Welcome to this week's edition of Kadishat! In this edition, you will find a reflection about this week's gospel, our parish events and activities for this week and short biographies of St Therese and St Francis whose feast days we celebrate over the coming week. To read this week's edition of Kadishat, click on the link below:
Please click here to download the full Kadishat newsletter with Arabic translations.
The Pope in Lebanon
Last week, I returned from my short trip to Lebanon where I joined in welcoming His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to our beloved country. The Pope have brought lots of happiness and hope to Lebanon and the Middle East. His Holiness stressed in his addresses that "peace will not come to the Middle East until its nations enjoy religious freedom, since only the free practice of faith can inspire the region's diverse peoples to unite around basic human values." We continue to pray for peace in the Middle East and for religious freedom for our Christian brothers and sisters.
While in Lebanon, the Holy Father also signed the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of the Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness", which took place in the Vatican in October 2010. I encourage you all to read this message hoping that it will be guiding for all Christians in the Middle East and the world.
St Charbel's Annual Dinner
I would like to remind you about St Charbel's Annual Dinner scheduled to take place on the 13th of October 2012 at St Charbel's Multi-Purpose Hall. The aim of this fund raiser is to launch St Charbel's Nursing Home- a project that will benefit all our community.
Tickets are selling fast and we encourage you to book your tickets soon by contacting St Charbel's Monastery on 9740 0998.
I wish you all a blessed week by the intercession of St Therese and St Francis.
In God’s Love,
Fr. Dr. Antoine Tarabay
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20th Year—Number 1028 Sunday 30/09/2012
Season of the Cross
3rd Sunday
Sunday’s Readings: Philippi 3: 17-21 & 4:1 & Matthew 24: 23-31
The sign of the Son of man“'If anyone says to you then, "Look, here is the Christ," or "Over here," do not believe it; for false Christs and false prophets will arise and provide great signs and portents, enough to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
Look! I have given you warning. 'If, then, they say to you, "Look, he is in the desert," do not go there; "Look, he is in some hiding place," do not believe it; because the coming of the Son of man will be like lightning striking in the east and flashing far into the west. Wherever the corpse is, that is where the vultures will gather. 'Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven; then, too, all the peoples of the earth will beat their breasts; and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet to gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”Matthew 24: 23-31
Reflection of the Week
Are we prepared?The gospel of today encourages and strengthens us with the conviction of Jesus’ return. It also reminds us in in a very forceful way that we must be prepared. The great question is not, "When is the Lord returning?" The question we should be concerned with is, "Are we prepared for His return?"
How do we prepare for the Lord’s return?
The best way to prepare for the second coming of Christ as Paul says is to “increase and abound in love for one another and for all” so that we “may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13). We should place God first in our lives and love our neighbour as ourselves. We should also in faith transform our weapons of war and destruction into instruments and tools of culture and construction.
The coming of the son of man
In our Lord's first coming, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, when He took up His residence among us, He came meek and lowly. He came to perform the obedience to the divine law of God for us. That obedience took Him to the cross, where He suffered and died for our sins. He came the first time doing the will of the Father and, so to speak, there was not even a little twitch in the world. Apart from the heavenly angels over the fields of Bethlehem, and a handful of shepherds, no one took notice. Rome and Caesar considered it to be simply another day as usual. People ate, drank, washed, and went to bed.
But when our Master comes again, heaven will be shaken, stars shall fall. The sun shall not give her light, earth shall be broken on her foundations and mountains cast into the sea. For He shall appear as the Lord of glory. And you shall know Him, the One who suffered and died and rose again and to whom you belong now by His grace.
When Jesus comes, it will be glorious. It is the moment for which we are being prepared. It is the moment for which we have been saved.
Are you ready?
He shall come upon the clouds. The clouds in Scripture are often a symbol of the presence and majesty of God. God led Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night which He put between Israel and Egypt to protect Israel. It was the cloud which was a figure of His own glory as He descended upon the tabernacle.
Christ's coming will be majestic. Against the darkness of the sky - for the sun shall not shine. The Son of man in all of His beauty and power shall appear. That is why every eye shall see Him. They shall see Him in power, the very opposite of weakness. They shall see Him in glory, the outshining of all of His perfections
Is that your hope?
Are you living in such a way that you are ready now? Then hear His word. Christ says, "I come. I come to be glorified in you. I will never forget you. I have chosen to dwell with you to all eternity. And soon, now, very soon, I come." Do you hear Him?
If you aren't "eagerly awaiting His return" perhaps you love this present world too much. The Bible tells us that "if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:16). But when you don't love the world, your heart will be set upon the things above and you will "eagerly await" His return. Please evaluate your heart this morning.
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Saints of the Week
St Therese of the Child JesusDoctor of the Church
01 October 2012Born to a pious middle-class French family of tradesmen; daughter of Blessed Louis Martin and Blessed Marie-Azelie Guérin Martin, and all four of her sisters became nuns. Her mother died when Francoise-Marie was only four, and the family moved to Lisieux, Normandy, France to be closer to family. Cured from an illness at age eight when a statue of the Blessed Virgin smiled at her. Educated by the Benedictine nuns of Notre-Dame-du-Pre. Confirmed there at age eleven.
