NEW SUNDAY
New Sunday is the eighth day of the Church’s celebration of the resurrection. The first week of the Season of Resurrection, the Week of Hawareyeen, has come to a conclusion. During this week we have seen the various appearances of the Lord: to Mary Magdalene, the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, to Peter, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and the disciples gathered in the upper room. Now the appearances of the Lord are over. In overcoming the hesitation of Thomas, the Lord revealed to the apostles the truth of the Resurrection. Christ is risen, truly risen!
New Sunday once and for all puts an end to the old way of looking at the Lord. He is no longer revealed in the flesh (as the disciples experienced him during his life with them); nor in glory (as Thomas did). From now on, he is revealed in Spirit, through the experience of faith and in the Mysteries (sacraments). Only in the Spirit is there a sharing in his mystery of redemption. His word is crystal clear and resounds for all ages and generations:
“You have become a believer,
Because you saw me.
Blessed are they who have not
Seen and have believed.”
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
The Catholic church celebrates this Sunday the Divine Mercy Feast. Clearly, Divine Mercy Sunday is not a new feast; it was established to celebrate St. Faustina’s revelations. The second Sunday of Easter was already a solemnity as the Octave Day of Easter; the title, “Divine Mercy Sunday” does highlight and amplify the meaning of the Day. In this way, it recovers an ancient liturgical tradition, reflected in a teaching attributed to St. Augustine about the Easter octave, which he called “the days of mercy and pardon,” and the octave day itself “the compendium of the days of mercy.”Liturgically, the Easter octave has always been centered on the theme of Divine Mercy and forgiveness.
Divine Mercy Sunday, therefore, points out the merciful love of God that lies behind the Paschal Mystery-the whole mystery of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ—made present for us in the Eucharist. Divine Mercy Sunday is meant to be the day of “thanksgiving for the goodness God has shown to us in the whole Easter mystery.”
ANNUAL BISHOP’S APPEAL
Our Annual Bishop’s Appeal calls us to be mindful that we are members of a larger Maronite Catholic community that encompasses a vast territory with existing challenges and growing needs. As the Bishop reported in his invitation to us, the Annual Bishop’s Appeal benefits the assistance for retired priests, seminarians, the Shrine, aid to Mission Parishes, Youth and Young Adult Ministries, and other vital ministries key to the life of our Eparchy. I ask you to please be generous in supporting the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. The goal for Saint Raymond Cathedral Parish is $8,500.00 and I am asking each family to be as generous as possible. Please make checks payable to Saint Raymond Cathedral Parish to receive a tax credit for your donation. The Eparchy counts on parishes to make their goals in order for the ministries of the Eparchy to flourish. If Saint Raymond’s falls short in reaching our goal, we will need to meet the goal by using funds from the Sunday Collection, which funds are already earmarked for our own budget. In this Holy Year of Mercy, I ask that you prayerfully consider a donation to assist the Eparchy in this most worthy appeal.
St. Raymond’s has collected $3,920.00 so far and our goal is $8,500.00. If we don’t reach our goal, the parish has to make up the difference. We have to reach our goal by the end of April.
Please be generous and support the Eparchy. Thank you.
Ladies Society
The Ladies Society will hold their monthly meeting on Tuesday April 5th at 7pm in the Lebanon room. Everyone is welcome!
Men’s Society
The Men’s Society will hold their monthly meeting on Thursday April 7th. Liturgy at 6pm , dinner at 6:30 pm, followed by the meeting at 7pm in the Lebanon room. Everyone is welcome!
Please join
St. Raymond’s Cathedral
Ladies Society
“Showering”
Our Lady’s Inn
We will be collecting baby items for
the month of April. Please place your generous donation in the boxes.
Thank you for your generosity!!
Festival Meeting
Please join us for our first festival meeting on Thursday April 14th 7pm in the Lebanon room. The festival is September 17th and 18th.
MYO Hafli — April 30th at 7:00pm
Come join the fun (you only have to dance if you want to). We will provide pizza and soda. Bring something to share (chips, fruit, veggies, etc) and plan to have a great time! Young people ages (13-18) are encouraged to attend and participate. Current 8th graders should come too and get to know MYO.
RSVP Susan DuBois text 636-579-3442 so we know how much pizza to order.
Chorbishop Moussa would like to extend his thanks and gratitude for all those who expressed their thoughtfulness and Easter wishes.
Thank You
Sincere thanks to those who donated canned goods during Lent . May God reward you with abundant blessings.
Save the Date
On Sunday May 22nd one liturgy will be celebrated at 10 am during which His Excellency Bishop A. Elias Zaidan will ordain Mr. David Wahby and Mr. Anthony Simon to the ministry of Sub-deacon. More details to follow in the next bulletin.
Kitchen Scoop
Monday April 4th- Making Tabouli @ 8:30 am / The Kitchen will not be Rolling Cabbage, but will be Rolling Grape Leaves.
