In the Maronite Church, the first Sunday after Easter is called the New Sunday. Jesus appeared to His disciples and St Thomas was with them. It is true that St Thomas doubted the Resurrection of the Lord, but he was also the first to believe. Pope Benedict tells us that we are all called to imitate the faith of St Thomas, putting aside our unbelief and proclaiming, like him, “My Lord and my God.” To read more about this week’s Gospel, please click this link to download the Kadishat newsletter in full PDF with Arabic translation
This Sunday, the Universal Catholic Church also celebrates the Feast of Divine Mercy, celebrated on the Sunday after Easter Sunday. Jesus told St. Faustina that it was His desire that we celebrate this blessed feast: "On that day the very depths of My tender Mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon these souls who approach the Fount of My mercy.” This feast was extended to the entire Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II on April 30, 2000, the day that he canonized Saint Faustina.
His Excellency General Michel Sleiman at St Charbel’s:
As you may be aware, His Excellency General Michel Sleiman, the President of the Lebanese Republic, is welcomed to St Charbel’s Church and College on Thursday 19 April at 12noon. All community members are invited to join us to welcome the President. Please note that this occasion is now on Thursday.
Most Rev Abbot Tannous Nehme at St Charbel’s:
We are also honoured and pleased to welcome Most Rev Abbot Tannous Nehme, Superior General of the Lebanese Maronite Order, who has arrived to Australia on Saturday 14 April to be with us for the welcoming of the President in our parish.
I wish you all a blessed week!
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20th Year—Number 1004 Sunday 15/04/2012
Season of the Resurrection
The New Sunday
Sunday’s Readings: 2 Corinthians 5: 11-21 & John 20: 26-31
My Lord and my God!
“Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. 'Peace be with you,' he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving any more but believe.' Thomas replied, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him: You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. There were many other signs that Jesus worked in the sight of the disciples, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.” John 20: 26-31
Reflection of the Week
On this Sunday after the resurrection, we hear of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples and Thomas was with them this time. We often refer to Thomas as “doubting”, not really considering the depth and the height of the “doubt” of this holy apostle.
We know about his faithfulness and sacrificial love for his Teacher. After following the Saviour for three years, Thomas understood very well the danger Christ faced from the scribes and the Pharisees. The other disciples also understood it very well; that is why when the Saviour decided to go to Jerusalem, the apostles tried to talk Him out of it, warning Him of the danger (John 11:8). But it was St. Thomas who said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (John 11:16).
After the Ascension of the Saviour, the Apostle Thomas, according to the Church Tradition, went to preach the Gospel in one of the furthest and most difficult to reach places of the ancient world—India, where he was tortured and killed for Christ.
We know about his faithfulness and sacrificial love for his Teacher. After following the Saviour for three years, Thomas understood very well the danger Christ faced from the scribes and the Pharisees. The other disciples also understood it very well; that is why when the Saviour decided to go to Jerusalem, the apostles tried to talk Him out of it, warning Him of the danger (John 11:8). But it was St. Thomas who said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (John 11:16).
After the Ascension of the Saviour, the Apostle Thomas, according to the Church Tradition, went to preach the Gospel in one of the furthest and most difficult to reach places of the ancient world—India, where he was tortured and killed for Christ.
But on that day, a week after the Resurrection, when the Saviour came to His disciples and Thomas was with them, the holy apostle needed only a push, only a step, in order for this disciple who so selflessly loved his Teacher to realize to whom he had devoted his life.
Thomas came “to see” that believing depended upon something far more than physical sight; if it demanded that at all. To believe is to understand why Jesus came into this world in the first place; for us to learn to know truly the one who sent him.
“My Lord and my God!” exclaimed Thomas from the bottom of his loving heart. To such a person as Thomas God comes. This is the kind of person that He allows to touch Himself! “My Lord and my God.” Thomas states one of the highest attributions Jesus is given in the whole of Scripture.
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe
We often talk about the beatitudes. By this we usually mean that list of beatitudes found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. But there is beatitude in today’s Gospel and it is spoken over the head of Thomas. It spans the centuries and comes directly to us:
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe”.
