Monday 6 August 2012

Season of the Pentecost - 11th Sunday

Dear parishioners and friends of St Charbel’s Parish,

Welcome to this week's edition of Kadishat!

This Sunday, we reflect on the story of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, whose sins were forgiven by Jesus. Tax collectors were hated by the people of Isreal because they extorted money from their countrymen and gave it to the Romans. However, Jesus saw past that and knew that Zacchaeus was open to the grace that prompted him to climb that tree. Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus' house offering him forgiveness and mercy.

Zacchaeus knew that by welcoming Jesus in his home, his life had to change. He had over taxed his people and in order to have Jesus, he had to give back this money. Zacchaeus did not hesitate as he knew that what he had to give up was nothing compared to what he was receiving. We are also presented with this situation every day of our lives. Is our choice as clear as that of Zacchaeus?

St Charbel's Annual Fundraising Dinner
As announced earlier, St Charbel's Parish will be holding its Annual Dinner on Saturday 13 October 2012 at St Charbel's Multi-Purpose Hall to raise funds for the launch of St Charbel's Nursing Home. Tickets are $75 and you can start booking your tickets now by calling the Monastery on 9740 0998.

On the night, a raffle on a 2012 Ford Fiesta will be drawn. Tickets are $5 each and are sold outside Church after masses and at the front office.
We thank you for your support.

I entrust you all to the care of Our Lady during this month of August dedicated to her Immaculate Heart!
I invite you all to click on this link to view the KADISHAT newsletter with Arabic translation for this week.

In God’s Love,
Fr. Dr. Antoine Tarabay

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20th Year—Number 1020 Sunday 05/08/2012
Season of the Pentecost
11th Sunday
Sunday’s Readings: Ephesians 2: 17-22 & Luke 19: 1-10

Salvation has come to this house

“He entered Jericho and was going through the town and suddenly a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance; he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He kept trying to see which Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd; so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way.

When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I am to stay at your house today.' And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what was happening. 'He has gone to stay at a sinner's house,' they said.
But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, 'Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salva-tion has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of man has come to seek out and save what was lost.”
Luke 19: 1-10

Reflection of the week

Today’s Gospel is about seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. Where that happens, all other things are added. Christ seeks us where we seek him, in the places where he calls us to be, and the results will be no less wonderful for us than they were for Zacchaeus.

Today’s Gospel talks about salvation. A man named Zacchaeus gets the chance to make a new beginning - and he responds with extraordinary generosity,. And Jesus says, "Today salvation has come to this house..."

Who was Zachaeus
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector that lived in Jericho. Zacchaeus was rich, but he had become rich by taking more taxes from people than the law allowed. He was dishonest. Most people hated tax collectors because they worked for the Roman government. But he was seeking Jesus and was truly a changed man after he met Jesus and Jesus offered him salvation.

The first step in salvation-seeking Jesus
Zacchaeus shows us the two steps involved in salvation. The first step is the desire to see Jesus. What did he do? He climbed a tree. That is something that usually only a child does. For an adult to climb a tree requires humility. It also takes courage. A limb might break with disastrous consequences. But more important, a man in a tree could provoke laughter. And in the case of Zacchaeus, it would be worse. Seeing him in the tree, the townspeople would not only laugh; they make fun of him and even insult him. The first step to seeing Jesus is to over-come fear - and self-importance.

The second step-What we should do
Zacchaeus beautifully illustrates what we must do when we see Jesus. Zacchaeus said that he would give half his possessions to the poor - and if he cheated anybody, he would pay it back four times over. He repented of all the wrong things he had done.

Jesus was seeking Zacchaeus
Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but Jesus was already seeking him. He called him by name, "Zacchaeus, come down." Then he told him that he wanted to stay in his house. What Jesus was doing was offering him a new start. By his greed Zacchaeus had put himself outside the family. Jesus was welcoming him back in. This is what is called "grace," God's incredible generosity.

We are like Zacchaeus
You and I are in the same position as Zacchaeus. God offers us his grace, his generosity. Salvation depends on our response. Stewardship is salvation. It is our response to God's grace. Like Zacchaeus, we want to see Jesus. That requires humility and courage. When we do find Jesus, there is only one thing we can do in face of his generosity. Like Zacchaeus, we respond to generosity - with generosity.

Jesus is your answer-Go and seek him
If your life lacks meaning, if there is no hope, if everything you have tried has left you defeated, discouraged, disillusioned and looking for more, then Jesus is your answer. You don’t have to climb a tree to meet Him, all you have to do is to respond to His call and come to Him right now. If you will do that and if you will receive Him, He will save your soul!
Are you saved?

