Sunday of 350 Martyrs
July is the month of the Massabki Martyrs: three brave lay men, who gave their lives in defense of their faith. But more than that, they were businessmen and family men who modeled their faith at home, way before they paid the ultimate price of martyrdom.
When we think of the Massabki Brothers, and all those who have witnessed to Christ and paid the ultimate price, we think how faithful they must have been. But martyrdom is not only about those who have received their crown; it is also about us. What are we doing to deserve a similar crown? Are we also that “faithful witness, “ as was Jesus in the Book of Revelations, willing to die, and just as important, willing to live and witness to “Jesus Christ, and him crucified”?
The Holy Father, Pope Francis, calls upon us to be Christ’s witnesses, just as he asked us in this Jubilee Year to be Christ’s mercy. He often reminds us that the integrity of our lives, that is, the “consistency” or “coherence”, as he likes to say, must include all that we say, do , and live, as well as the way we die, as consistent with our faith in Christ.
Just as mercy is consistent with the Gospel of Christ, so too our witness to him must be consistent with our personal lives. We cannot say we believe in Christ, and then live as though Christ matters little in how we spend time, money, or make choices.
In Greek the word “martyr” means nothing more than “witness”. A martyr who dies for his/her faith is the same as the faithful witness who lives his/her faith. We are truly Christ’s witnesses, as were the early martyrs, the Massabki Brothers of 1860, and the martyrs of today, when we live the grace and witness to Christ well. May we then receive the crown He wore.
+Bishop Gregory J. Mansour
Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn
Maronite Voice July-August 2016
The Eparchy of St. Maron is Celebrating 50 years 1966-2016
Please join Bishop Gregory Mansour and the entire community at a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the presence of a Maronite Bishop in the United States. The event is Friday October 7, 2016. Liturgy will begin at 6pm at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lebanon followed by a banquet at 8pm at New York Marriot at Brooklyn Bridge. For more information please visit www.stmaron.org
The MYO will be hosting coffee hour on Sunday August 14th and will also be having a bake sale. All are invited to join coffee hour and support the bake sale for the MYO. The MYO is open to the youth of our parish ages 12-18. It is a great way to get involved with your parish and meet other youth your age.
Chorbishop Beggiani’s book, “Early Syraic Theology” discussed a number early theological views written by St. Ephrem (307 – 363AD), Jacob of Serugh (451 – 521AD) and Araphate (280-345AD). These men traveled throughout the ancient world from Mesopotamia to Judea and into Northern Syria. Many of their writings, homilies and letters become the basis of the Catholic doctrine on worship, their ideas had a great influence on many of the Eastern Rite Churches, including the Maronite Rite Church.
One concept discussed in “Early Syraic Theology” is Divinization; this concept discusses God’s intention for Adam and the effect that the Original Sin had upon the plan that God had for all.
From St. Ephrem’ s writings
Firstly to understand that man, Adam, was created in the image of God, and his son Jesus Christ. For if Adam was created in the image of our savior then Adam had the opportunity to share in his kingdom as well. Syriac anthropology arrives at the conclusion that humans are not only the summit of creation, but also the bond uniting the heavens and the earth. The body of Adam was formed of dust from the earth in its virginal state to become a true microcosm. In fact, Ephrem sees in the manner of Adam’s creation and in his creation a type of conception of Christ, the New Adam and reconciler of the world, born in the virginal womb of Mary.1 Being in the image of God who has the power over all things high and low, Adam also has power over all creation.2
For Ephrem the key phrase in Genesis, “Let us make Man in our image, after our likeness,” is a fundamental affirmation that the Word of God (Christ) is in the image of God and that God’s relationship with humans is realized by the mediation of the Word. While Christ as the Word is the image of the Father, he is also the perfect figure of man. Humanity finds its perfect realization in Christ.3 This reveals that early Syriac Theology saw Christ as the perfect human, which was what Adam could have been a version of, but through the Original Sin his image was stained and that only through Christ can the creatures(humans) attempt to achieve what God had planned and expects for us.
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.
Kitchen Scoop
Monday August 1st- Tabouli
Tuesday Making Kibbi Aras 8 am
Rolling Grape Leaves Schedule:
Sunday July 31st, Sunday August 7th, Sunday August 21st, Sunday August 28th, and Sunday September 11th. Also, Thursday August 4th at 9 am and Thursday August 18th from 4pm-7pm (before the festival meeting). We are six weeks away from the festival and all help is greatly appreciated.
A big Thank You to All the kitchen volunteers who work throughout the week . We have had an amazing month in July and it takes a lot of hard work to make the Wednesday lunch happen. A special thanks to all who work so hard to make Wednesday lunch a success.
Parish Finances July 24th-July 31st
Collections
Saturday July 23rd Liturgy: $656.00
Sunday July 24th Liturgy: $1,911.00
Revenue during the week: $784.00
Maintenance and Repair: $299.00 (Counted in Sat and Sun totals)
Peter’s Pence: $50 (Counted in Sat and Sun totals)
Candles: $55.00
Coffee Hour: $131.00
Income:$3,537.00
Expenses: $5,074.19
