Abouna’s Corner

The Feast of Easter

Who will roll back the stone from the entrance of the tomb?

There is a saying that we share in every culture when we feel down, upset, angry, sad, or unhappy that we have a big stone laying down on our chest. When you are not faithful to your choice and you do something wrong, you feel that there is a stone on your chest. When you live a sinful life by cheating, lying, stealing, and committing adultery, you feel that on your chest there is a big stone. When they buried Jesus, they also put a big stone on the face of the tomb which was impossible for those two ladies to roll back by themselves. Today the angel of the Lord is telling us to “roll back the stone and to move on to a new life.” To roll back the stone from Jesus’ tomb can only be a divine work, the work of God and not us humans.

Saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians; “The Holy Spirit arose the body of Christ from the tomb, and he will raise your mortal bodies too.” When Mary of Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb, they were discussing with each other on the way: “Who will roll back the stone for us?” because they knew that the stone was huge, so big that they were unable to do this work. “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, and rolled back the stone and sat on it.” When the stone is so heavy, no one can roll it back from us, no one can release us from these burdens, so we need to look to God. There is something within us that no one can remove, uproot, and heal us from except God. The stone that was placed on the tomb of Jesus was so heavy, it represents the entire human condition of unfairness and injustice, all the act of Crucifixion, all the hatred of the world, every kind of betrayal and of unfaithfulness, every kind of hurt and insult, every kind of sadness and sorrow, every kind of mocking and insulting.

That stone represented human anger, resentment, bad intentions, and bad spirit. The spirit when you don’t wish good to your fellow man, the wrong judgement and jealousy, “see the whole world has left us and followed him.” No man can remove these stones from our hearts except the risen Lord. And no one can release us from our problems except our Savior. No one can heal us physically and spiritually except Jesus. No one can restore us and forgive us our sins except Jesus our high priest. It is not only words, but it is a matter of faith. Only a good life, a pure one, can bring joy to our hearts and take every kind of sadness away. But when you feel God’s role and works in your life, be grateful to him and know that you have a role to play which is to go and tell others. Especially the closest members of your family and friends.

On this Holy occasion I wish you, your family members, and friends a very happy and blessed Easter.

Jesus is risen - He is truly risen. Amen

HOSANNA SUNDAY (John 12:12-22)

Today we are celebrating the Hosanna Sunday- which is called in Lebanese “Ahad achaaneen.” Hosanna or chaaneen is a Hebrew word that means “save us now,” and the word precisely means: “God save the King.” These words are in the psalms of David from the part called the Hallel psalm (113-118) which means; “Praise be to God.” On the sound of Hosanna, the Jews used to welcome their victorious kings who had overcome their enemies. It was the way that they welcomed Simon Maccabaeus after he had conquered Acra and freed it from Syrian domination more than a hundred years before. What kind of victory had Jesus done to be welcomed as a king while he never had any war? - He spoke about the kingdom of God with authority. - He healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, cleansed the lepers, and made the cripple walk. - He expelled demons. - He raised the dead - especially Lazarus. - He healed men from their sins and spiritual hurts.

Brothers and sisters, when it comes to dealing with sin in our lives, prevention is the smarter strategy. Keeping the seeds of sin from being planted in our hearts is a far better use of our resources than having to call on Jesus to always get us out of our messes. Please don’t get me wrong. We all need Jesus to rescue us and get us out of our sin messes. But, once He has pulled us out of the mess of sin, He sets us on the rock of His word and commands us to surrender to Him as Lord. Jesus enters Jerusalem 5 days before Passover so that He can be our Savior and our Lord, rescuer, and preventer. I stand before you today to urge you to place yourself under His Lordship, be obedient to His leadership, and let Him chart your path. The cost may seem too high to obey His commands, but I assure you that it will be far less than the cost that foolishness and sin will exact from your life. There is no doubt that when the people sang this psalm, they were looking at Jesus as God’s anointed one, the Messiah, the deliverer, the savior, the one who was to come. And there was no doubt that they were looking at him as a conqueror, as their eternal king. Jesus accepted their chants and praise, accepted that he is a king, a Messianic king.