Just before her 14th birthday she received a vision of the Child Jesus; she immediately understood the great sacrifice that had been made for her, and developed an unshakeable faith. Tried to join the Carmelites, but was turned down due to her age.
Pilgrim to Rome at for the Jubilee of Pope Leo XIII whom she met and who knew of her desire to become a nun. Joined the Carmelites at Lisieux on 9 April 1888 at age 15, taking her final vow on 8 September 1890 at age 17. Known by all for her complete devotion to spiritual development and to the austerities of the Carmelite rule. Due to health problems resulting from her ongoing fight with tuberculosis, her superiors ordered her not to fast. Novice mistress at age 20. At age 22 she was ordered by her prioress to begin writing her memories and ideas, which material would turn into the book History of a Soul. Therese defined her path to God and holiness as The Little Way, which consisted of child-like love and trust in God. She had an ongoing correspondence with Carmelite missionaries in China, often stating how much she wanted to come work with them. Many miracles attributed to her. Declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997 by Pope John Paul II.
St Francis of Assisi,04 October 2012Son of Pietro Bernadone, a rich cloth merchant. Though he had a good education and became part of his father‘s business, he also had a somewhat misspent youth.
Street brawler and part-time soldier. Captured during a conflict between Assisi and Perugia, Italy, he spent over a year as a prisoner of war. During this time he had a conversion experience, including a reported message from Christ calling him to leave this worldly life. Upon release, Francis began taking his faith seriously.
He took the Gospels as the rule of his life, Jesus Christ as his literal example. He dressed in rough clothes, begged for his sustenance, and preached purity and peace. His family disapproved, and his father disinherited him; Francis formally renounced his wealth and inheritance. He visited hospitals, served the sick, preached in the streets, and took all men and women as siblings. He began to attract followers in 1209, and with papal blessing, founded the Franciscans based on a simple statment by Jesus: “Leave all and follow me.” In 1212 Clare of Assisi became his spiritual student, which led to the founding of the Poor Clares.
Visited and preached to the Saracens. Composedsongs and hymns to God and nature. Lived with animals, worked with his hands, cared for lepers, cleaned churches, and sent food to thieves. In 1221 he resigned direction of the Franciscans.
While in meditation on Mount Alvernia in the Apennines in September 1224, Francis received the stigmata, which periodically bled during the remaining two years of his life. This miracle has a separate memorial on 17 September.
In the Middle Ages people who believed to be possessed by Beelzebub especially called upon the intercession of Saint Francis, the theory being that he was the demon‘s opposite number in heaven.
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The Maronitesand Lebanon (30)
The Maronite spirituality (2)
The Maronite spirituality (2)
~ MARONITE ORIGINS ~
A brief overview of Syriac Maronite historical roots is needed to appreciate this spirituality. Too often the eastern churches are confused and misidentified as one and the same-the Syriac tradition is conflated with the Byzantine tradition. While the churches of the Catholic Church (eastern and western) are one in creedal formula, the seven sacraments and communion with the successor of Peter, these twenty-two churches are diverse and unique. They evolve from six major rites: those of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constan-tinople, Rome and Armenia.
By “rite” here is meant a universal community of faith having a distinct tradition, founded by an apostle or successor, guided by an autonomous hierarchy, by which various people have been converted to and nurtured by the teachings of Jesus Christ, Each of these 22 catholic churches then is rooted in a patriarchal tradition, and enjoys its own specific expression of theology, spirituality, liturgy and lay.
The Syriac Maronite church is the development and integration of three influential geographical centers:
1) Antioch a center of commerce and communication in West Syria, of Syriac and Greek influence. This biblical school of typology used “types” of the Old Testament and images of the New Testament rather than philosophical speculation to probe the mystery of God. hence the Maronite’s central focus on and significant use of sacred scripture.
2) Edessa - a prominent city where Saint Ephrem lived in ancient Mesopotamia, a center of Jewish culture and Syriac poetry. Both influenced the prayer and hymnody of the Maronite church. Speaking of and praying to God requires, in the mind of this theological school, the primal language of poetry. A Syriac scholar, Joseph Amar, writers:”Syriac-speaking Christians felt compelled to wed their unutterable vision to beautiful words..... It is not enough to merely express their profound faith, it was also necessary to express it in a profoundly poetical way.”
3) Mt. Lebanon - a region in the Middle East of Lebanese culture. It provided a haven for Saint Maron’s monastic way of life exemplified by austerity, simplicity and detachment. Maron, a fourth century priest and hermit, lived a vision of life, prayer and asceticism which inspired and nurtured his followers. Hence Maronite culture, worship and traditions mandate alertness for the second coming of the Lover of humankind.
Next Sunday: The Maronite Liturgy
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