Zacchaeus, Come down. Hurry, because I am to stay at your house today.’ (Lk 19: 5)
We are now in the eleventh Sunday of Pentecost, the Sunday of Jesus Christ’s visit to the tax collector, Zacchaeus, to change him and transform him into a new man who has rid himself of his old image.
The Lord’s meeting with Zacchaeus was not a coincidence. That man who was a tax collector for the Romans knew that the Master would pass along that road. Hisdesire to know Jesus made him climb a sycamore tree because he was too short so he could catch a glimpse of him. The Lord, however, caught Zacchaeus by surprise as he entered, by himself, the world of that man as soon as he spotted him. Jesus looked at him and told him that he would like to stay at his place, yet Zacchaeus had not asked him for anything.
Jesus knows that removing a tumour can only be done through a delicate surgery, and that this surgery needs a skilled physician equipped with sterile instruments and enough time to carry it out successfully. This was what Jesus did to Zacchaeus, the owner of the house. He stayed at his place long enough to treat him because he saw his desire to know him and to respond to him and fulfil his request with joy.
How happy that man was! His heart was touched by the kindness of that physician, Jesus, who healed him and he repented. Through that healing, he reclaimed his life which had been torn between the wrath of the Jews, the hatred of the Pharisees and the contempt of the people for him. He removed the cause of his shame by returning to each person their right twofold and distributing money to the poor.
We are called to reflect on our daily reality to purify it from impurities and mistakes, transforming it from a reali-ty of sin to a state of grace, turning the place we are staying in into a place of blessing so the Lord tells us that he would dwell in it to break our daily bread with him and to make him share in our joy. Do we really overcome all the difficulties in life to reach salvation through Jesus Christ like Zacchaeus the tax collector did?
On Tuesday 31 July, our Maronite Church celebrates the feast of the 350 Maronite martyrs who were disciples of Saint Maroun. Those monks who adhered to their Christian faith and were martyred in defending it were a sign of holiness and light.
The celebrations of our parish feast are drawing near. It is a time for us with Mary as we meet her and gather around her, praying to God to protect, through her intercession, our youth who are the hope and future of our Church and parish. Together we pray to her saying “Embrace our Youth O Morning Star.” The program of the spiritual and temporal celebrations is available at the entrance of the church. We invite you to participate in the celebrations so together we live the joy of the feast as one united family.
“Then the upright will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Mt 13:43)
Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ,
Between prayer, silence and work, lies a story called “Charbel”, a man “drunk in God” and still is! Yet the whole world is now drunk in his love and intercession! On the ninth Sunday of Pentecost, we continue our journey with the Holy Spirit who assures us, once more, that the Lord Jesus is still with his people and his Church through many signs, including his saints, as the Universal Church celebrates today, along with the Maronite Church, the feast of our great saint, Charbel.
Charbel might be one of the most silent saints, but he is also one of the most active workers in the vineyard of the Lord! The years pass whilst his sanctity is increasing! Humanity’s pains intensify whilst his halo is expanding! He left this world a long time ago, yet he is filling it with his presence! What’s the secret behind this majesty?
The majesty of this Saint is summarised in his three characteristics: prayer, silence and work. That is how he lived before becoming a monk, during his monastic life and afterwards, where he is now. Since childhood in his humble village of Bekaa Kafra until he died at the hermitage of Annaya, Charbel was a distinctive sign at his home, monastery and community. He lived in sanctity through the poverty of his family first and then through maintaining the monastic virtues of chastity, obedience and poverty in his convent. He renounced the world but the Lord filled it with many graces from his intercession. He chose the better share, and the Lord chose him to be amongst his most generous intercessors. From mount of Bekaa Kafra to the mount of hermitage in Annaya, and then to the mount of heaven, high peaks upon which Charbel landed with his humble body and giant spirit. Here he is now moving between the peaks of our passions and ailments, healing, appeasing and guiding. He never asked for money or power, never boasted in anything he did, never flexed his muscles because of anything he achieved, never asked for glory for himself or for his name to be immortalised. Yet, look where he is now!
