Welcome to this week's edition of our weekly newsletter Kadishat! On the 9th Sunday of Pentecost, we read from Luke 4:14-21 about Jesus in the synagogue reading from Isaiah who foretold the coming of the Christ. This gospel tells us that Jesus has come for all humanity and especially for those who are forgotten. And similarly, Jesus sends us into the world for those who are less fortunate than us, physically and spiritually.
St Charbel's Feast Day- Thank you
Last Sunday, our parish celebrated the feast day of St Charbel. Our gratitude goes to all the volunteers who assisted throughout the week in cleaning the Church, preparing the traditional 'Hrisse' and all the other events that took place. May our Lord bless you and reward your generosity.
Guardians Meeting with Msgr John Esseff
As announced previously, last Wednesday (18 July), our parish was honoured to welcome Msgr John Esseff for a Guardians talk about 'The Healing Power of Confession'. Msgr Esseff spoke to over 500 people about the importance of forgiveness: forgiving ourselves and forgiving others. We thank him for joining us on the night and we thank all the people who attended. If you would like the DVD or audio of the talk, it is available through Parousia Media on 8730 8874.
Feast of St Elias- 20 July
Yesterday, the Church celebrated the Feast of St Elias (prophet Elijah). Elijah was a prophet of Israel during the reign of Ahab and his Sidonian wife Jezebel. During that time, the people of Israel turned away from the true and living God of their fathers and adored the false gods of Baal.
Elijah stood firm in his faith and is known for his zeal and love for the one true God.
May we, following his example, have a great zeal to defend our faith, repeating what Elijah said that our God is the true and living God.
I invite you all to click on this link with Arabic translation to view our parish newsletter for this week.
In God’s Love,
Fr. Dr. Antoine Tarabay
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20th Year—Number 1018 Sunday 22/07/2012
Season of the Pentecost
9th Sundayy
Sunday’s Readings: 2 Corinthians 5: 20-21,6:1-10 & Luke 4: 14-21
He has anointed me to bring the good news
“Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee; and his reputation spread throughout the countryside. He taught in their synagogues and everyone glorified him. He came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written: The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord. He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, 'This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening” Luke 4: 14-21
Reflection of the week
The Mission
In today’s Gospel, we find the direction and scope of Jesus’ mission that will find its fulfillment in death and resurrection. This first sermon declares Jesus’ preference for the afflicted, the captives, the blind and the oppressed. At the opening of his public ministry Jesus is presented as the one who has a clear, personal preference for a certain group who can place its hope in Him because the acceptable time of favour has come for all the forgotten people.
Jesus’ mission is addressed to all nations (Luke 4:25-27). Jesus’ concern is a universal concern for the underprivileged and the outcast, a statement of commitment to social justice and reform, fostering outreach to all in peace.
As we read these words from Isaiah, we should remember that poverty, captivity, and blindness have both physical and spiritual dimensions. One can have an empty wallet, but another can have an empty soul. One can be a captive inside a jail cell, but many have demonstrated that it is possible to remain free even while in the most horrific confinement. Jesus gives to us a clear indication of the blindness. He came to take away the blindness to our spiritual condition. As the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, He is in reality empowering us to see for the first time our true spiritual condition.
Jesus expected us to have the same passion and love for the Gospel message and for mankind that He had, a passion and love so great that we would be willing to endure personal sacrifice and hardship. Jesus endured all kinds of insults and indignities for the Gospel's sake, because of His love and passion for mankind. How much personal sacrifice and hard-ship are we willing to endure for the Gospel's objective?
Our mission
We are called to live out that spirituality on a day to day basis as we encounter the poor, captives, the blind, and the oppressed. If we really are in the "today" of the Lord’s favor proclaimed by Jesus, then, indeed, "the eyes of all" are fixed on us. Words will not be enough. And our own strength will not be enough. The focus of Jesus' ministry was loving the unlovely and serving the undeserving. That is what Jesus would have us to do.
Today I believe the Lord is saying to us all: do not hesitate, do not be afraid to be a disciple of Jesus. When we preach the liberating message of Jesus Christ we are offering the words of life to the world. Our prophetic witness is an urgent and essential service not just to the Catholic community but to the whole human family.
Reach out
Reach out to the poor not only to help, but to motivate and inspire them to do what they can do for themselves and for the Church. In other words, we have to help them to realize their dignity and potentials, and to challenge them to contribute these to the Church and to society.
Ask yourself
When was the last time I brought the good news to the poor? When was the last time I proclaimed release to the captives? When did I help the blind to see? Have I freed those who are oppressed?
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The Old Testament
The books of the Old Testament contain God’s promise of salvation which was entrusted to Abraham and then through Moses to the people of Israel. God is revealed as the only living and true God. Through the mouths of the Prophets he fore-told of the coming of Christ, the Redeemer of the Universe, and of the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom. The books of the Old Testament are di-vinely inspired and as such retain an eternal value.
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Carry on Christ’s Mission
Jesus calls us to take the Good News into our world, to invite people to receive Christ into their hearts and lives. This is the mission we were given at our baptism. Let us pray for a sense of mission and the courage to make a Christ-like difference in the world.