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Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
On this day we recall how Jesus shared with his three closest disciples the glory and acceptance which He has from the Father. 
Jesus is shown, as he really is - the Son of God. Elijah and Moses appear beside Jesus and Peter sees Jesus, Elijah and Moses as equals for he has not yet discovered the superior destiny of Jesus. 
This revelation will not come until after the Resurrection. 
The Transfiguration event beautifully reminded the disciples of the glory Jesus possessed and that his glory would ultimately overcome the darkness of evil. 
But the glory would come later. First would come the cross. 
The feast of the Transfiguration reminds us also that only perseverance in the service of God leads to the glory of vision and that there is no way to be a disciple of Jesus without the Cross. Whatever the cross in our lives, the way to carry it is in union with Christ. His cross is the symbol of redemption. Our crosses, too, must be redemptive. 
We must look to Jesus for the true meaning of the cross and the strength to bear it.


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Saints Of The Week

Mary Mackillop, Mary of the Cross (+1909)
Maronite Feast Day: August 8.

Mary Mackillop has become famous for being the first recognized Australian Saint. She was named blessed on January 19, 1995 by Pope John Paul II at Randwick Racecourse. And on 17 October 2010 Mary MacKillop was declared a Saint by Pope Benedict XVI and is now known as Saint Mary of the Cross.

Mary was born in Victoria, Australia in 1842 to Scottish parents. She was born in Brunswick St, Fitzroy, where a plaque now exists in the footpath to mark the place of her birth. She was the eldest of eight children and was well educated by her father who had once studied in Rome for the priesthood. Her family did not have their own home due to their finan-cial circumstances and they often shared accommodation with relatives, some-times split apart. From the age of sixteen, Mary earned her living and greatly sup-ported her family, as a governess, as a clerk, and as a teacher at the Portland school.

In 1866, greatly inspired and encour-aged by Father Woods, Mary opened the first Saint Joseph's School in a disused stable in Penola. Following her example, young women began to join in her work. Soon after, the order the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph was formed. Mary was asked by Bishop Shiel to come to Adelaide to start a school. The Sisters spread, in groups to small outback settle-ments and large cities around Australia, and New Zealand. Now they can be found working in Peru, Brazil and refugee camps of Uganda and Thailand. The work of these missionaries with the coopera-tion of other religious orders and lay teachers of the time, had a profound influence on the forming of Catholic Edu-cation as we have come to know and experience it today.


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The Maronites and Lebanon (21)
The Years of Difficulties (4)

How did the Maronite reacted in the hardship years?
The hardships endured by the Maronites were not entirely to their disadvantage. Their sufferings united the people under their leaders, in turn under the authority of the Patriarch. The Mukaddam of Bsharri was the chief of this whole region and he established some as-semblance of order however people constantly feared for their lives, a report made by a traveller who visited Kannoubine in 1475 states:
'The Maronite nation has lived under occupation endur-ing continuous oppression and tyranny. All over Lebanon one finds ruin, tears, and terror. Under the pretext of gathering a certain tax called the Gezia, the authorities strip the peasants of all their belongings and beat them with sticks, and torture them in order to extract from them all that they possess. Many would have perished had not their aged patriarch, Peter son of Hassan, come to their rescue. Terrified by the perils that threatened his people, the Patriarch gave away all the revenues of the Church to satisfy the rapacity of the tyrants. The door of the patriarchal monastery was sealed, and the Patriarch sometimes had to hide in caves as did Popes Urban and Sylvester.' (Marcellin de Civezza, His-toire universelle des missions franciscaines, Paris 1858, vol. 3, p. 209)

In Wadi Kannoubine the Maronites had no need to be urged to pray. Wadi Kannoubine is in itself an invitation to the forgetfulness of self, to meditation, and to prayer, an invitation that the Maronites did not refuse. Some of them felt the need to live a life more fully de-voted to prayer; many men and women sought God away from the haunts of men, and soon the caves in the valley became the retreats of hermits devoted to the inner life of union with the Creator.

The Maronites at that time were always under the threat of famine through failure of the crops. They were also under the threat of attack on their persons whenever they went out to their fields but regardless they still convey the message of the Gospel. They made such progress in virtue that in 1515 Pope Leo could write them a letter of encouragement in which he said: 'You have acted without allowing the persecutions and the hardship inflicted on you by the infidels, enemies of Our Savour, and from the heretics and schismatic, to turn you away from the faith of Christ.'

Even though the Maronites endured famine and privation, and were pursued by enemies, they did not bow. They did not accept to be downtrodden. Wadi Kannoubine was indeed their last stronghold, if it was lost, all would be lost. Now the Maronite people reacted with vigor and initiative. These men and women devoted to prayer, and particularly to the life of the hermitage, increased in number. Schools were opened and the pupils flowed in. Religious orders were founded.

Next Sunday: The Ottomans era

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