The fragrance of his holiness is filling the earth. Everyone knows who Charbel is, that “simple, poor hermit at the heights of the mountains”, he is the great Saint to whom the Lord never says no. Why is that? Because the Lord is true to his word! Wasn’t him who said that the upright would shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father?
Saint Charbel was “drunk in God” and in love with the Lord Jesus, so he shone like a sun in the Kingdom of heaven.
Everyone of us, beloved brothers and sisters, can be a saint like Charbel. He was “one of us, lived in our midst and the son of our country.” But we have to choose between the glory of this ephemeral world or the eternal glory in heaven. The right choice starts by living like Saint Charbel, in prayer, silence and work, for our own good and the good of our community.
On the parish news, the work in the grotto area is continuing. I would like to thank all the people involved especially the members of the Stewardship Committee. On Wednesday 11 July, the teens had their gathering with more than 200 of them took part in the activities. This was a blessing and a good sign for the future of our parish. A big thank you to the Committee’s Chaplain Fr Danny Nouh and to all the Teens’ leaders. The preparations for the feast of our parish are continuing. There will be a meeting on Tuesday 31 July 8.00 pm at the pastoral centre for all volunteers who would like to assist on all levels. I would like to encourage our youths to join us. I wish you all a blessed feast.
“Look! My servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul delights…” (Mt 12:18)
Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ,
On the 8th Sunday of Pentecost, we live an experience with the Holy Spirit, the spirit of the Lord who drives the Church towards happiness and joy. On this Sunday, our Maronite Church celebrates the Feast of the Three Massabki Brothers: Francis, Abdul-Mooti and Raphael. The Massabki Brothers are a great example for the real meaning of this expression “Look! My servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul delights…” as the lives they lived and their martyrdom for their faith in Christ mirror this Sunday’s Bible.
During his life on earth, Jesus irritated the Pharisees and the leaders of the Jews because he exposed their hypocrisy and fanaticism and threatened their authority and status among the people. They conspired against him and planned to set him up, trying to get rid of him in many ways, until they crucified him. This was the culmination of their plot as those who did never meet together met against Jesus and those who never agreed amongst each other agreed to kill him.
Here we ask ourselves: does Jesus irritate us in our lives because of his statements? Does he irritate us with his teachings and his insistence on love, pardoning and forgiveness? Do we wish sometimes that we were not Christians imagining that we could then be “free to do what we want?”
We are in a perpetual war, and the Lord Jesus who is our Leader teaches us the art of spiritual battles, calling us to the confrontation: “I am sending you like sheep among wolves”, recommending us to be wise, humble and firm in the face of persecution, and granting us the Holy Spirit to work in us and to speak in us and through us.
The Three Massabki Brothers lived a life of faith which they defended to death. They knew that protecting their faith and defending it would mean silence, perseverance and trust in the one who says to us “and when you are handed over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say.” Their faith was so strong and firm that they defended it to death, to martyrdom, to become martyrs of the Church of the Lord.
This is our Maronite Church since its establishment. Her whole history is built on defending our faith in Christ with our blood. And as the Lord confirms to us, God does not forget this blood; a crown is awaiting the martyrs in heaven.
On the parish matters, the preparations to celebrate the parish feast in August (4-15) are well under way on every level. Thanks to all the members of the various committees and to all the parishioners for their efforts to make the feast a testimony of joy for the Lord and his Church. Our parish youths have attended the Maronite Youth Convention held under the theme “I have called you by Name”, meeting youths from other parishes around Australia for three days with the participation of his Excellency the Maronite Bishop Antoine Charbel Tarabay. We pray for our youths to be the spirited future of our parish and eparchy. On Wednesday 11 July, there will be an entertainment gathering for the teens in the parish under the theme “Our Heritage”… Be there in big numbers, we are waiting for you! I wish you a blessed week with the Lord.
