iSeek Camp - Sydney Australia

Sister Therese Maria, Maronite Servant of Christ the Light,  gave a presentation at the Saint Charbel's iSeek Camp for  teens in Sydney Australia on January 19 while on her home visit.   The topic was "Goodness Gracious Me: Everything is Grace" with an emphasis on understanding the definition of grace and practical ways to grow in grace through a daily prayer life, frequenting the mysteries, daily reading of the Word of God and the lives of the saints.  iSeek Camp is a program to help teens encounter Christ in new and meaningful ways through social and spiritual activities. Sister Therese Maria will be joined by Mother Marla Marie in Sydney during the first two weeks of February to offer retreats and  vocation efforts.  Readers can follow their mission on the blog RadiateHisLight.blogspot.com, updated weekly.  

CATECHESIS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH

Season of the Glorious Epiphany - Baptism of the Lord

(By Father Anthony J. Salim as printed in the parish of St. Joseph's bulletin)

The Baptism of the Lord as a Model for Initiation

The Gospels speak of his baptism in the Jordan River as the first event of Jesus’ adult life. In fact, both Mark and John begin their historical treatment of Jesus’ life with the events surrounding the Baptism. (Only Matthew and Luke tell us about the Birth and Infancy of Jesus. Luke adds the theological account of the Finding in the Temple and moves from Jesus at 12 years old to his adult baptism. There is no need to ask what happened to Jesus between twelve and thirty; Luke just says that Jesus lived obediently in Nazareth.) The importance of the Baptism story, from a Gospel standpoint, is that Jesus is revealed as Messiah and divine Son of God (also a new phase in his ministry) and sent by the Spirit to the desert to ponder in depth his mission in the Plan of the Father. For the East the Baptism of Jesus, with its voice from the Father in Heaven and the appearance of the Holy Spirit “like a dove,” is a “theophany,” or revelation of the divinity of Jesus. (The Western emphasis at Epiphany on the visit of the Magi to the stable to worship the same divine Child serves the same purpose—Christ is the “Light to the Nations” Is 42:6b].) As an analogy in the life of the Christian, our baptism elevates us to a new relationship with the Trinity and to the Church. Our Chrismation gives us a deeper share in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and propels us on our missionary goal of living and sharing new life in the Spirit. This might be termed our “Chrismational” calling.

The Liturgical Year: Denho, the Season of Epiphany

The Eastern Churches in general begin the post-Christmas Season of Epiphany with the commemoration of the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan River (6 January). (The West celebrates the Baptism slightly later.) At one time this feast was not separate from Christmas but became distinct when the Church began to celebrate the Birth of the Messiah on 25 December. The Maronite Church values the Epiphany Gospel truth so much that a whole liturgical season is built around it. It is a time when the Maronite Church takes between two to six Sundays (depending on how early or late Lent begins) to reflect upon the consequences of Initiation for the Christian. Both feast and season are important from the point of view of the catechumenate as well. The tradition of some of the Syriac Churches sees the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord as the proper day of reception of catechumens and of candidates (note the distinction) into the Church. (Any catechumenate process yet to be developed for the Syriac East will have to take this into account.)

First Profession of Vows - Sister Therese Maria Touma

Please watch, like, comment and re-post our latest video footage of the First Profession of Vows on December 12, 2012. 
Join us in praying for vocations to grow our mission. 

Glorious Birth of Our Lord

Glorious Birth of Our Lord

(From Prayer of the Faithful According to the Maronite Liturgical Year)
The Divine Liturgy in the Maronite tradition often mentions the title "Mary, Mother of the Light." The opening prayer of the liturgy used to mention it every day. This title is rich in theological and spiritual significance and is indeed one of the treasures of the Maronite Church. The image of light conveys a sense of joy, festivity, and life. Religion uses the image of light to express the notion of purity and the presence of God, Since light is the element which is proper to the divine Being, from ancient times the pagans adored the sun. At the end of December, the pagans celebrated a feast dedicated to the "Unconquerable Sun." In fact, on December 21^st the nights, which had been becoming longer and longer, begin to shorten. The ancients celebrated this conquest of the light over the darkness.

When Constantine granted freedom for Christians to worship publicly, it was appropriate to replace the celebration of the Unconquerable Sun, with the Feast of the New Sun of the world, to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Light of the world (John 3: 19).

The image of light is found throughout salvation history. The Aramaic Fathers of the Antiochene tradition teach us that creation is a preparation for the incarnation of the Son of God. All was created by the Father, through the Son. Scripture tells us that the first thing that was created is the sun: it is the heavenly body which gives forth light, warmth and life itself. The sun is the image of the Son of God because Christ himself is that light which comes from heaven. As a ray of light coming through a cloud, he appeared from the Virgin Mary. When God created the world, he separated the light from the darkness and throughout the Old Testament, one finds the light and the darkness contrasted with one another. In the New Testament, there is a constant struggle between the light and the darkness.

The genealogy in the gospel account of Matthew describes the human ancestry of Jesus and, as such, lists the sinners whose sins Jesus had to bear. This is the side of darkness in the spiritual realm. Saint John describes Jesus as coming from God, light from light: "I have come to the world as its light to keep anyone who believes in me from remaining in the dark" (John 12: 46). The account of the birth of Jesus contains the image of light throughout. The shepherds saw a great light, "The glory of the Lord shone around them" (Luke 2:9). The Magi saw a brilliant star in the skies, and followed it (Matthew 2: 9-11). The shepherds said, "let us go", and the Magi said, "we saw a light and we came” (Luke 2:15; Matthew 2:2).

Throughout the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we find the image of light used to express his divinity. His baptism was a true revelation and, as such, a great enlightenment. During the transfiguration, Jesus was surrounded by light (Matthew 17: 2-5). When Jesus died on the cross, darkness came upon the earth (Matthew 27:45) and the soldier, standing at the foot of the cross, was moved to say, ''Truly, this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54). The resurrection itself was blinding light (Matthew 28:2). The descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is described as "tongues of fire" (Acts 2: 3). Upon seeing a great light and being thrown from his horse, Saul came to believe (Acts 9:3). While in prison, Peter saw a bright light and was freed from his chains (Acts 12:6). Just as the shepherds and Magi saw and followed the light, we who have seen the Light must follow. Jesus told us, "Walk while you have the light" (John 2: 19; 5:34; 12: 35-36). This feast of the Birth of Our Lord, the Light of the world, should be an incentive for us to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).

"The night shall be no more. They will need no light from lamps or the sun, for the Lord God shall give them light and they shall reign forever" (Revelation 22:5).