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe”.
We need to touch and be touched by God
Thomas came to believe through this event of the Resurrection. He came to believe because he touched God, because God touched him. What does that mean for us? To touch God and be touched by Him is to have some experience that takes us beyond and outside ourselves, to something greater than our little selves, to God the Creator. He is beyond our physical needs, our physical understanding; He alone can meet our spiritual needs, conquering death.
Thomas came to believe through this event of the Resurrection. He came to believe because he touched God, because God touched him. What does that mean for us? To touch God and be touched by Him is to have some experience that takes us beyond and outside ourselves, to something greater than our little selves, to God the Creator. He is beyond our physical needs, our physical understanding; He alone can meet our spiritual needs, conquering death.
Peace be with you
When our Lord greets his disciples with the word peace He states to them what He brings to them. Our Lord brings peace to our lives through His Love for us. He brings this peace to us as it says in the Psalms “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” (Psalms 29:11) The strength and peace that He gives to His people is victory over one’s self. In doing this He restores mankind back to the state that God had intended for man.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous is hailed as the ‘Saint of Lourdes’. She was born to a poor family on January 7, 1844 and died a holy death April 15, 1879 at the young age of 35. She suffered as a child from asthma and was such a poor student that she was delayed from making her first holy communion. At the age of 22 she was admitted to the order of the Sisters of Nevers, a short distance from Lourdes, and spent the rest of her life there.
After her death, Bishop Gauthey of Nevers and the church exhumed the body of Bernadette Soubirous on September 2, 1909 and found it to be incorrupt, only the rosary held in her hand had rusted.
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Saints Of The Week
Saint Bernadette Soubirous (+1879)
Maronite Feast Day: April 16
Saint Bernadette Soubirous is hailed as the ‘Saint of Lourdes’. She was born to a poor family on January 7, 1844 and died a holy death April 15, 1879 at the young age of 35. She suffered as a child from asthma and was such a poor student that she was delayed from making her first holy communion. At the age of 22 she was admitted to the order of the Sisters of Nevers, a short distance from Lourdes, and spent the rest of her life there.
Saint Bernadette is known as the ‘Visionary of Lourdes’. She received 18 visions of Our Lady starting from February 11, 1858 containing messages on the importance of prayer and penance.
The Lady in the visions eventually identified herself as the ‘Immaculate Conception’. The visions took place at the grotto of Massabielle outside Lourdes where a spring of water appeared with healing properties.
The Lady in the visions eventually identified herself as the ‘Immaculate Conception’. The visions took place at the grotto of Massabielle outside Lourdes where a spring of water appeared with healing properties.
After her death, Bishop Gauthey of Nevers and the church exhumed the body of Bernadette Soubirous on September 2, 1909 and found it to be incorrupt, only the rosary held in her hand had rusted.
Saint Bernatette Soubirous reminds us that the wisdom of God is not reserved for the academic or scholar. God appears to the simple and pure of heart and his message of peace and hope is universal. We are inspired by Saint Bernadette by her simplicity and purity and love of poverty.
Pius I, Pope (+154)
Maronite Feast Day: April 21
Pope Saint Pius I was pope from around 140 to 154 and was the ninth successor of Saint Peter. He was born in the northern Italian town of Aquileia. Some say that he was born a slave.
He built one of the oldest churches in Rome, Santa Puden-ziana. During his pontificate, he was visited by various heretics who tried to promote their false teachings. It is believed that he established the date for Easter as the first Sunday after the March full moon. As part of his accomplishments, he developed laws for the conversion of Jews.
Pope Saint Pius I rose above his birth to lead the Church against the heretical forces of the time.
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The Maronites and Lebanon (6)
From Adoun To Maroun (1)
In the last two articles in this series we have seen that Lebanon was the first country to receive the Good News of salvation which originated in Palestine; the coastal Lebanese cities and the Bekaa have embraced Christianity since Apostolic times. But the mountainous regions of Lebanon remained completely pagan until the beginning of the 5th century. This made the disciples of St. Maroun determined to take upon themselves the conversion of the people of that region to Christianity. We have indicated that the Phoenicians are the ancestors of the Maronites and the word Maronite designates the religious source, not the ethnic and national origin.