That’s why he rode on the back of a donkey, an ass, to fulfill the prophesy Zechariah: “Rejoice greatly, o daughter of Zion, shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem, see your king shall come to you; triumphant and victorious, savior is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass.” By riding on an ass Jesus was telling us that he is our Messianic King, full of humility and gentleness, because the victorious Jewish kings used to ride upon a horse when they went to war; Jesus came riding upon an ass because He was coming in peace. This action of Jesus is a sign that He was not the warrior figure, but the Prince of Peace. Jesus also chose this animal as the fulfilment of the prophesy that, He, the long-awaited Messiah, would make His entrance riding on a young donkey. Further, by riding a donkey and not a white horse, Jesus was visibly declaring Himself as a different kind of leader. Jesus was a new kind of king who led with humble authority. His kingdom would be established in the lives of those who would place their trust in Him. His throne would be the hearts of all men and women who truly believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. As we watch Jesus make His entrance into Jerusalem, we see both the powerful divine Son of God and the humble Messenger of God. John crafts his version of Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem by letting us see the reactions to His entrance by five distinct groups of people. Those groups are the great crowd, Christ’s disciples, the Bethany crowd, the Pharisees, and some Greeks.

1. The Great Crowd: The Misguided. They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting. We see the great crowd as the foremost group that had caused the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin so much concern. These people had witnessed the miraculous powers of Jesus and concluded that He was invincible. Surely, He will fulfil all our expectations of what we are looking for in a leader, particularly regarding our political goals. But we must conclude that this great crowd was misguided by their ambitions. They saw Jesus as a savior, not from their sins but from an oppressive government.

2. His Disciples: The Committed but Confused. Who At first did not understand all this. John helps us see that there is hope for the disciples. They will soon understand. Their confusion will end when they meet the resurrected Jesus.

3. The Bethany Crowd: The Committed. Those who had witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus went out to meet Him. Though they may not have been able to explain all that was going on, there was no doubt in their minds and hearts that Jesus was for real, that He was telling the truth, and that He really was the Son of God. He was not only worthy of being followed, but His story also needed to be spread around.

4. The Pharisees: The Opposition. The jealous people who said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!” These religious leaders had lost sight of their calling. Leadership was now all about them. So, when Jesus came on the scene, all they could see was competition. As more people went over to Jesus, their jealousy and frustration and anger increased. But that’s how jealousy, envy, and self-centeredness work. They turn us into toys for the evil one to use in his wicked games. If only they could see that their sin was making them partners with the destroyer of life, goodness, and joy they might repent.

5. Some Greeks: The Curious. They went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” All of this to say that Jesus had caught the attention of these Greeks, these curious outsiders, and they wanted to connect with Jesus. We’re not told of their motives. These Greeks share something in common with the people that the Bethany crowd had been witnessing to. As a result of the testimonies of the Bethany crowd, many people wanted to meet Jesus. So, here we have five groups of people who were impacted by Christ’s life and entrance into Jerusalem.

Just as Jesus’ life was coming to a decisive moment, His presence in these people’s lives was also calling for a decision: Are you going to move closer to Jesus or are you going to resist Him? Are we among those who want Jesus to fit around our agenda? Are we among those who are now unnecessarily in the fog about what Christ wants to do through our lives? Are we among the committed who have found great joy in following Jesus? Are we among the opposition, or are we among the seeking curious? Wherever you are, Jesus gave His life for you, and He rose again that you might have eternal life. As Jesus went through the crowd, He saw each face, He knew each story. Jesus knows your story. Will you welcome Him as your Savior and Lord today? Amen.

