Welcome to this week’s edition of Kadishat! This Sunday is Holy Trinity Sunday. We reflect upon God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, an infinite relationship of Love which is intimate and life-giving.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we also reflect on Jesus’ promise to remain with His disciples and with us until the end of times. Jesus is present with us in the Eucharist. He awaits us to come to Him and build a relationship with Him. To read this week’s edition of Kadishat, please click on the following link:
Please click here to download the full Kadishat newsletter with Arabic translations.
June- Month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
May was the month dedicated to Mary. During that month, we reflected upon the role of Mary as Mediator and Mother. The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the symbol of the fidelity of the love of God. It reminds us that God loves us unconditionally with a love we cannot earn or ever be worthy of. And He loves us for ourselves, not as we should be, or possibly could be, but as we are with all of our weaknesses and faults. We pray saying: “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.”
Feast of Corpus Christi
The first Thursday after Trinity Sunday is the feast of Corpus Christi, the most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. To commemorate this feast, a procession will be held after the 6pm mass at St Charbel’s Parish on Thursday 7 June.
And on Sunday 10 June, the Sydney Archdiocese is organising the annual Walk with Christ, where more than 5000 people walk in procession behind the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Sydney. Starting from St Patrick's Church Hill at 2:30pm, and accompanied by shared prayers and hymns, the colourful procession culminates with Benediction at the St Mary's Cathedral forecourt and concludes at about 4:30 pm. I encourage you all to take part in this public faith demonstration and to walk behind Our Lord in the streets of Sydney. St Charbel’s Youth Association is organizing a chargeless bus to the city to assist parishioners in participating. The bus leaves St Charbel’s at 12noon. Bookings are essential.
Please click here to download the full Kadishat newsletter with Arabic translations.
June- Month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
May was the month dedicated to Mary. During that month, we reflected upon the role of Mary as Mediator and Mother. The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the symbol of the fidelity of the love of God. It reminds us that God loves us unconditionally with a love we cannot earn or ever be worthy of. And He loves us for ourselves, not as we should be, or possibly could be, but as we are with all of our weaknesses and faults. We pray saying: “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.”
Feast of Corpus Christi
The first Thursday after Trinity Sunday is the feast of Corpus Christi, the most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. To commemorate this feast, a procession will be held after the 6pm mass at St Charbel’s Parish on Thursday 7 June.
And on Sunday 10 June, the Sydney Archdiocese is organising the annual Walk with Christ, where more than 5000 people walk in procession behind the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Sydney. Starting from St Patrick's Church Hill at 2:30pm, and accompanied by shared prayers and hymns, the colourful procession culminates with Benediction at the St Mary's Cathedral forecourt and concludes at about 4:30 pm. I encourage you all to take part in this public faith demonstration and to walk behind Our Lord in the streets of Sydney. St Charbel’s Youth Association is organizing a chargeless bus to the city to assist parishioners in participating. The bus leaves St Charbel’s at 12noon. Bookings are essential.
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20th Year—Number 1011 Sunday 03/06/2012
Season of the Pentecost
Holy Trinity Sunday
Sunday’s Readings: Roma 11: 25-36 & Matthew 28: 16-20
Make disciples of all nations
“Meanwhile the eleven disciples set out for Gali-lee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down be-fore him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all na-tions; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you al-ways; yes, to the end of time.'”
Matthew 28: 16-20
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Reflection of the Week
It is in this love, that, today, our community can ask some difficult questions, about right and just relationships with our fellow brothers and sisters; how can we improve the relationship between the wider community and ourselves? How can we resolve the causes of injustice? How can we work towards a future based on justice for all people?
Always present
Jesus assures us that he is with us always, even to the end of time. After his ascension into heaven, he remains ever present with his Church. Jesus’ abiding presence is with us in his Spirit, and we can rejoice too, in the assurance that where he is, we, one day, shall also be! This is a deep mystery beyond our understanding, but through God’s gift of faith and strengthened through the gifts of his Spirit, we believe.
