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Excerpts from the 25th letter of His Eminence and Beatitude Nasrallah Peter Cardial Sfeir. On the Occasion of the 1600th Jubilee of the passing of Saint Maron. Full text of this letter can be found at the Eparchy website: stmaron.org
The celebration of jubilee years began in the Old Testament and continues through Church history. The Jubilee Year is the year of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a year of equality, justice, pardon, reconciliation and repentance; a year of special graces for individuals and communities; a year of charity and joy, not only internal joy, but also the joy that shines in outside.”
The Maronite Patriarchal Assembly as well as the Synod of Bishops for Lebanon
It is hence a very important Jubilee, not only for Maronites, but also for Christians and non-Christians in Lebanon , the Middle East , and throughout the world to consider the position of Maronites in the course of the universal Church and their role throughout 1600 years of history.
Hereafter, if the Maronite Patriarchal Assembly and Synod is considered the “Pentecost of the Maronite Church,” then the celebration of the Jubilee of one thousand six hundred years since the death of Saint Maron could be considered “a new springtime for Maronite life.” In both cases “each Jubilee in Church history is arranged by divine providence” as properly said by His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
Three chapters characterize this Jubilee:
First: What does Saint Maron represent to us today?
Second: What does being Maronite mean to us?
Third: What relationship exists between being Maronite and loving Lebanon