Our Lenten Journey

Someone was telling a story, he said: “When I was in high school, I had an English teacher by the name of Mrs. Comberiatti. She was a quiet, tiny little woman, very young, but very strict. I spent most of the 10th grade being terrified of her. But all that changed one day when she came into class wearing a big button on her lapel. 

He adds:  “I don’t remember much of what she taught us about, but I do remember that button. It said: “Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.” Whether we realize it or not, today we proclaim that same message. We won’t do it with a button on a lapel…but with ashes on our brow.

The ashes we wear announce to the world this plain fact: we are sinners. They tell all who see us that we are beginning 40 days of prayer, and repentance, and sacrifice — that we are Catholic Christians seeking somehow to reconcile ourselves with God.

These ashes say that we belong to Christ, that we are his ambassadors, and that our works on earth are in progress. They say: “Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.” He isn’t finished with any of us. That is the great wonder and consolation of Lent.

As we enter this holy season, we should approach it with sobriety and seriousness. But we shouldn’t mistake that seriousness for solemnity. The gospel today reminds us: “Do not look gloomy…anoint your head and wash your face.” I’d take that one step further: add to this season of penance and prayer a sense of possibility. Make it an occasion for hope, and yes, even joy.

Two years ago in Rome, Cardinal Timothy Dolan delivered a beautiful address to the pope and the College of Cardinals. He quoted the writer Leon Bloy who said, “Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” If we want to be – as St. Paul put it in his letter for today – “ambassadors for Christ,” if we want to bring others into the presence of God, we need to be missionaries of joy. Even during Lent. Especially during Lent.

Another story told by Cardinal Dolan was of a man dying of AIDS at a hospice in Washington that was run by the Missionaries of Charity. The man wanted to be baptized. When the priest asked for some expression of faith, the dying man whispered, “All I know is that I’m unhappy, and these sisters are very happy, even when I curse them and spit on them. Yesterday, I finally asked them why they were so happy. They replied ‘Jesus.’” Then the man explained: “I want this Jesus so I can finally be happy.”

Those sisters gave that dying man something immeasurable. Even amid suffering and hardship in that hospice, could anyone deny that they were ambassadors for Christ? How many of us would hope and pray to affect the lives of others the way they touched the life of that one man?

We think of Lent as a time for giving up. I say this every year, but it is true: “Giving up” begins with “giving.” Give something of yourself to someone else. Begin by giving joy.

If you truly want to give up something, don’t just settle for chocolate or hamburgers or cheesecake or meat or fish or chicken – though right about now, I think, we’d all like to lose that weight we gained over Christmas and over the year. Go further. Go deeper. Try giving up something really hard.

Give up cynicism, anger, jealousy. Give up gossip. Give up regrets for choices you never made or paths you never took. Give up fighting God’s will for you. Give up always forgetting that the most famous prayer in the world doesn’t include the phrase “My will be done,” but “Your will be done.”

If you need help, try this: give up whatever fear or anxiety is keeping you from going to confession and just go. Give up being too busy to pray or being too worried to hope. There is no better time to do that than now. As the scripture tells us today: “Now is an acceptable time.”

The point of all this isn’t just to make others feel better – or make us feel holy. It’s to draw us closer to The One who makes everything, including our redemption, possible. And we do it now for good reason. Lent forces us to admit something we prefer to ignore - we don’t have forever. So, throughout the day, look in the mirror. You’ll see reflected back this inconvenient truth: we are dust. We have been marked. The clock is ticking, and there is work to do.

It begins here and now. It will take the rest of our lives to do but nothing is more important. It is the great work of our salvation. The journey of Lent is one more leg on our journey back to the Father — a journey of struggle and sacrifice, but a journey full of joy. As you “remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return,” remember that, too.

And as we embark on that journey and begin this 40-day adventure, remember one more thing. Be patient with yourselves and with everyone else. Amen.