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Saints Of The Week
St Nohra, Martyr
22 July 2012
Nouhra is particularly venerated in the churches of the East. He is believed to be the same person as the martyr called Lucien, who came from the city of Manhur in Persia. He traveled preaching the gospel and he suffered martyrdom at Batroun in Lebanon. His name means "Light" and for this reason he is the special patron of those who suffer from diseases of the eyes. May his prayers be with us. Amen.
Mary Magdalene
22nd July
Was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important female disciple in the movement of Jesus.
Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", [Lu 8:2] [Mk 16:9] sometimes interpreted as referring to complex illnesses. She became Jesus' close friend and most prominent during his last days, being present at the cross after the male disciples (excepting John the Beloved) had fled, and at his burial. She was the first person to see Jesus after his Resurrection, it has be recorded that she peached in France. May his prayers be with us. Amen
St Christina of Tyre,
Martyr 24 July
The details of the life of St. Christina vary depending on which account of her life you read. However, the core text of these accounts is the same. We are told that she was born in the coastal city of Tyre (in modern day Lebanon) in the third century. With no mention of a mother or siblings, the focus of her early life is centered on her father, Urban. A wealthy man who sought to protect his daughter from any knowledge of Christianity, he used his ample means to have a huge tower constructed, and St. Christina was "reared within the confines of the tower without restricting her activities, yet assuring that she could never encounter a Christian or even hear of Christianity."
Although she had the best education possible in these circumstances and lacked nothing material, she soon grew weary of the tower. She derived her only comfort from her walks around the tower terrace, which enabled her to contemplate the wonders of creation and their beginnings.
God in His great mercy, seeing her yearning for the truth, sent His angel to her . . . and instructed her fully in the things of God.
Zealous in her newfound faith, she sold every-thing she had and gave it to the poor, and she began to evangelize the pagans around her. She suffered many tortures because of her faith - even having her breasts cut off and her tongue cut out. According to her Life, when her tongue was cut out she threw it in the face of the governor and he was blinded instantly! When she finally died in the year 234, she was laid to rest in a chapel erected by an uncle in her memory.
SAINT ANNE
Mother of the Blessed Virgin
25th July
Saint Anne, wife of Joachim, was advanced in years and her prayers for a child had not been answered. Once as she prayed beneath a laurel tree near her home in Galilee, an angel appeared to tell Anne that she would have a child. Anne promised to dedicate this child to God, and then Anne became the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The devotion of St. Anne was known in the East in the fifth century, but it was not diffused in the West until the thirteenth. The name Anne derives from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning “grace”.
The truth is that it was the parents of Mary who nurtured Mary, taught her, brought her up to be a worthy Mother of God. It was Saint Anne’s teaching that led her to respond to God's request with faith, "Let it be done to me as you will." It was their example of parenting that Mary must have followed as she brought up her own son, Jesus. It was the faith that Mary learned from home that laid the foundation of courage and strength that allowed her to stand by the cross as her son was crucified and still believes.
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The Maronites and Lebanon (19)
The Years of Difficulties (2)
Never gave up hope
Few Churches have survived from this period, but they testify to the renewal of the mission in Jesus Christ, which began when he trod the soil of Lebanon. The priests administered the sacraments and preached the word of God. Despite the dangers they faced daily the Maronites did not loosely give up their faith or weaken their determination to survive, no matter what was thrown at them, they would not be assimilated.
Not only did they openly and defiantly practice their Christianity but managed to keep contact with Rome throughout the difficult years.
The flee to Qannoubine
Pope Eugene IV (1431-47) invited the Maronite Patriarch to attend the Council of Florence in person, the Patriarch however, sent Fra Juan as his delegate, being motivated by concern about the risks of the voyage. Fra Juan had an audience with the Pope, at that time presiding the works of the Council, after which he returned to Lebanon bearing the Pallium.
'When the worthy friar reached Tripoli, there was a large crowd who came to greet him; unfortunately however, there were also soldiers sent by the governor to arrest him, the official in question being persuaded that the Christians had met in Florence to prepare the launching of another crusade against the Muslims of Syria. On learning of the envoy's misfortune, the Patriarch sent emissaries to reassure the governor about Fra Juan's intentions.
After having pocketed a substantial bribe, the governor set his prisoner free after the latter had promised to return after completing his mission. Fra Juan made his way up to Our Lady of Mayfuk, which was then the seat of the Patriarch, and delivered him the Pallium together with a letter from Pope Eugene IV. But he then set off for Rome again, this time passing through Beirut and ignoring his earlier promise to the governor of Tripoli, who naturally enough flew into a rage and sent his soldiers to arrest both the Patriarch and other leading personalities.
Finding nobody at the patriarchal residence, he plundered and set fire to the houses around and even killed a number of the local inhabitants. Those of his men who continued the search for the Patriarch destroyed the monastery, killing some of the monks and taking the others in chains to Tripoli. The Patriarch was obliged to leave the monastery of Mayfuk and from then on lived under the protection of Jacob, Mukaddam of Besharri.' (The Annals, 210).
When finally they found themselves in a situation, which knew no other solution, the Maronites had to move Patriarchal seat further into the mountain, the chosen place was the valley of Kadisha, Syriac or the Sacred Valley.
References
http://phoenicia.org. & http://www.opuslibani.org.lb/
Next Sunday: The Years of Difficulties (3) In Wadi Qannoubine
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