things and build treasures for us in heaven.

The full program of the feast week, as well as the readings for this week and much more information can be found in this week’s edition of Kadishat on the link below:

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

Guardians- 2 Upcoming Talks

Guardians, our fortnightly interactive English youth talks, have 2 very interesting talks coming up over the coming weeks. On Wednesday 11 July at 8pm, Guardians is hosting Eamonn Keane, who will be talking about ‘The Greens and The Destruction of Civilization’.

And on Wednesday 18 July 2012, our parish is honoured to host Msgr John Essef, former Confessor of Bl Mother Teresa of Calcutta, to give a Guardians talk about ‘The Healing Power of Confession’. Msgr Essef joined us for youth mass on Sunday 1 July and touched many hearts and minds with his inspiring homily. Everybody is invited to attend this talk which will take place in the Church on Wednesday 18 July 2012 at 8pm.

I wish you all a blessed week, by the intercession of St Charbel, and I hope to see you all at the parish festivities and events over the coming week! In God’s Love,

Fr. Dr. Antoine Tarabay

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20th Year—Number 1016 Sunday 06/07/2012
Season of the Pentecost
7th Sunday
Readings of this Sunday:2 Corinthians 3: 1-6 & Luke 10: 1-7

Laborers are few


“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself would be visiting. And he said to them, 'The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to do his harvesting. Start off now, but look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

Take no purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, "Peace to this house!" And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house.” Luke 10: 1-7

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Program for the Feast of St. Charbel 9-15 July 2012



Monday 9 July
6:00pm Evening prayer & Mass
(Reflection by Fr Dany Akiki)
7:00pm Eucharistic Adoration (Arabic)
8:00pm Eucharistic Adoration (English)


Tuesday 10 July
5:00pm St Charbel’s Sodality prayer and Holy Rosary
6:00pm Evening prayer & Mass with the Sodalities of the Maronite Diocese – (Reflection by Fr Milad Azzi)


Wednesday 11 July
6:00pm Evening prayer and Youth Mass
(Reflection by Fr Challita El Boustani)
8:00pm Guardians Talk:
“Greens and Destruction of Civilisation”


Thursday 12 July
6:00pm Evening prayer & Mass
(Reflection by Fr Elie Rahme)
7:00pm Screening of the movie “Charbel”


Friday 13 July
11:00am Rosa Mystica Mass
6:00pm Evening prayer & Mass
(Reflection by Fr Antoine Tarabay)
7:00pm Candlelit Procession of Saint Charbel


Saturday 14 July
5:30pm Solemn Mass
The Church doors remain open until midnight
7:00pm Traditional “Harisseh”


Sunday 15 July – Feast of St. Charbel
7:30am, 8:45am, 11:15am and 5:30pm Arabic



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Prayer:

God, infinitely Holy and Glorified through Your saints, You inspired Charbel, the saint monk, to lead the perfect life of a hermit. We thank You for granting him the blessing and the strength to detach himself from the world so that the heroism of the monastic virtues of poverty, obedience, and chastity, could triumph in his hermitage.
We beseech You to grant us the grace of loving and serving You, following his example.
Almighty God, Who has manifested the power of St. Charbel's intercession through his countless miracles and favours, grant us the graces we need through his intercession. Amen.

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Saints of the Week

Massabki Brothers, Martyrs (+1860)
Maronite Feast Day: July 10.
Many Christians lost their lives in the bitter fighting that occurred in Syria in 1860. Among those killed because of their faith were the three Massabki brothers who were all slaughtered on the same night, July 10 in Damascus for not denying their faith to the Muslims who attacked their village. The three brothers were Francis, Abdel, and Raphael. Altogether in their family there were four boys and two girls. Their father, Ne’meh was a man of faith who raised his family in a true Christian spirit.

Francis Ne’meh Massabki married and fathered three boys and five girls. He was tall and handsome, but humble and with a strong will. He was a generous man whose home was open to every-one, especially foreigners and pilgrims. Francis was a good businessman and was wealthy from his efforts. Before starting his day, he said his prayers and attended mass with his family. He offered his time and wealth to the service of the Church. He was popular in Lebanon through his work and generosity and he was announced when he traveled there from village to village by the ringing of the church bells.

Abdel Mohti Ne’meh Massabki was thin and slender. He preferred solitude. He lived with his wife and children in his brother Francis’ house and taught his children with faith and devotion. One of his students testified that Abdel Mohti would often repeat to them: “The Christian must always be ready to spill his blood for the love of Christ, and that man’s greatest joy is to receive the grace of martyrdom.” Abdel attended mass each day and was known to fast all of Lent. He observed all holy days and religious ceremonies and taught his children the psalms and religious chants. He tried business as a change from teaching but was not comfortable with his conscience about his work, and he dedicated the rest of his life to prayer and meditation.

Raphael Ne’meh Massabki was short and simple-hearted. He had a strong devotion to Mary and often asked for her help in his business dealings. He was humble and never married.

In their home in Damascus there was a time of religious unrest among the community which heightened on the night of July 9 and came to a dramatic conclusion the next day. The three brothers and many other Christians had locked themselves in the church to avoid the violence, but the trouble makers forced their way in and demanded that the brothers deny their faith. On behalf of his brothers, Francis is known to have said: “We do not fear the one who kills the body...a crown is prepared for us in heaven, we have our souls ... and we do not wish to lose them, we are Christians and we wish to die as Christians.” The loss of the Three Massabki Brothers is a tragic loss that will always be remembered.

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The Maronites and Lebanon (17)


Crusaders... 400 years before the Crusaders (4)

How can we explain the relations between the Crusaders and the Maronites?
The Maronites welcomed the arrival of the crusaders.

1) They considered them a saving grace for their existence in the middle East which is surrounded on all sides by the Islamic world.

2) The Crusaders themselves considered the presence of the Maronites in this part of the world a blessing. The Maronites had proved to be precious helpers to them, experienced soldiers, and fearless warriors. One can imagine the joy that the Christians of the Lebanese Mountain had, at the arrival of their fellow brothers in the same faith from the west. At that time the Maronites were the only Eastern community still allied to the Holy see after the schism between Rome and the orthodox.

3) It is with the Maronites help, the crusaders were able to find the way to Jerusalem and repossess it. A good number of Maronite soldiers were found among the French who attacked and took the Holy City on 15th July 1099.

4) Thanks to the Crusaders the Maronites were again more able to establish relations with the west. The relation between the Maronite’s Patriarchy and the Papacy in Rome was strengthened. Popes highly praised them, and sent them delegates and missionaries, and officially invoked the presence of their Patriarch to the Lateran Ecumenical Council.

5) The Crusaders highly appreciated the help of the Maronites in delivering the Holy Places, and favoured them. Official historians of the Crusades, had this to say about the Maronites: “a race of people who lived in Phoenicia …they were very strong people, they were great help to our Christians” ; “ Eastern Catholics …descending the mountains crying French! The French!.. These were the Maronites who had begun the Crusades some 400 years before, and who came enthusiastically to offer guides and fighters”. The Maronites were second only to the Europeans in the Crusader State.

6) Kings of the Latin countries wrote to them as if they were writing to their own people. The privileges of their Patriarchs were utterly respected.

7) In 1250, the Maronites assisted St Louis, King of France, who led the 8th and last crusade with 25000 men. The King wrote to the Maronites expressing his gratitude, love and admiration for their loyalty to the successors of St Peter. The King also granted France’s support to the Maronites.

Next Sunday: The Years of Difficulties

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