Happy New Liturgical Year
Welcome to the new liturgical year in our Maronite Church. This no ordinary New Year’s celebration; rather it is an upwards spiral-like movement towards God. The Liturgical year takes us on a prayerful journey towards the Kingdom of God. It gyrates around the mystery and revelation of the Holy Trinity; the salvific plan of the Father, the life and passion of the Son and the communion and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The liturgical year is divided into seasons, these being: The Glorious Birth of our Lord, the Glorious Epiphany, Three weeks of Commemorations, Great Lent, Passion Week, the Glorious Resurrection, Glorious Pentecost and finally the season of the Glorious Cross.
Some people feel that the liturgical year is a routine repetition of occasions and feasts. This is not true! Each year we enter more deeply into the splendour of the liturgy and we discover more and more the reality of our Lord Jesus Christ in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Do you ever notice how each time you listen to a particular passage from the Gospel or the Epistles you discover and learn something new? It is the same with the different seasons. Although they are repeated through the liturgy, each time we participate in them we experience something new in our relationship with each person of the Holy Trinity. This means that each year that both the Church and the faithful live and experience deeper faith which elevates us towards the Holy Trinity so that we can be united with it and with each other.
It is fitting that we start the year off with the Sunday of the Consecration of the Church. To consecrate is to become holy and this is our personal goal in life and the purpose of the Church. The Jewish people looked to the Temple as their means of holiness and salvation. However, we Christians look to the new Temple, the new Holy of Holies, the new High Priest – our Lord Jesus Christ who is our source of holiness and salvation. Therefore, as you can see, we have a lot to celebrate! If you haven’t already done so, it is not too late to make some new resolutions for the New Year. May you all have a holy new year filled with the grace and magnificence of the holy and most blessed Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
On a parish note, I would like to thank the Teens and their leaders for organising and participating in the Car Wash last Sunday. As always, you did a great job and our cars have never been cleaner. Keep up the great work. Also, the Seniors on Thursday had a wonderful day filled with Mass, Lunch, singing, dancing and plenty of activities. The Seniors committee do a wonderful job every time and our sincere thanks to them for everything that they do. Finally, a very warm welcome back to Monsignor Shora who came back on Thursday from the United States.
Fr Tony Sarkis
New Resolutions all round!
Brothers and Sisters,
Today marks the conclusion of the Synod on the Family in the Vatican. While there is much speculation and debate on what the resolutions will be, let us keep the door open for the Holy Spirit to continue his work so that the outcomes of the Synod can benefit the church family on a personal, social and spiritual level. The church fathers with their differing views and perspectives have worked tirelessly to ensure that the church can effectively nurture the needs of the family in this day and age, so let us continue to keep them all in our prayers and call on the Holy Spirit to work the will of the Father through their actions and the decisions that they take.
Last Sunday, 38 couples participated in the married couple’s retreat which was prepared by the Family Committee of our parish at St Joseph’s Retreat Centre, Baulkham Hills. The theme of the retreat was “Keepers of the Flame” and the couples reflected throughout the day on keeping the flame alight in their marriage. This was achieved through two excellent speakers, Robyn Moore who spoke about the practical and personal experience of married life and our very own Nehme Khattar who spoke about the spiritual experience through the unity of the Holy Trinity. It was a wonderful day where the couples were able to put everything aside and concentrate on their relationship through the talks, private time together, adoration and Mass. It was also a good way of meeting other couples who are like-minded so that new relationships can develop through the parish family. It was truly a great day for all involved and I thank the Family Committee for ensuring that it was so successful.
At the retreat the couples were asked to make some new resolutions for their marriage in the coming year. As we begin the new liturgical year next week and in order for you to work on your spiritual growth, it is a good time to also start thinking about what your new liturgical year resolutions will be for this coming year. This might be something as simple as making an additional effort to pray the rosary every day with your family or attending a week day Mass, or helping someone in need. It can also include things like, being more patient, more hopeful, and more positive and so on. Do not put additional pressure on yourself but rather start with the simple things.
I pray that the new liturgical year will help you to grow in holiness as you grow with the beautiful treasure that is our Maronite Liturgy.
Positivity, Hope and Patience is the sign of the Cross
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our journey through the Season of the Glorious Cross is coming to an end with only one more week to go before we begin the new liturgical season and our preparations for the birth of our Lord.
This week we reflect on the faith of the five wise bridesmaids who showed not only wisdom in their actions but also a sense of positivity, hope and patience. We can compare these three attributes to the cross. The cross is not about suffering and pain; rather it is a sign of these three attributes in the following ways:
- Positivity: Our Lord who indeed is very positive invites us to come to what he has positively accomplished on the cross so that we can become one with His Father. For this reason, no matter how burdensome our life becomes, we need to stay positive because of what has been accomplished for us. We must have positive outlook in all things in a Christ-like manner.
- Hope: The cross is a sign of the victory of hope over hopelessness. Although we are faced with many challenges in life, we must never lose sight of the hope of the resurrection. It is through this very event that hope triumphed over hopelessness. We as Christians are called to do the same thing and help those who are tempted to lose hope so that they can see that hope truly triumphs.
- Patience: If we can describe Christ’s life and passion in one word then that word would be patience. The culmination of patience was his patience in suffering on the cross. There is so much in this word; humility, submissiveness, contentment and calmness. As a culture, we are very impatient; however we must allow Christ’s patience to be manifested in our lives so that we too can patiently endure the pains of this life and bow down to the will of God.
The wise bridesmaids didn’t have the symbol of the cross in their lives, however their faith in the bridegroom together with their positive outlook, hope and patience secured them a seat at his banquet. Unfortunately, the others missed out! We however, do have the symbol of the cross prominently in our lives. Let us do our best so that we do not miss out.
On a parish note, we have the Teens car wash today which I thank the Teen leaders for organizing. We are extremely proud of your contributions to our parish family for all that you do especially in providing formation to our teens. Also, today we have the married couples retreat. Here too, I would like to thank the Family Committee for its organization of this retreat and for all their contributions in accompanying our families in their spiritual and social journey.
On a final note, I ask you to keep in your prayers our Church Fathers who continue their work in Rome at the Synod on the Family. I hope to see you around the parish during the week.
