Dear parishioners and friends of St Charbel’s Parish,
This Sunday is the 'Sunday of the Righteous and the Just' in our Maronite Church. We read the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats from the Gospel of St Matthew. Jesus’ words about His second coming after His last public teaching in the Temple are a clear warning of the Final Judgment, pictured as the divine separation of the righteous sheep from the unrighteous goats. As Catholics, we firmly believe that we are not saved by faith alone but also by our works. The Corporal Works of Mercy are practices of charity towards our neighbor and they compliment our faith.
May we always be prepared so that, when the time comes, we may be counted amongst the sheep on God's right hand and we may inherit his kingdom.
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Australia Day
Today, we celebrate Australia Day. We thank God for the beauty of this country and for the better life it has offered to thousands of immigrants. As citizens or residents of Australia, we vow to work together with all our differences to safeguard its values and make our contribution to make it a greater nation. We respect the Indigenous people and all the cultures that exist in this beautiful country. Once again, we thank God today and reflect on the blessings we have received.
I wish you all a blessed week!
In God’s Love,
Fr. Dr. Antoine Tarabay
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21st Year—Number 1045 Sunday 27/01/2013
Season of the Epiphany
Just and Righteous SundaySunday’s Readings: Hebrew 12: 18-24 & Matthew 25: 31-46
Lord, when did we see you?
“'When the Son of man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me."
Then the upright will say to him in reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?"
Matthew 25: 31-46
Reflection Of The Week
A warning sign
In the Gospel of today, Jesus is telling his disciples about the last days. This teaching of Jesus is very different from all his other teaching in the Gospel of Matthew. For in the previous chapters, Jesus is telling parables. But in this text, Jesus is looking into the future, explaining in graphic detail, what
sort of judgment day awaits every one of us. It is truth, coming right out of the mouth of Jesus. It tells us that God does, in fact, watch the way we live our lives, and the way we live matters and at judgement day the people will be separated as sheep are separated from goats. The division will be
according to our actions and the actions are based on a conviction that as we have done them to the people in our lives and in our world, we have done them to Jesus: "As you have done it to the least of these," Jesus says, "you have done it to me!"”
Today's Gospel is a warning sign: it directs us to be aware of the reality that we humans have both goat and sheep potential. This Gospel teaches us that our salvation lies in
our willingness to show compassion for each other.
What does our lifestyle say about us?
Goats and sheep have different eating habits. Goats browse on leaves, shrubs, twigs and vines. Sheep graze on grass and clover. Goats are curious and independent in nature, while sheep prefer to stay put with the flock. This is what goats and sheep like to do every day.
What do you do every day?
We are not judged by our ability to accomplish great and noble deeds of faith. We are judged by the one who said that we would be evaluated on our efforts for the “least of these,” those whose greatest needs are for the small things that most of us, in our privileged status, take for granted—small things like a cup of clean, clear water, a visit to those who are down and out, a small show of concern. It’s the small things that we do on a day to day basis that shows concern and compassion for the least of these is what Christ asks of us.
True love
Responding to Jesus is not like a job. Responding to people in this world is not like a job. We respond to the needs of those in the world out of true love.
True love is the love that Jesus showed as he died for us on the cross. True love is the love that gives freely and unconditionally. To love someone else, to have compassion, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit those in prison is the result of acknowledging that Jesus is present in all people. We may not like them. We may not like what they do, but we love them as Christ loves us. And the most important aspect of true love is giving without waiting for a reward.
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When did we see you, Lord?
Was it during the hours we spent in front of the TV or out shopping just for fun? Was it getting the house all perfect to impress our friends? Or was it those extra hours we put in at work, hoping to impress our boss’s favour and get that promotion?
There’s nothing wrong with such pursuits, but if we allow them to crowd out Christian service, we just may be taking our place among the goats.
Was it during the hours we spent in front of the TV or out shopping just for fun? Was it getting the house all perfect to impress our friends? Or was it those extra hours we put in at work, hoping to impress our boss’s favour and get that promotion?
