The Eparchial Couples Ministry team hosts ZOOM workshops and in-person enrichment days to support couples and families throughout the Eparchy. On Tuesday May 6, Deacon Brian Dunn will present “The Holy Family, Model of the Domestic Church”.
The story of John Paul George, son of Derek and Annette George (of our parish in Tequesta, Florida), is an inspiring story. John Paul died at 23, having been born with “half-a-heart”, and having lived a life of extraordinary goodness.
Watch Bishop Gregory’s beautiful reflection on Passion week — Great Friday and Saturday of the Light in particular.
As the Season of Great Lent approaches, we offer new faith formation materials designed to enrich our community's journey of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
These resources can help us deepen our understanding and practice of these core Lenten disciplines.
If you ever are facing something very difficult or something very risky or something very dangerous, this gospel has something hidden, a hidden treasure for you. This gospel is not just a story of little boy teaching elders in the temple. It's a beautiful story of Jesus coming of age, 12 years old.
This week is the national week of prayer for vocations.
A vocation is a calling, a unique path that God has designed for each one of us. It can manifest in various forms - as a priest, a religious sister, a monk, or a lay faithful. Every vocation is a gift and an opportunity to make a positive impact in the world.
Bishop Gregory was interviewed by Robert Nicholson, President of the Philos Project in April of 2021. Watch to learn a bit of the history of the Maronite church and the ongoing dialogs between the different Christian faiths; the unique history of Lebanon, including the interfaith vision at the 1919 Treaty of Versailles; the importance of maintaining that vision in modern times; and how our experiences and lessons with Lebanon can inform us here in the United States.
Soon we will mark the third anniversary of the explosion at the Port of Beirut, on August 4, 2020. Even though time has passed, the destruction caused by the explosion has not. In fact, this harm has been far-reaching and extremely painful for all involved. Over 200 people lost their lives that day, many more were wounded, and many lost their homes and/or their livelihoods. Even those not in the range of the explosion continue to be adversely affected. Moreover, Lebanon and its people continue to suffer greatly due to inflation, job loss, governmental discord, devaluation of their currency and more.
Brothers and sisters, how to live in the world, where there are so many things that are not right? I think we have some good examples. Not only of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, but also Saint Sharbel. Who made it his aim to change the world by changing his interior life. To make it a proper dwelling place for God. May silence, love for the Virgin Mary, love for the Holy Eucharist and love for others keep us on that road that leads us, by way of Sharbel, to the kingdom of God.
The Maronite League USA is a Non Profit Organization to mobilize the resources of the Maronite diaspora in all 50 States and unify their voice in order to spread the Lebanese heritage with its various facets, whether ethical, cultural, political, spiritual, economical, educational or pertinent to public affairs, under the instructions of The Maronite League in Lebanon and the auspices of The Maronite Church in Bkerke.
The recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have caused terrible loss of life, countless injuries, and irreparable damage to housing and structures of safety for thousands. For many years our Eparchy has been helping the three Maronite Eparchies of Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia, (Bishops Samir Nassar, Joseph Tabchi and Antoine Chbeir respectively).
It brings me great joy to accompany you during this Christmas Novena. What a beautiful way to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming. The Christmas novena, as you know, is nine days in which we focus on a different aspect of the mystery of Christ’s life, his humanity, and we prepare ourselves to adore and worship him in the Blessed Sacrament exposed before our very eyes, In other words, we are living in front of the very Christ who walked this earth in sacramental mystery before us. So that’s what Eucharistic adoration is. That’s what this Christmas Novena of nine days is. To prepare us for Christmas.
What a great JOY to have 137 young adults in Tampa, Florida. What a great job the board did and what a beautiful hospitality the parish did.
God Bless You
+ Gregory
Bishop Gregory here. Asking you to continue, perhaps even redouble your efforts to assist Lebanon during these difficult days. The schools will be starting pretty soon so any Catholic school, any Catholic institution, any way that you can support the service of the Lebanese people to their homes, to the poor -- would be of great help.
The IRF Summit 2022 held in Washington D.C., from June 28 to 30, featured 106 plenary speakers from 26 countries representing every major faith, and 40 unique traditions.
Here you can see Bishop Gregory's speech.
Our seminarian Vincent Michael has written an inspiring essay about the spirituality, letters and homilies of Jacob of Serugh. The beliefs we hold today and the melodies we sing at Divine Liturgy each Sunday were in a large part informed by Jacob. By studying the spirituality of Jacob, we can deepen and grow our own spirituality.
Jacob of Serugh (451-521) is one of the most important Patristic authors for the West Syriac tradition, contributing to their liturgies through his poetry. In addition to these works, well known to those in the pews even if they do not know their author, he also wrote about the liturgy in his many homilies which he gave in his career. Given his importance to these traditions, it is worthwhile to examine his thought on what can be called liturgical spirituality. This liturgical spirituality is based on inspiring single-minded wonder, drawing from Jacob’s commitment to keeping theology the handmaiden of awe, particularly in regards to his views on Christology and the return to Paradise.
Read more of his article at the Hidden Pearl
Vincent Michael is subdeacon and seminarian at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Seminarian in Washington DC for the Maronite Eparchy of St Maron of Brooklyn. Hailing from Center Township Pennsylvania, Vincent studied History at Grove City College and is currently studying Theology at the Catholic University of America.
Brothers and Sisters, I’d like to call your attention to Fr. Richard Landry’s recent message on American Freedom.
In the United States of America, we justly treasure our hard-won freedom. But we have to know what it is and how to use it. Culturally, we are seeing freedoms abused with greater frequency. In this video from EDIFY, Father Roger Landry breaks down the meaning and connection between truth and freedom, and how we can use our freedom for the cause of good.
Seminarian Subdeacon Christian Hbaiter discusses his personal relationship and experiences with the Holy Spirit on the “A Message of Hope” youtube channel. Click below to watch.
A Message of Hope was founded to encourage and inspire high school and college young adults to live out their Catholic faith in a secular world. We are dedicated to providing useful tools and sharing wisdom and insight from real experiences to aid young adults in taking ownership of their faith, upholding their morals, and grounding their identity in the Truth.
p.s. Here is a clip from Christian’s ordination to the Subdeaconate, August 14, 2021 at the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon.
