Sunday of the Sending of the Apostles
Matthew 10:16-25
In the passage of today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “ Remember, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves”. By saying this, Jesus tries to warn his disciples in advance that the mission He is giving them will expose them to rejection, hostility and violence.
The teaching of the Gospel challenges the ways of the world. The Gospel challenges people to live not for themselves, but for God and others. It declares certain things to be immoral and challenges people to reform their lives. Some people fall away from God in times of suffering. They don’t understand how bad times can happen to good people. But Jesus never promised an easy life for his disciples in this world. He warns us that His followers would suffer persecution . Jesus says, “ No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master”. If Christ was persecuted, so also will his faithful followers. Christ promises to give them inner strength by the power of the Holy Spirit to remain faithful in spite of persecution.
The persecution of Christians is not just a thing of the past. It continues to our present time and will occur until the end of time. Throughout history the faith has been rejected and Christians have been exiled, imprisoned, tortured and killed because of their witness fro Christ. It continues to happen in the Middle East, parts of Africa and other various places around the world.
If we want to be faithful to Christ, we will also suffer some type of persecution. We need to learn to accept it without becoming discouraged by it. It is difficult, because we all want to be understood, appreciated and respected. Studying the history of the church and the lives of the saints help us to understand how the message of the Gospel can survive and even thrive in spite of persecution. The early Christian, recognized as Tertullian, wrote in the early third century, “ The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church”.
We need not be afraid of persecution. God will strengthen us. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus exhorts his disciples to pray. It is through prayer that the disciples would find the strength to be faithful to Christ despite persecution. But instead of praying, the disciples fell asleep. If we feed ourselves spiritually through prayer, spiritual reading, meditation and the sacraments, we will find the courage to endure persecution . We show our love and fidelity for Christ not only by loving Him in times of peace and success, but also by our faithfulness in times of trial, rejection and loss.
If we are faithful to Christ in persecution, we will experience the joy of life in the spirit. Jesus will speak to us in our hearts and give us this peace and joy , and ultimately bring us into His Kingdom in Heaven.
Happy Father’s Day
As we celebrate this Father’s Day on Sunday June 19th, we extend our love and prayers to all the fathers of the parish.
May the Lord God, through the intercession of St. Joseph, Patron of all families, bless you and sanctify your vocation and fatherhood and grant you health, peace and joy.
Be assured of our prayers for you.”As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on the faithful.” Psalm 103
“When a man walks in integrity and justice, happy are his children after him” Proverbs 20:7
Sub-Deacon’s Corner
A group of visitors from a nearby Roman Catholic parish ask you about the difference between the Maronite Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Here is some information that you can use to answer the inquiry.
Historically, the origins of the Maronite Church are to be found amongst those monastic and lay people who gathered around the saintly hermit - Maron, an early 5th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint. These Christians who accepted his way of life and worship were soon identified as "those of St Maron" - the Maronites.
The Maronites belong to the Antiochian Tradition of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The immediate head of the Maronite Church under the Pope of Rome is the Maronite Patriarch who bears the title of 'Patriarch of Antioch and All the East'. The Maronite Church is the only Eastern Catholic Church that does not have an Eastern Orthodox equivalent and the only Rite taking its name from a saint. The Maronites are one of 23 rites that make up the Universal Catholic Church and observes the papal authority of Rome. There is one Western (Latin) and were twenty-two (22) Eastern rites, the Maronite rite is one of the Eastern.
Western Rite
Western Tradition
Latin (or Roman)
Eastern Rite
Alexandrian Tradition
Coptic Catholic Church
Eritrean Catholic Church
Ethiopian Catholic Church
Chaldean Tradition
Chaldean Catholic Church
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
Antiochian Tradition
Maronite Catholic Church
Syrian Catholic Church
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
Armenian Tradition
Armenian Catholic Church
Byzantine Tradition
Albanian Catholic Church
Belarussian Catholic Church - Defunct
Bulgarian Catholic Church
Greek Catholic Church
Hungarian Catholic Church
Italo-Albanese Catholic Church
Križevci (Croatian) Catholic Church
Macedonian Catholic Church
Melkite Greek Catholic Church
Romanian Catholic Church
Russian Catholic Church
Ruthenian Catholic Church
Slovakian Catholic Church
Ukrainian Catholic Church
Graduate Sunday
All High School and College graduates from the parish are invited to attend and participate in the liturgy on Sunday June 26th at 10am, to honor your accomplishment and present the scholarship award to one of our high school graduates who has received the St. Raymond’s College Scholarship, Mr. Ralph Skitt, who will be attending Creighton University. Following the liturgy, everyone is invited to a pancake breakfast hosted by St. Raymond’s Men’s Society in honor of all our High School and College Graduates.
All Are Welcome!
Kitchen Scoop
Rolling Grape Leaves Tuesday July 5th at 9 am . We are in need of grape leaves and could use the help rolling to not only prepare for Wednesdays, but also to start to prepare for the festival.
The Kitchen will be CLOSED the week of the Fourth of July.
Weekly Finances June 12-19, 2016
Income:$4, 974.00
Expenses:$6,383.69 (Building Insurance and Liability, Utilities, Personnel Costs, Flowers for First Communion and Sub-Deacon Ordination, etc)
2016 Festival
There will be a festival meeting Thursday June 23rd at 7 pm in the Lebanon room. The festival is a parish event that requires many months of time and preparation to make it a successful fundraiser for our Church.
“Many hands make the work load lighter…Why not be a part of something positive and up building? No one will remember if you “sit out” but if you are part of something positive-that is something to remember.”
If you are interested in having a booth at the festival please speak with Chorbishop Moussa to get a Booth Form. If you have a booth form please turn them in so the committee can know how many booths we will have this year. Thank you
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