ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS
Jesus had twelve Apostles, but He also had many other followers whom He called disciples. Jesus walked with two of these disciples, Cleopas and his companion, along the road to Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. The disciples are downhearted, because they believed Jesus would free them from the power of the Romans, and they think he remains dead. Jesus wanted to comfort them and bring them to true faith in Him and then to be His witnesses. But as they walked along, the disciples did not recognize Him. Jesus gradually reveals the Resurrection to them. First, He explains all that referred to Him in the Scripture. He showed how the promised Messiah would have to suffer, but then die and rise again.
As Catholics, we believe that the Scripture is the inspired word of God, but we must understand Scripture as the Church understands it. Before there was a New Testament, there was the Church. The Church encourages us to read Sacred Scripture. In fact, St. Jerome said: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”
As they are fed with the word, Cleopas and his companion have new and lasting hope. Jesus pretends to continue along the road, but his disciples plead with Him by saying “Stay with us.” Still, they don’t recognize him. It is only when He took the bread, blessed and broke it that the disciples recognized Jesus. The “breaking of the bread” was a term the early Christians used to describe the Eucharist. At every liturgy, we have an experience similar to these disciples. First, we are fed with the word of God. Then we are fed with the Eucharist in which we receive Jesus in His body, blood, souls and divinity.
The Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives. It is the source, because Jesus says “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). He also says “Unless you eat my body and drink my blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53).The Eucharist is the summit, because there is no more perfect union with Jesus which we can experience on this earth than receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus says “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him” (John 6:56).
The Eucharist is a ledge of eternal life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist worthily, He helps to separate us from sin, cleanses us of venial sins, strengthens virtue, prevents future mortal sins, renews, strengthens and deepens our incorporation into the Church.
The disciples were strengthened through the word which Jesus explained to them. They recognized Jesus by the “breaking of the bread”. Now they return to Jerusalem to let the eleven remaining Apostles know what has happened. When we leave the Liturgy we go into the world. We should seek opportunities to tell people what God has done for us, what happens at every Liturgy, when we have an opportunity to be fed by the word of God, to be united with Our Lord and Savior in the Eucharist and to receive Him who is our pledge of eternal life.
ANNUAL BISHOP’S APPEAL
We kindly ask you to respond to the Eparchial Appeal for this year. We appeal to each one of you to give generously so we can meet our goal. Please be generous to extend a hand of support to our mission.
St. Raymond’s has collected $4,270.00 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.
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. Following the Ordination there will be a celebration lunch in the Cedars Hall.
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.
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!!
NAM Convention
Flyers for the NAM Convention hosted by the Maronite Parish of San Francisco are available in the vestibule. We encourage you to consider joining all the Maronites nationwide for this special gathering from July 6-July 10, 2016.
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.
Kitchen Scoop
Monday April 11th- Rolling Grape leaves @ 8:30 am
Wednesday s Preparing Lunch 8 am– 11am and
Serving lunch on the line 11:00am–1:30pm
Carry-Out 11am- 2pm
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.
Men’s Society Golf Tournament
On Sunday June 5th, the Men’s Society will be hosting their Annual Golf Tournament in Memory of Mike Buckley. The Golf Tournament will take place at Union Hills Golf Course. Registration and Sponsorship forms are available in the vestibule of the church.
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.
Communion Verses
The traditional verses chanted at communion represent the Church's affirmation that she was constituted through the Body and Blood of Christ. The English term "communion", as used by Christians, conveys this extended meaning. On the one hand, we speak of receiving communion to signify our individual partaking of the Eucharist. On the other hand, all Christians, as members of Christ, are also called to form a communion and, it is the Eucharist that brings about this unity. The Second Vatican Council teaches us that the Eucharist is the "sign and cause of unity." The Communion verses then look to the end of history when the members of the Church face judgement. However, just as the sacrifices of old were used to petition God's mercy, so the Church sees the Eucharist as our intercessor before "God's awesome throne."
The Distribution of Communion
In distributing the Eucharist to the congregation, the priests and deacons pray for two effects, namely, that the Eucharist brings the "forgiveness of sins", and be a vehicle for "eternal life". The present practice of the Maronite Church is to distribute the Eucharist by intinction. In ancient times, communion consisted usually of leavened bread and both the bread and wine were received by the faithful. The practice of giving communion to infants existed in the Maronite Church until the sixteenth or seventeenth century. Another ancient practice was the custom of receiving the consecrated bread in the hands and touching it to the eyes, and also touching the fingers to one's lips still moist from the consecrated wine and touching the eyes, brows and sense organs. These gestures done with great piety were intended to symbolize the Eucharist purifying the senses. This practice has long since been abandoned, but is sometimes implied in some of the communion prayers in the Liturgy.
Communion Hymns
Recalling the "communion of Saints" and also the power of the Eucharist after death, a traditional Maronite communion hymn presents the Church praying for the faithful departed. It also, affirms the efficacy of offering sacrifice for the dead. It speaks of the Eucharist obtaining pardon for the deceased. The hymn declares that the Christ who had the power and compassion to bring Lazarus and the widow's son back to life, can do the same for the faithful departed. It also recalls that as Christ taught that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob live on in God, so also will those deceased who are now being remembered. The hymn prays that the remembrance made by the earthly church be reflected at the altar of the Heavenly Jerusalem.
The Eucharist is described as a bridge and safe passage through the terrors of death, bringing the deceased through the darkness into light. The hymn concludes that the action of the living offering sacrifice for the dead brings joy to the angels and hope to mortals.
The Eucharist is described as a bridge and safe passage through the terrors of death, bringing the deceased through the darkness into light. The hymn concludes that the action of the living offering sacrifice for the dead brings joy to the angels and hope to mortals.
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 April 3rd-April 10th
Income:$3,764.60
Expenses: $9,768.92
This does not include Wednesday lunch
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