Always present
Jesus assures us that he is with us always, even to the end of time. After his ascension into heaven, he remains ever present with his Church. Jesus’ abiding presence is with us in his Spirit, and we can rejoice too, in the assurance that where he is, we, one day, shall also be! This is a deep mystery beyond our understanding, but through God’s gift of faith and strengthened through the gifts of his Spirit, we believe.
The Father summons all the nations, the Son gathers them together and the Spirit is given to them in baptism: the Church continues to be born of the Spirit.
Life’s Mission
Am I open to the power of the Spirit, so that I may carry out my mission in life, which is to share the work of Christ and renew the face of the earth?
Am I open to the power of the Spirit, so that I may carry out my mission in life, which is to share the work of Christ and renew the face of the earth?
I may well ask myself, “Where do I reflect love, peace and understanding in my relationships with others? Am I a bearer of God’s love to others?
Trust in God’s Presence
Through his life Jesus loved people so deeply and completely that they were healed of whatever was destroying them, whether that was physical or mental illness, or emotional or spiritual suffering. In our growing closeness to Jesus through faith we receive a new vision of life, a vision that sees everything in the light of God’s eternal love. This love is lasting; no sickness is final and even death cannot withstand such love. The strength of the love of Christ, his healing care for us now, can lift us out of our present suffering to joy and peace.
Through his life Jesus loved people so deeply and completely that they were healed of whatever was destroying them, whether that was physical or mental illness, or emotional or spiritual suffering. In our growing closeness to Jesus through faith we receive a new vision of life, a vision that sees everything in the light of God’s eternal love. This love is lasting; no sickness is final and even death cannot withstand such love. The strength of the love of Christ, his healing care for us now, can lift us out of our present suffering to joy and peace.
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Thursday 7th June Feast day of the Corpus Christi
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Reading – 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13
The brotherly life of the Christian communities at one and the same time is ‘marked’ by and reveals the mystery of the Trinity: everything comes from the love of the Father, by the grace of the Son, in the communion of the Spirit. The incarnation has joined humanity and divinity. In the light of so great an act of love, we are enabled to live in gentle peace and loving har-mony with one another. Without the gift of Trinitarian love, this would never be possible.
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Children of God
When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives at Baptism, he makes us adopted children of the Father. As proof that we are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. The Spirit gives us a new capacity to know and to love Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us the guidance and strength to pray to God as our Father. The Spirit comes to aid us in our weakness. It is in the Spirit that we are able to pray as Jesus prayed. Our lives, united together as Christians, are indeed lived in relationship to the Trinity.
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Saints of the Week:
Saint Awtel (+327)
Maronite Feast Day: June 3.
Saint Awtel was born in the third century. His exact town of birth is not certain. He is also known as Mar Awtel, Mar Awtilios, Saint Aoutel, Saint Autel. A church is dedicated to him in the village of Kfarsghab in North-Lebanon where his feast day is celebrated on the 3rd of June and also on the 27th of August.
In his youth, Saint Awtel converted to Christianity and pledged his virginity to God. To avoid an arranged marriage, he escaped to the city of Byzantium. He performed many miracles during his life. One of the more famous miracles was when he was on a boat with other travellers during a violent storm. The passengers feared they would drown, but Saint Awtel prayed and the boat was saved. As a result, those on-board converted to Christianity. He remained twenty years in Byzantium until his father died; he then returned home and lived as a monk.
Saint Awtel comes from a region of the world rich with saints and holy people. From his youth he desired to please God and lived his life in devotion to Him. He reminds us of the importance of purity in our modern world.
We should be confi-dent that we can always turn to him with our intercessions.
Saint Dorotheus, Bishop of Tyre and Mar-tyr (+362)
Maronite Feast Day: June 6
Saint Dorotheus bishop of Tyre is traditionally credited with an Acts of the Seventy Apostles (which may be the same work as the lost Gospel of the Seventy), who were sent out according to the Gospel of Luke 10:1.
