Pope Benedict in Lebanon

by His Excellency, Bishop Gregory J. Mansour
Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn

Over fifteen years ago, Blessed John Paul II visited Lebanon. He met with youth, religious and civic leaders, and everywhere he went the streets were packed. What hope he brought! What joy! What confidence for a brighter future! During this historic visit he offered his much quoted word of encouragement: “Lebanon is more than a country, it is a message for East and West.” Lebanon has never been the same! A few years ago in the spirit of the Blessed Pontiff, Lebanese Muslims and Christians together petitioned the government saying that there are Muslim feast days and Christian feast days, but no Muslim-Christian feast day in Lebanon. It was therefore decided that March 25 every year was to be set aside as the first ever in the whole world, Muslim-Christian feast day, to prove there is still great power and joy in the “message” that is Lebanon!

Read more...

Fall Newsletter

Please take a look at our newsletter for the Fall. 

Maronite Catechesis Workshop - Atlanta.

By Cecilia Romero

St Joseph Church of Atlanta, GA held its first Maronite Catechetical Workshop on Labor Day weekend, Sept 2 and 3, 2012. Sister Marla Marie Lucas was our guest catechtical presenter who guided the three session workshop over two days. Experienced and new catechists of different generations from our church were present. Sister Marla Marie's main theme was based on scripture: " Go and Make Disciples " Mat 28: 19 - 20. During the talks, Sister reminded us to take confidence since the catechetical program is God's program. She began the workshop with an excellent video/song about the impact that catechists make on their students. Sister then talked about the mission and journey of faith with emphasis of the roles of the catechists, the pastor, the families and the children. Sister gave us valuable Maronite information and resources to use for the program. She also spent time teaching us the six tasks of catechesis: promoting knowledge of the faith, liturgical education, moral formation, teaching to pray, building up our Maronite Christian communities and missionary initiative. In Sunday's session, Sister Marla Marie offered a presentation on praying with children. The session ended with the catechists praying before the tabernacle. Then each catechist was presented with a certificate by Deacon Bob Calabrese. On behalf of all the catechists and our Pastor Fr. Dominique Hanna, we gratefully thank Sister Marla Marie for her presentations which are invaluable sources of information that will help guide us to be more effective catechists to our children. It is our hope that Sister Marla Marie can give a future regional Maronite catechesis workshop in the southeast area.

MYO Atlanta - Lock In Retreat

At the MYO-MYA Lock-in held September 2^nd to September 3^rd Sr. Therese Maria gave an interactive presentation titled “Thirsty? Come to the Life-giving Well”  to forty young people at St. Joseph’s parish hall. The afternoon session included: an opening ice-breaker “balloon pop”, a PowerPoint, prayer from the psalms, reflective questions, singing, group sharing, trivia questions, prizes and Scripture activities.

Sr. Therese Maria reflects, “On the whole, I felt that the group responded positively to the presentation as they asked great questions, listened attentively and contributed well in the group sharing. The objective of the talk was to help young people to discover their deep need and thirst for God, and how they can quench their thirst for true love and communion by developing and nurturing an intimate friendship with Jesus, the eternal thirst-quencher! I gave them five tips to help them to do this in their daily lives. Here they are:

1. Pray every day and live in God loving presence each moment.

2. Read and live the Word of God and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you.

3. Read the inspiring lives of the saints especially our Maronite saints.

4. Go to Divine Liturgy each Sunday and be present to the awesomeness of what is happening.

5. Go to Confession regularly and receive the gift of Jesus’ merciful love & forgiveness.”

 

 

Women’s Retreat - California

The Maronite Servants of Christ the Light traveled to Southern California to facilitate a women’s retreat for Saint John Maron parish in Orange County.   A parishioner opened her home in Lake Arrowhead for the venue which offered a beautiful setting for retreat.  We began with 20 women on Friday evening August 24^th and concluded Sunday morning with Divine Liturgy back at the parish church.   

Fr. Antoine Bakh, pastor, and the retreatants warmly welcomed us with their gracious hospitality. On the Saturday evening, Fr. Tony came to the mountain home to hear confessions and to bring the Blessed Sacrament for Eucharistic Adoration.

During the retreat, Mother Marla Marie gave three presentations on: finding strength, light and healing in the prayers of the Maronite Liturgy, how to reflect on the scriptures through Lectio Divina, and the importance and blessings of the Mysteries of the Eucharist and Penance.

Below are reflections from two of the retreatants:

“Your presence and spiritual guidance, at our first Saint John Maron women's retreat made the occasion ever more special and meaningful. Hearing how God called you into your vocations gave witness to His love and mercy in all of our lives.  I believe the light you radiated at the retreat gave us all greater insight, knowledge, respect and appreciation for our Maonite traditions and provided that feminine dimension of our church, that is so much needed here, in the United States.   Seeing you later, meeting, greeting, and speaking with our parishioners and youth gave me such a great feeling of hope for our church.”    Pattie

”The Woman's Retreat was such a success in so many ways . Everyone of the woman have not stopped talking about how each of them were ministered to in such a beautiful way with much love and kindness.  The combination of the Teachings and the Holiness of our Maronite Prayers, Songs and  Tradition  made it perfect for all the woman. It would not of been the same if we had arranged to have the retreat with someone else. Thank you for giving of yourselves completely this weekend and all of us are looking forward to you coming back in 2013.”  Regina