‘Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!’
As we celebrate the greatest feast of the Christian calendar, the Feast of Easter, we reflect on the meaning of this great day. Easter is the triumph of life over death. Jesus Christ is not just a man who lived two thousand years ago and then died like all human beings. Jesus, the Son of God, rose from the dead and continues to live among us today. Our God is alive. This fact forms the basis of our Christian faith and gives us hope. We are the Easter people. In his letter to the Corinthians, St Paul stresses the importance of the Resurrection saying “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” (1Cor 15:17).
Good Friday
Good Friday at St Charbel’s Parish this year was, once again, a big spiritual gathering during which over 6,000 parishioners attended the Stations of the Cross and the Good Friday Liturgy. Thousands walked, prayed and reflected on the stations detailing the agony, rejection and humiliation that Jesus endured for us. On this day, we remember that Jesus paid the full price of our salvation: his life.
We were very fortunate that His Excellency Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, Apostolic Nuncio to Australia, was able to join us on the day and give the homily reflecting on the meaning of Good Friday.
Organising such a large scale event is not possible without the assistance of all our volunteers. So a big thank you goes to all the people who helped us organise the event and who volunteered their time and efforts for different tasks on the day. May our Lord reward you with His blessings!
I invite you all to click on this link to view our parish newsletter for this week:
Please click here to download the full Kadishat newsletter in PDF with Arabic translation.
Finally, I wish you all a Happy Easter and the peace and blessings of Our Lord!
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20th Year—Number 1003 Sunday 08/04/2012
Season of the Resurrection
Great Sunday of the Resurrection
Sunday’s Readings: 1 Corinthians 15: 12-26 & Mark 16: 1-8
He has risen
“When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices with which to go and anoint him. And very early in the morning on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. They had been saying to one another, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?' But when they looked they saw that the stone -- which was very big -- had already been rolled back. On entering the tomb they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right-hand side, and they were struck with amazement. But he said to them, 'There is no need to be so amazed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he has risen, he is not here. See, here is the place where they laid him. But you must go and tell his disciples and Peter, "He is going ahead of you to Galilee; that is where you will see him, just as he told you." ' And the women came out and ran away from the tomb because they were frightened out of their wits; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Mark 16: 1-8
Reflection of the Week
He has been raised in glory
In the resurrection Sunday we remember that in Christ we are a new creation; He is risen to give us a new beginning. He is risen to remind us that the God of Life is more powerful than death; the God of all Goodness is more powerful than evil; the God of Love is more powerful than fear and hatred; the God of faith and hope is more powerful than doubt and despair.
This reading reminds us of the central role played by women. Women were present with Jesus during his life, during the dark moments of crucifixion and death on Good Friday, and in the first moments of new life after the resurrection. They are chosen to be the first to announce the resurrection.
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the foundation of the Christian system.
First, the resurrection is one of the major evidences that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Paul affirmed that Christ is “declared to be the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4).
Second, Jesus’ resurrection represents an assurance that we can have forgiveness from our sins. Paul contended: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).
Third, Jesus’ resurrection proves that physical death is not the termination of human existence. God, who is the giver of life (1 Timothy 6:13), has the power to restore the human body. Christ’s triumph over the grave is heaven’s pledge to us that we too shall be raised.
Fourth, the Lord’s resurrection showed the ultimate victory of Christianity over all its enemies. In the book of Revelation, Jesus is represented as a lamb that had been killed, but was standing again. Christians too will overcome as a result of the Lamb’s sacrifice and victory over death. (Revelation 12:11).
Fifth, the resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrates to us that all the teachings of Jesus Christ are true. Everything Jesus taught was true, including his great promise. “Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day”. (John 6:40).
Sixth, our salvation depends on our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9).
Seventh, the power for our Christian life in the present is the power of his resurrection. We read about this in Ephesians 1:19-21, as well as in Romans 6:4: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Instead of doubt He gives you Hope. Instead of unbelief He gives you Certainty. Instead of silence He gives you a new Word. A word given to you, by the One who is your Life and Hope. The One in whom you can Trust, knowing that just as He once died and was raised by God the Father and given a place of honour so too will you be raised up on the last day when He will wipe away your tears, and death will be no more, and there will be no mourning, no more crying, and no more pain.
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Think about
Resurrection Sunday is not about Easter bunnies, Easter eggs or the giving of gifts.
It is about celebrating the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead to give us new life.
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Saints Of The Week
Saint Mina, Martyr (+307)
Maronite Feast Day: April 12
Saint Mina (also Menas, Minas, Mena, Mennas) was born in 285 AD. He is a Martyr and Wonder worker, and is one of the most well known Egyptian saints in the East and the West, due to the many miracles that are attributed to his intercession and prayers.
Mina was born in Egypt, in the city of Niceous (Nakiyos or Nikiu), which lies in the vicinity of Memphis. His parents were real ascetic Christians but did not have any children for a long time. His father's name was Eudoxius and his mother's name was Euphemia. On the feast of the Virgin Mary, Euphemia was praying in front of an icon of Saint Mary with tears that God may give her a blessed son. A sound came from the icon saying "Amen". A few months later, Euphemia gave birth to a boy and named him Mina.
