This Sunday is the Fourth Sunday of the Cross. In our Gospel, we reflect on the second topic of this period and that is, waiting for the coming of the Lord in prayer and spiritual perseverance and to remain loyal to the service that has been entrusted to us by the Lord like the ‘faithful and wise servant’ (Matt 24:45).
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October- Month of the Holy Rosary
The Catholic Church dedicates the month of October for the Holy Rosary and the first Sunday of the month is Rosary Sunday.
Throughout the entire history of the Church, in the Sacred Scripture and in each appearance of our Blessed Mother, the call to prayer has always been emphasised. To quote from St. Padre Pio, it is important to love Our Lady and “pray the rosary, for her rosary is the greatest weapon against the evils of the world today”.
I encourage all the youth to persevere in your prayer life and I invite you to join our rosary group every night at 8.30pm in the Church. It is only through prayer that we can face the spiritual turmoils in our lives today.
St Charbel’s Annual Dinner
Tickets are selling fast for St Charbel’s Annual Dinner on the 13th of October 2012.
Through your support, we are hoping to raise funds to launch our new project: St Charbel’s Nursing Home. Your support today will help us look after you and your loved ones tomorrow.
I look forward to seeing you all next Saturday at St Charbel’s Multi-Purpose Hall. Tickets are available by contacting the Monastery on 9740 0998.
I wish you all a blessed week by the intercession of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary!
In God’s Love,
Fr. Dr. Antoine Tarabay
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20th Year—Number 1029 Sunday 07/10/2012
Season of the Cross
4th Sunday
Sunday’s Readings: 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11 & Matthew 24: 45-51
Season of the Cross
4th Sunday
Sunday’s Readings: 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11 & Matthew 24: 45-51
Who is the wise and trustworthy servant
“Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy servant whom the master placed over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing exactly that. In truth I tell you, he will put him in charge of everything he owns. But if the servant is dishonest and says to himself, "My master is taking his time," and sets about beating his fellow servants and eating and drinking with drunkards, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. ” Matthew 24: 45-51
Reflection of the Week
Discipleship
Today's Gospel reminds us of responsible discipleship. The disciple is not to be concerned with the timing of the final revelation of Jesus. Rather the disciple should concentrate on living the life of a servant. It is on this that the disciple will be judged. Matthew is especially concerned with those in the Christian community who exercise positions of leadership. They have a special obligation to carry out their ministry of service in the manner taught them by Jesus.
Today's Gospel reminds us of responsible discipleship. The disciple is not to be concerned with the timing of the final revelation of Jesus. Rather the disciple should concentrate on living the life of a servant. It is on this that the disciple will be judged. Matthew is especially concerned with those in the Christian community who exercise positions of leadership. They have a special obligation to carry out their ministry of service in the manner taught them by Jesus.
Rise to Serve
The Glory of God is a person standing up!
Surely Lord, you do not want me to stoop,
to hide myself, to humble myself.
What I am and what is most beautiful in me comes from you.
The Glory of God is a person standing up!
Surely Lord, you do not want me to stoop,
to hide myself, to humble myself.
What I am and what is most beautiful in me comes from you.
My intelligence, my talents and my sense of responsibility are your gifts to me day after day.
You do not want my intelligence to turn into arrogance, my abilities to be used to subjugate others.
You do not want my faith and my confidence in your presence, to become a careless assurance, self-righteousness, or a groundless claim to have the whole truth.
You want me standing up so that I may follow Christ and help those who are overwhelmed with grief, with poverty and hardships to rise again. If you give me strength and intelligence, it is to better serve others.
You do not want my intelligence to turn into arrogance, my abilities to be used to subjugate others.
You do not want my faith and my confidence in your presence, to become a careless assurance, self-righteousness, or a groundless claim to have the whole truth.
You want me standing up so that I may follow Christ and help those who are overwhelmed with grief, with poverty and hardships to rise again. If you give me strength and intelligence, it is to better serve others.
A Servant of Christ Jesus
Loving Christ, you identified with me in the agonies of humankind, and you even went so far as to bear the consequences of my sins. You adopted me as your child and commissioned me to be your servant. I need your help to fulfil my call to service by identifying with the needs of my brothers and sisters and in communicating your love and grace to them. I understand that my response to your great love must be commitment. Discipleship will not lead to softness, and may lead to suffering. I am learning my Lord, that my service to you must be rendered to your human creatures about me. I am to be in some amazing manner, a visible member of your divine personhood. O God you have entrusted me with an awesome responsibility. Enable me, by your grace, to be your faithful and effective servant. Amen.
Loving Christ, you identified with me in the agonies of humankind, and you even went so far as to bear the consequences of my sins. You adopted me as your child and commissioned me to be your servant. I need your help to fulfil my call to service by identifying with the needs of my brothers and sisters and in communicating your love and grace to them. I understand that my response to your great love must be commitment. Discipleship will not lead to softness, and may lead to suffering. I am learning my Lord, that my service to you must be rendered to your human creatures about me. I am to be in some amazing manner, a visible member of your divine personhood. O God you have entrusted me with an awesome responsibility. Enable me, by your grace, to be your faithful and effective servant. Amen.
