Here is a video Sister Therese Maria developed for her classes at Boston College. The following is the text explaining the video content and lesson.
Maronite Charism
The unique charism that I am highlighting in this reflective
video is the centrality of the Cross and Resurrection, and our call to discipleship
today, as viewed through our Maronite Catholic spirituality, music/icons and liturgy.
The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, as emphasized in the
prayers of our Divine Liturgy are a source of “hope, joy, strength and salvation.”
Each year in September, we celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (and
the beginning of the Season of the Glorious Cross) in our Liturgical cycle, and
worship the life-giving cross with sacred hymns and psalms. To illustrate with
an example, in the Gospel procession we sing the following scriptural words, “the message of the cross is foolishness to
those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
(1 Cor 1:18) Another captivating excerpt taken from a hymn in the Liturgy of
the Exaltation of the Holy Cross which expresses our adoration and confidence
in the power of the Cross: “Now the
Church in every place honors and adores your cross, for she has been saved from
sin to inherit life on high…May the children of the Church find shelter and
their strength in the shadow of your cross.” As visually seen in the icons
throughout the video Jesus’ death is life-giving. It does not stop at the
crucifixion. In our Maronite theology we eagerly await with joy Jesus’
victorious resurrection and prepare ourselves with prayer, sacrifices and good
works for his second coming.
In addition, the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection for us
is the “feast of all feasts” where we gladly celebrate Christ’s victory over
death, sin and darkness, and praise him, proclaiming “Christ is risen! He is
truly risen! In the prayer of
forgiveness for the feast of the Glorious Resurrection we rejoice and cry out: “On Friday the King endured pain and was
crucified, and today victory has been achieved by his resurrection! On Friday a
lance pierced his side and today in his compassion the waters of Baptism flow!
On Friday he was crowned with thorns, and today he has adorned his Church with
a crown of splendor!” We believe as Maronites that Jesus Christ in his
humanity and divinity was raised up by the power of God. The Resurrection of
Jesus is seen as a great light, a source of reconciliation with the Father, and
new life as children of God.
Connection between Maronite Icons & Discipleship Today
I chose to incorporate the Maronite Icons to accentuate both
Jesus’ humanity and divinity, and I believe this is key in teaching the youth a
balanced Christology; Christ is fully divine and fully human. I intentionally begin
with a high Christology following the Maronite Liturgical cycle, at the Incarnation
where the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she is going to be the Mother of
God, and then integrate this with a low Christology focusing on the life,
healings, teachings, death and resurrection of the man Jesus of Nazareth. Specifically,
I see the Icons of Jesus’ public ministry of teaching and healings (such as the
parable of the Prodigal Son and the healing of the Hemorrhaging Woman) as an
effective way of connecting the youth to the person of Jesus Christ, and to their
own call to discipleship today. These visual Icons and the stories and lessons
they convey have a powerful impact on the imagination, especially for young
people who are on the whole visual learners.
My hope is that in viewing these icons and listening to the
oud (traditional Arabic string instrument) playing in the background, the youth
will reflectively enter into Jesus’ world of compassion, humility, and
unconditional mercy, and grow in their desire to bring about positive change in
this “messy” world. In essence, discipleship
is following the radical way of Christ, in denying oneself (letting go of the
ego) and taking on his humble mindset of living out his compassion (especially
to those in need); to extend the just and hopeful reign of God. Purposefully, I
inserted photos of service and mission, such as working in food pantries to
show the reality of what discipleship could entail in living out the fruits
(joy, love, light, dignity) of the Cross and Resurrection. Paradoxically, the cross,
which appeared to be a sign of defeat over Jesus of Nazareth, actually reveals
the emptiness of all oppressive power and social/political structures. On the
other hand, the resurrection of Jesus reinforces the liberating reign of God
among us today. My ultimate aim in this video presentation is to empower the
youth to be instruments of Christ’s grace, in continuing Jesus’ liberating and
healing work of redemption in our communities, by being disciples of solidarity,
peace and hope; so urgently needed in our present world.