At the age of fifteen Mina joined the Roman army, and was given a high rank due to his father's reputation. Three years later he left the army longing to devote his whole life to Christ. He headed towards the desert to live a different kind of life.
After spending five years as a hermit, Mina saw in a revelation the angels crowning the martyrs with glamorous crowns, and longed to join those martyrs. While he was thinking about it, he heard a voice saying: "Blessed are you Minas because you have been called to the pious life from your childhood. You shall be granted three immortal crowns; one for your celibacy, another for your asceticism, and a third for your martyrdom." Mina subsequently hurried to the ruler, declaring his Christian faith. His endless sufferings and the tortures that he went through, have attracted many of the pagans, not only to Christianity, but also to martyrdom.
Saint Saba (+372)
Maronite Feast Day: April 15
Saint Saba was born in Molata city in Kapadokia (today’s Turkey), from a Christian family that managed to combine the material wealth to riches of true virtues. Saba was brought up a good Catholic, working hard to lead a virtuous life. And as a youngster he abandoned the busy life of the world and joined a quite monastery, where he focused on prayer, meditation and charity life, growing up in loving God and serving his Church.
Then he visited the Holy Land and Jerusalem, and joined Saint Aftinos monastery, who gladly welcomed Saba. There Saba went competing in acquiring virtues with the other monks, and led a heroic life giving an excellent example for his brothers in the monastery in holiness and especially in humility.
And after an exceptional monastic life, Saba wanted to grow deeper in holiness, and asked to become a hermit. There in his hermitage he went free leading a very austere life, leading a life of prayer, chanting the psalms and making baskets (from bamboo) in order to make a living and be able to help the needy. Little by little he was getting well known in the monastic milieu and young men started coming up to him asking for his guidance and wanting to follow into his footsteps. So, he built up hermitages for them.
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The Maronites and Lebanon (5)
Maronites: Indigenous Lebanese descendant of the Phoenicians
Who are the Phoenicians ?
The Phoenicians are the Lebanese people who lived on the land of Phoenicia, this name was applied by the Greeks to the people locally. The Greek word is “PhoinikÚ”, which means “red” is related to the reddish purplish pigment which was invented by the Phoenicians and this colour was used to dye the textiles which they traded in. The Phoenician’s origin derived from the 3 races: 1. The Canaanites, descendants of Ca-naan, the 4th son of Ham (Genesis 5:6); 2. The Aramaeans, descendants of Aram, the 5th son of Shem (Genesis 10:22, 23), 3. The Sea People, a movement of people from Asia minor and the Aegean area who migrated towards Phoenicia (11-14th century BC).
The Phoenicians formed one of the most advanced civilisation in the old times. They were the first systematic traders, the first miners and metallurgists, the boldest mariners and of all nations at the time stood highest in practical arts, architecture and science.
It is in Byblos that the first house on earth was built with stone (5250-3800 BC). It is generally admitted that Phoenicians invented and spread the alphabet to the whole world.
What was the Phoenician Language?
The Phoenician language was Aramaic, it is the language that our Lord Jesus spoke. The Hebrew language was the Phoenician Canaanite dialect spoken by the Jews after they settled in the land of Canaan, that is to say, Phoenicia. The Jews were continuously subject to Phoenician influence in religion, literature, philosophy, arts and architecture.
The Temple and the palace of King Solomon were built and decorated by the Phoenicians. Most of the Biblical books reveal a clear Phoenician influence. The Bible is Phoenician by its language and style.
So Aramaic, called Syriac since the Christian era, is today the liturgical language of the Maronites. It remained the vernacular language of the Maronites in North Lebanon until the 19th Century. Many place names in Lebanon are Aramaic. It is in the Aramaic language that the books of Daniel and Esra from the Old Testament were written; this is also the case with St. Matthew’s Gospel.
Aramaic, or Syriac, literature includes several hundred writers who have produced thousands of volumes of poetry, philosophy, theology, science and history. It has one of the richest literary traditions in human history.
What is the origin of the Maronites?
The Phoenicians are the ancestors of the Maronites. The three races of the Canaanites, Aramaen and Sea people living together on Lebanon’s land for thousands of years, formed a nation called Phoenicia in the ancient times and Lebanon since the 7th Century AD.
The Pagan population of Mount Lebanon was converted to Christianity by the disciples of Saint Maroun during the period extending from the 5th to the 7th centuries.
After the 7th Century, the Lebanese, that is to say the Phoenician population of Mount Lebanon, were called Maronites because they had been converted to Christianity by the Maronite missionaries.
The Word Maronite therefore designates the religious source, not the ethnic and national origin. The population has remained ethnically and nationally the same. The religion changed and with the new religion the name Maronite replaced that of Phoenician.
ref: Rev. Dau, B. (1984) History of the Maronites, Lebanon
Next Sunday: From Adoun To Maroun
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Links:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Charbels-Maronite-Catholic-Church-Sydney/365277440154672
http://www.stcharbel.org.au/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Charbels-Maronite-Catholic-Church-Sydney/365277440154672
http://www.stcharbel.org.au/