There’s nothing wrong with such pursuits, but if we allow them to crowd out Christian service, we just may be taking our place among the goats.
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Prayer
Oh Lord, give us guidance, more self-denial, more likeness to you. Teach us to sacrifice our comforts to others and our likings for the sake of doing good. Make us kindly in thought, gentle in word, generous in deed. Teach us that it is better to give than to get, better to forget ourselves than to put ourselves forward, better to care for than to be cared for. And to You, the God of love, be all glory and praise, now and forever.
Oh Lord, give us guidance, more self-denial, more likeness to you. Teach us to sacrifice our comforts to others and our likings for the sake of doing good. Make us kindly in thought, gentle in word, generous in deed. Teach us that it is better to give than to get, better to forget ourselves than to put ourselves forward, better to care for than to be cared for. And to You, the God of love, be all glory and praise, now and forever.
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Saint Of The Week
28 January
St Ephrem the Syriani
Doctor of the Church
Ephrem was born in Nisibis at the beginning of the fourth century. He was educated at Edessa. As a disciple of Bishop James of Nisibis, he was ordained to the diaconate and was a lecturer in the newly established school at Nisibis. After the fall of Nisibis, Ephrem departed from the city and began to teach in Edessa, where he lived as a "solitary" in a cell on a rocky hill. After a life of good works, preaching, religious writings and ascetical exercises, he died in 373.Ephrem was a prolific writer and left the Church an abundance of sermons, commentaries and hymns. Because of this enormous amount of material, he was given the titles "Pillar of the Church" and "Harp of the Holy Spirit." The body of his writing comprises a central part of the liturgical prayer life of the Antiochene Churches.
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COMMUNION AND WITNESS
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION for the MIDDLE EAST (15)
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION for the MIDDLE EAST (15)
PART TWO (5)
The laity
55. Through Baptism, the lay faithful are fully incorporated into the Body of Christ and associated with the mission of the universal Church.[52] Their participation in the life and internal activities of the Church is the perennial spiritual source enabling them to reach beyond the confines of ecclesial structures. As apostles in the world, they translate the Gospel, the doctrine and social teaching of the Church into concrete actions.*53+ Indeed, “Christians as fully-fledged citizens can and must do their part with the spirit of the Beatitudes, becoming builders of peace and apostles of reconciliation to the benefit of all society.”*54+
56. Dear lay faithful, since temporal affairs are your proper domain,[55] I encourage you to strengthen the bonds of fraternity and cooperation that unite you with all people of good will in pursuing the common good, sound administration of public funds, freedom of religion and respect for the dignity of each person. Even when the Church’s mission encounters obstacles in environments where the explicit proclamation of the Gospel is hindered or not possible, “maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that ... they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Pet 2:12).
Be concerned to give an account of your faith (cf. 1 Pet 3:15) by the consistency of your daily life and your activity.[56] To make your witness truly bear fruit (cf. Mt 7:16, 20), I urge you to overcome divisions and all subjective interpretations of the Christian life. Take care not to separate that life – with its values and its demands – from the life of your family or from life in society, the workplace, the political and cultural spheres, since all the many areas of the lay person’s life fall under God’s plan.*57+ I invite you to be bold for the sake of Christ, in the confidence that neither tribulation, nor anguish, nor persecution can separate you from him (cf. Rom 8:35).
57. In the Middle East, lay people have long had fraternal and lasting relationships with the Catholic faithful of the various patriarchal or Latin Churches, and are used to attending one another’s places of worship, especially when there is need. To this impressive reality, which demonstrates an authentic experience of communion, one must add the fact that within a single territory various ecclesial jurisdictions overlap in a beneficial way. In this particular area, the Church in the Middle East sets an example for other local Churches in the rest of the world. The Middle East is thus, in a certain sense, a laboratory where the future of the Church is already being developed. Exemplary as it is, this experience also needs to be constantly improved and purified, as does the experience acquired locally in the field of ecumenism.
Next Sunday: The family
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