Remembering our Patron, Saint Maroun

On February 9, every year, the Maronite Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Maroun. Who is this saint and what do we know about him? Saint Maroun was a Syriac priest who left the world for a life of asceticism on the top of Mount Korus. He was born in the middle of the 4th century around 350 AD in the city of Korus, 70 kilometers away form Aleppo. He died between 405-423 AD after he lived a life of total consecration to God.

The sweet smell of his holiness spread from the top of the Korus mountain to every city and village nearby, and he is now known in every country of the world where we have Maronites. He spent his days and nights in prayer, fasting and meditation upon the word of God, and very often he was in a state of standing during his prayer. God gave him gifts that throughout his prayer, he was able to read the inside of every soul, and to heal everyone from every kind of sickness, pain and disease, and even from evil spirits who would disappear because of the blessing of his prayer. In addition to that, he was able to heal people from their soul’s sickness and bad habits, such as from greed, anger, selfishness, and bias. There is one aspect of the life of Saint Maroun, as priest and hermit, which has left a permanent impression on me; it is his unique asceticism.

According to Theodore of Cyr, “Maroun was an open-air hermit.” He was completely accessible to God and available to people. He had no roof over his head, no place or pillow to rest his head, no place to call home. In this way of life, Saint Maroun imitated Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior, The Son of God and Man who had no place to lay down his head. This is a powerful testimony to the primacy of God, and to the goodness of man. My dear Maronite brothers and sisters in Christ, we too share Saint Maroun in this same ascetic way of life. We share every time we make room for the primacy of God in our life, every time we strengthen our relationship with the living Lord and God, every time we isolate ourselves to pray, to meditate, to be in a special connection and relationship with God, every time we pray the Divine Office, attend the Holy Mass, recite the Rosary, meditate upon the Word of Jesus and the plan of God in our life and the life of the world and universe, and every time we give to those whom we serve the time and the respect they truly deserve. It is when we change our plans to accommodate them or welcome them at a time not convenient to us, to the time of our prayer, or to the time of our siesta, or to go out of our way, of our comfort zone to reach out to someone in need.

This kind of generous prayer and gracious hospitality was obvious in Saint Marouns’ life and actions, and that should also be true and obvious in our life and actions. We are his new disciples and his sons and daughters, especially when we care for those who are less fortunate, who need words of consolation, encouragement, prayer and pastoral care, love, kindness, and help. This is not to say that we should not take time for ourselves, Saint Maroun took time for himself in solitude and prayer. People used to call the Maronite Church the monastic church, because we too (priests and faithful) are “open air hermits” whenever we take time to pray and be ready to take care of others in need. Not only for materiel need, but for listening, praying for one another, for counselling and practicing the gift of healing that Jesus gave to His church. Maroun was a priest who consecrated his life totally to Jesus. He was that grain of wheat who was buried on the top of Mount Korus to bear much fruit.

The Maronite community is spreading now on the four corners of the universe. It is because of the smell of his holiness. Maroun lived a life of isolation- a life of consecration- a life of glorification.

1- As a priest, he isolated himself from the noise of the world by living as a hermit on the top of Mount Korus in prayer and meditation. As a priest, Maroun is a builder. He builds a bridge between Jesus and his followers, between God and man, and he transformed an old pagan temple and made it a church. As a priest, he blessed the sick and prayed over those who suffered from the presence of the evil spirits and throughout the blessing of his prayer, God gave them healing. As a priest, he imitated his master Jesus by fasting and praying and mortification, because food was not as important to him as the food of the eternal life that is based on the body and blood of Christ and on his Word.

2- Maroun consecrated his life to God- he left the world and went to the top of Mount Korus, separated himself from the material world, from every human bound, from every evil to be for and with God, alone.

3- Maroun was a true disciple of Christ Jesus in the world. He glorified God by his prayer and good deeds, by his words and actions and his body. He glorified God by his life and death. Maroun was a voice from God calling us to turn to God, telling us that the true life is the life with Christ. The true life is the life that is full of hardship, difficulty and sacrifice for the sake of His kingdom.

Saint Maroun, pray for us! Amen.