This week’s Reading
1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11
The theme of today's reading is that the 'Day of the Lord' comes when people least expect it. Christians belong to God and live in His Light. We are to work while the light of Jesus shows us the way. If we are loyal to the way of Christ, leading a life of faith, hope and love, then the timing of the Lord's coming will be of no significance, for we will be in a state of readiness.
1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11
The theme of today's reading is that the 'Day of the Lord' comes when people least expect it. Christians belong to God and live in His Light. We are to work while the light of Jesus shows us the way. If we are loyal to the way of Christ, leading a life of faith, hope and love, then the timing of the Lord's coming will be of no significance, for we will be in a state of readiness.
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A Day to Remember
St. Charbel was declared a saint on October 9th 1977 when the Church recognised his sanctity.
St. Charbel was declared a saint on October 9th 1977 when the Church recognised his sanctity.
On this day, Pope Paul VI said of him,
"He helps us to understand in a world very often fascinated with riches and comfort,
the irreplaceable value of poverty, of penance,
and of asceticism in freeing the soul in its ascent to God".
Saint Charbel was the first person from Lebanon to be declared a saint for the universal church.
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The first Sunday of October
Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary
Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary
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Saint of the Week
Our Lady of the Rosary
1st Sunday of October
1st Sunday of October
Our Lady of the Rosary is a title of the Virgin Mary related to the prayer of the Rosary, whose origin has been attributed to an appa-rition of Our Lady to St Dominic in 1208 in the church Prouille, near Carcasonne in the south of France.
Clement X to the whole of Spain.
Somewhat later Pope Clement XII, following the victory over the Turks gained by Prince Eugene on 6 August 1716 (the feast of our Lady of the Snows), at Peter-wardein in Hungary, decreed that the Feast of the Rosary be cele-brated by the whole Church on the first Sunday in October.
In 1969, Pope Paul VI changed the name of the feast to “Our Lady of the Rosary”. Today’s cele-bration invites all of us to meditate often on the mysteries of Jesus’ life.
In 1969, Pope Paul VI changed the name of the feast to “Our Lady of the Rosary”. Today’s cele-bration invites all of us to meditate often on the mysteries of Jesus’ life.
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The Maronite Liturgy:The Maronites and Lebanon (31)
The Maronite Liturgy:
The Maronite Liturgy:
Awaiting for the second coming of the Lord
To follow up the previous article about the Maronite Liturgy, we have found it important to display to our readers the following information:
To follow up the previous article about the Maronite Liturgy, we have found it important to display to our readers the following information:
What do we understand by liturgy?
Liturgy is viewed as being the outward expression of what the faithful feel towards God. The aim of good liturgy is to praise God and grow nearer to Him. Since people express themselves according to their culture, liturgy can be Eastern, Western, African... In this diversity the church shows itself to be universal. Each liturgy or ritual, whether Antiochienne, Byzantine, Latin, or Copt... is basically the expression of a particular race’s devotion.
Liturgy is viewed as being the outward expression of what the faithful feel towards God. The aim of good liturgy is to praise God and grow nearer to Him. Since people express themselves according to their culture, liturgy can be Eastern, Western, African... In this diversity the church shows itself to be universal. Each liturgy or ritual, whether Antiochienne, Byzantine, Latin, or Copt... is basically the expression of a particular race’s devotion.
What is the Maronite liturgy?
The Maronite church started in the diocese of Antioch. In the 4th century, it comprised Phoenicia, Syria and Palestine. This diocese had its own liturgy (the Syrio- Antiochian liturgy) so called because the Syriac or Aramaic language was used for the religious ceremonies or prayer in common in this area. Christ himself spoke it, and the words of consecration sung by the Maronite priest at mass are practically the same words that Christ used in the last supper. Maronites spoke Syriac until the last century, but now it is a dead language except in a few regions of the Middle East.
What are the origins of the Maronite liturgy?
The Maronite liturgy is the Syriac liturgy of St. James of Jerusalem originated and developed as follows:
1) St. Peter and other apostles brought the liturgy of the last supper to Antioch where it developed.
2) This early liturgy of Antioch was ascribed to St. James the Less, first bishop of Jerusalem, and modified for use at Jerusalem. In its Greek form, this liturgy of St. James was used throughout the entire ecclesiastical jurisdiction or patriarchate of Antioch.
3) A later translation into Syriac become the Syriac liturgy of St. James or the Maronite liturgy.
4) This Liturgy was enriched by the hymns and prayers of St. Ephrem, James of Saroug and other fathers of the Antiochian See.
The Maronite liturgy is the Syriac liturgy of St. James of Jerusalem originated and developed as follows:
1) St. Peter and other apostles brought the liturgy of the last supper to Antioch where it developed.
3) A later translation into Syriac become the Syriac liturgy of St. James or the Maronite liturgy.
4) This Liturgy was enriched by the hymns and prayers of St. Ephrem, James of Saroug and other fathers of the Antiochian See.
Next Sunday: The Maronite Liturgy (2)
Where there any factors that modified the Maronite Liturgy?
Where there any factors that modified the Maronite Liturgy?
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> https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Charbels-Maronite-Catholic-Church-Sydney/365277440154672
> http://www.stcharbel.org.au/
> http://www.stcharbel.org.au/
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