Easter Celebrations

By Therese Touma
On our way to Poughkeepsie, New York, Mother Marla Marie’s home town, the Maronite Servants stopped over to celebrate morning Liturgy for Resurrection Sunday at St Anthony of the Desert in Springfield. After Divine Liturgy, we attended the Coffee Hour and enjoyed meeting the families of the parish.

For Easter Sunday, Mr. Lucas, Mother Marla Marie’s father invited us to the Family Easter Dinner at a restaurant in Poughkeepsie. We enjoyed meeting her family members, most for the first time, and listening to their childhood stories, as they also shared some of their family history, photos and experiences growing up.

Sister Marla Marie with her father, brothers and sisters, and niece. 

On our way home, on Easter Monday, we stopped over at the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge. We were blessed to arrive in time to join in the sung prayer of the Chaplet of Mercy and Benediction.

Spring Newsletter

Read our spring news and Easter wishes.  May the light of this glorious season of the resurrection illumine your heart.

These are some scenes from our worship in Passion Week.
Hosanna Sunday,  St. Anthony in Lawrence MA

Rite of the Lamp, St. Theresa in Brockton MA

SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION (PASCHA)

by Aboona Anthony J. Salim

The resurrection of the Christ our Lord is the greatest saving event. All the events of our salvation flow from it and to it. The resurrection is the Feast of All Feasts. Our whole liturgical Year is centered upon it, because no liturgical celebration occurs unless in the presence of Christ raised and glorified, Christ’s Spirit, Christ the Lord, first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

First Reading: Philippians 2: 1-11
The unity among the believers does not occur except in a life of humility, self denial, the service of others, in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus. This was expressed in this ancient hymn used by Saint Paul, pointing out the different phases of the mystery of Christ: his eternal presence in the form of God the Father, his coming in the flesh in human likeness, his death on the cross, his exaltation and glorification, and the worship of the universe to him under his new name, “Lord.”

Gospel: Matthew 28: 1-10
The empty and open tomb, the revelation of the angel: “The Lord is not here, because he has been raised!”; the women disciples’ experience, the appearances of Jesus to his men and women disciples after his resurrection: These are the ancient proofs of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead, as preserved by the primary apostolic and evangelical tradition.

LITURGICAL COMMENTARY:
In our Maronite Tradition, the long-standing title for this central feast of our Faith is “The Big Feast.” This is because the Resurrection is the centerpiece of Christian belief. In fact, in ALL Traditions of Catholic heritage, EVERY SUNDAY IS TO BE CONSIDERED A MEMORIAL OF EASTER. In Christian spirituality, Christ is always in glory, no matter what season of the Liturgical Year the Church is celebrating. For example, even as we prepare for Christmas and the Birthday of the Infant Savior, we realize that we are celebrating the Risen Christ in glory.
The Eastern Traditions use the greeting, “Christ is risen!” to which one responds, “He is truly risen!” This can be said all throughout the six weeks of the Eastern Season, up to and including the great feast of Pentecost.

(Father Anthony J. Salim is pastor of St. Theresa's Maronite Church in Brockton, MA; and the author of "Captivated By Your Teachings", a Maronite Catechism for adults. 

Blessing of the Holy Oils

On Tuesday the 23rd of March, the Maronite Servants traveled to Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Brooklyn to attend the Divine Liturgy with the Blessings of the Holy Oils. Bishop Gregory Mansour concelebrated the Liturgy along with Chorbishop Michael Thomas, Abouna James Root, several other priests and deacons from our Eparchy. During the Liturgy, Bishop Gregory blessed the two holy oils present – the Oil of the Catechumens used at the Mysteries of Baptism and the Ordination of Priests and the Oil of the Sick used for the Anointing of the Sick. The third Holy Oil used in the Holy Mysteries of the Church – the Oil of Chrism – was not blessed in Brooklyn, but rather will be blessed by our Patriarch in Lebanon during Holy Week and then distributed to all the Maronite Churches in the world.