Saturday, 5 May 2012

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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