Tuesdays Making Kibbi Aras @ 8:30 am
Wednesday s Preparing Lunch 8 am– 11am and Serving lunch on the line 11:00am–1:30pm Carry-Out 11am- 2pm
Sincere thanks to all the volunteers who helped in the kitchen on Palm Sunday.
In Defense of Christians (IDC)
In Defense of Christians is a nonprofit organization committed to the preservation and protection of Christians in the Middle East. IDC’s goals are to unite the Middle Eastern Christians, to make the general public more aware of the plight of Christians there, and to stand in solidarity with the Christian communities in the region. A chapter of IDC will be established here in St. Louis. Anyone interested in participating or being a part of this chapter, please contact the Rectory (314-621-0056).
A meeting for all participants in IDC will be held on Tuesday April 19th at 7pm at the Cedars Hall. Your support and presence are appreciated.
Sub-Deacon Candidate’s Corner
As part of our formation, one of the goals of our ministry is to help parishioners develop a greater understanding of our rich Maronite Catholic History and Heritage. In furtherance of that goal we will be adding a short explanation to each bulletin about some aspect of our faith. This continues the discussion about our Maronite Liturgy.
Holy Things for the Holy "Having prayed over the faithful, the celebrant raises the oblations and declares: "Holy Things for the Holy". This declaration can be understood in two ways. First, the celebrant is declaring that the participants have been and will be sanctified by the holy elements of the Eucharist. A second interpretation is that the celebrant is cautioning that the Eucharist should be received only by those who are worthy. The proclamation by the celebrant of "Holy Things for the Holy" can be seen as the completion of an extended rite of penance taking place within the Eucharistic celebration. As already noted, this rite is based on the affirmation that the Eucharist is a sacrificial act for forgiveness. We recall that the one sacrifice of Christ merits forgiveness for all people for all time. Each individual celebration of the Eucharist is a participation of that one historical sacrifice. The Divine Liturgy reminds us of this reality continuously in many of its prayers, whether during the Anaphora or in the prayers after communion. As we also have noted, the invocation of the Holy Spirit on the oblations signifies the presence of the healing and sanctifying Spirit of God. In the Lord's Prayer, the faithful ask for divine forgiveness, as they forgive those who have sinned against them. The Imposition of hands makes explicit the offer of forgiveness, and finally the proclamation of "Holy Things for the Holy" announces its reality to those who are contrite.
"Make Us Worthy, O Lord... "The celebrant and the congregation make their immediate preparation for communion by reciting the prayer "Make us worthy, O Lord..." The prayer begins by implying that we, humans, are unworthy of such an awesome gift and that it is the Lord Himself who renders us worthy. It then, affirms that our sanctification is achieved through our life "in Christ". Christ's human nature became the vehicle of holiness for human beings by force of the Incarnation. Now, we are called to be one body with Christ, and the Eucharist is the eminent means of our union with Christ. In the Old Testament, the blood shed in sacrifices offered to God was believed to have a purifying power and conveyed divine forgiveness. Receiving the Blood of Christ, who is the "Lamb of God who sacrificed Himself for us," brings about our forgiveness.
The Syriac Fathers develop the theme that the Eucharist is also a pledge or a guarantee of eternal life. The Eucharist being the presence of divinity protects us on the road from death to paradise. By receiving the Eucharist throughout our life, our mortality begins to take on immortality, and this new "mode of existence" survives our death. Finally, our goal in eternity is intimacy with God, which is the fulfillment of what we experience in the Eucharist in preliminary fashion here on earth. The celebrant presents the gifts to the faithful. In raising the paten, the celebrant and the congregation recall the teaching of Christ in John's Gospel that those who partake of him in faith inherit life. The celebrant raising the chalice reaffirms that Christ's Blood brings forgiveness.
The Syriac Fathers develop the theme that the Eucharist is also a pledge or a guarantee of eternal life. The Eucharist being the presence of divinity protects us on the road from death to paradise. By receiving the Eucharist throughout our life, our mortality begins to take on immortality, and this new "mode of existence" survives our death. Finally, our goal in eternity is intimacy with God, which is the fulfillment of what we experience in the Eucharist in preliminary fashion here on earth. The celebrant presents the gifts to the faithful. In raising the paten, the celebrant and the congregation recall the teaching of Christ in John's Gospel that those who partake of him in faith inherit life. The celebrant raising the chalice reaffirms that Christ's Blood brings forgiveness.
Taken from A Commentary on the Holy Mysteries: The Holy Mystery of Offering (Qorbono)
If you have questions about Catholic teaching or our Maronite tradition, or would like to suggest a topic, please email us or tell us the next time we see you. Thank you and God Bless.
Altar Servers
As we have announced in the past, we are still in great need of altar servers at ALL MASSES. We are looking for all interested BOYS AND GIRLS that would like to serve at mass to send an email to Tony or David. We would love to have more servers and can teach you everything you need to know. NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE NECESSARY
David (wahby@sbcglobal.net)
Weekly Finances March 27th-April 3rd
Income:$7,366.00
Expenses:$8,695.54
This does not include Wednesday lunch
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