Dorotheus, a learned priest of Antioch, the teacher of the Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea, was appointed director without having to renounce his religion (Eusebius,VII.32). Dorotheus is said to have been driven into exile during the persecution of Diocletian, but later returned. He attended the Council of Nicaea in 325, but was exiled to Odyssopolis (Varna) on the Black Sea in Thrace by Julian the Apostate. There the 107 year old priest was martyred for his faith.
Saint Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr (+1902)
Maronite Feast Day: June 6
Saint Maria Gor-etti (October 16, 1890 – July 6, 1902) is an Italian Roman Catholic Virgin Martyr saint. She is one of the youngest saints of the Roman Catholic Church. She was martyred after dying from multiple stab wounds, inflicted by her attempted rapist after she refused him because of love of Jesus and her loyalty to God's commandments.
St. Maria Goretti was born "Maria Teresa Goretti" [3] in the year 1890 in Corinaldo, in the Province of Ancona, then the Kingdom of Italy. She was the third out of six children. [4] By the time she was six, her family had become so poor that they were forced to give up their farm, move, and work for other farmers.
On July 5, 1902, finding eleven year old Maria alone sewing, Alessandro Serenelli, her neighbour, came in and threatened her with death if she did not do as he said. She would not submit, however, protesting that what he wanted to do was a mortal sin and warning Alessandro that he would go to Hell . Alessandro at first choked Maria, but when she insisted she would rather die than submit to him, he stabbed her fourteen times. The injured yet still living Maria tried to reach for the door, but Alessandro stopped her by stabbing her three more times before running away.
On the evening of the beatification ceremonies in Saint Peter's, April 27, 1947, Pope Pius XII walked over to the mother of Maria Goretti, nicknamed "Mamma Assunta" by her neighbours. She almost fainted. "When I saw the Pope coming, I prayed, Madonna, please help me. He put his hand on my head and said, blessed mother, happy mother, mother of a Blessed!" They both had eyes wet with tears.
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The Maronites and Lebanon (12)
Lebanon for the Maronites (1)
As we have mentioned in an earlier article persecution, suffering and martyrdom have been characterising our Maronite history. The Maronites lived, for almost 4 Centuries, in a state of withdrawal, fighting for survival on various fronts, protected and established securely by the rugged landscape of the Leba-nese Massif. Maronite survival could not be possible without adequate military strength. Knowing about the Maradaites is important because they illustrate an eloquent chapter in Maronite military ventures.
Who are the Maradaites?
Between 660 - 690, a militant movement appeared in the mountainous region extending from Amanos and Northern Syria to the mountains of Galilee, with Lebanon as its stronghold. The Byzantines organized this movement to fight the expansion of Islam (Umayyads).
This militant movement is also called “Jarajima”, named after the city of Jarjouma near Antioch because several of them made their homes there. The word Maradaites come from the word “Mared” which means Giant, because those people were famous for their tall stature and they were great warriors, they knew how to attack and were brilliant at defence.
The Byzantine historians called them “Marada” and they were known as the “Bronze Shield” of the Byzantine Empire. The Marada formed with the natives of Syria and Lebanon a strong army. The merger of the natives with the non-natives was accelerated because both shared the same language (Aramaic-Syriac), same faith (Chalcedonian) and the same objective of defending their land against the Arabs.
Marada’s Victories.
The Maronite Marada caused tremendous damage to the Umayyads. Mo’ awiya, the Umayyad Caliph, was forced to sign a peace treaty with them and with the Byzantine King in which he agreed to pay a huge ransom (300 golden dinars annually, 50 Arabian horses, and to set free 8,000 Byzantine prisoners).
After the invasion of Syria, the Arabs confronted the Maronites who had dug themselves in the Lebanese mountains, Here, history renders homage to the young and brave Sem’an , a Maronite military leader who attacked and conquered the Muslims in several places, notably Antelias, and at Nahr-elkalb.
Later, having wisely governed the Kesrouan area, and conquered the Arabs in the Bekaa Valley and along the Coastline, the Moqaddem Sem’an died, he was buried in the village of Baskinta, capital of Kesrouan.
Next Sunday: The Betrayal
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