Who is Saint Maroun?
He is the spiritual father of the Maronite movement, a holy hermit who decided to lead a life of isolation, he went to a rugged mountain half way between Cyrrhus and Aleppo (Northern Syria).
There, St. Maroun consecrated a pagan temple for divine Christian worship. His life was characterised by: (1) Quiet and solitude on the summit of the mountain; (2) Life in open air, exposed to the ele-ments; (3) By freeing himself from the world with continuous prayer and meditation St. Maroun had reached a high degree of wisdom, sanctity and union with God. He had created in Syria and Lebanon the first and a new ascetic and spiritual method of praying which has influenced many followers. His mission was described by Theodoret, (Bishop of Cyrrhus) as: “Plants of wisdom in the region of Cyrrhus.” The conversion of the temple into a Church meant the conversion of the people from paganism to Christianity.
God granted St. Maroun the gift of miracles, people came from near and far to see him, asking cures for both body and soul. St. Maroun’s sanctity became known throughout the Empire. St. John Chrysostom sent him a letter in 405 AD expressing his great love and respect and had asked St. Maroun to pray for him. So St. Maroun was the pioneer, founder and master of a new ascetic way of living in open air. Many who had followed this way of monastic life were guided and trained by him personally. Theodoret mentioned in his book 18 names of St. Maroun’s disciples; 15 were male and 3 were female. Two of St. Maroun’s disciples, St. Abraham the hermit and St. Simon Styllites, worked to convert the people from Paganism to Christianity.
There, St. Maroun consecrated a pagan temple for divine Christian worship. His life was characterised by: (1) Quiet and solitude on the summit of the mountain; (2) Life in open air, exposed to the ele-ments; (3) By freeing himself from the world with continuous prayer and meditation St. Maroun had reached a high degree of wisdom, sanctity and union with God. He had created in Syria and Lebanon the first and a new ascetic and spiritual method of praying which has influenced many followers. His mission was described by Theodoret, (Bishop of Cyrrhus) as: “Plants of wisdom in the region of Cyrrhus.” The conversion of the temple into a Church meant the conversion of the people from paganism to Christianity.
God granted St. Maroun the gift of miracles, people came from near and far to see him, asking cures for both body and soul. St. Maroun’s sanctity became known throughout the Empire. St. John Chrysostom sent him a letter in 405 AD expressing his great love and respect and had asked St. Maroun to pray for him. So St. Maroun was the pioneer, founder and master of a new ascetic way of living in open air. Many who had followed this way of monastic life were guided and trained by him personally. Theodoret mentioned in his book 18 names of St. Maroun’s disciples; 15 were male and 3 were female. Two of St. Maroun’s disciples, St. Abraham the hermit and St. Simon Styllites, worked to convert the people from Paganism to Christianity.
Who is Abraham of Cyrrhus?
St. Abraham (Ibrahim) was a hermit from Cyrrhus, a disciple of St. Maroun who is credited for preaching Christianity into the heart of the ancient Lebanese creed. The village he started in was “Afqa”, the Phoenician name for flowing water.
What do we know about the Ancient Lebanese Rites?
In Afqa there was a great cave, the ancient Lebanese considered it to be the seat of the god El. The river which flowed from the cave was sacred to them and they called it Adon (means lord). A spring which supplements the river had a famous temple for Astarte built over it. Afqa represented the principle of triad (life, fertility and eternal youth) which the Lebanese believed in. Every year the Lebanese used to go on a pilgrimage to Afqa via the Adoun valley to celebrate the death and resurrection of their false god Adoun (Adonis). These festivals were known as the Adonites and were very popular in those times because they expressed fertility and renewed youth.
Next Sunday: From Adoun To Maroun (2)
What sort of plan did St. Abraham use?
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