Human life is sacred from the first moment of conception to the moment of natural death, and that life is a gift from God, to be respected and protected. When faced with critical lifesaving decisions for ourselves and our loved ones the Church gives us both guidance and peace through her teachings on Catholic End of Life Care and Decisions.
The Inter-Eparchial Music Commission has been working on additional hymns for Hosanna Sunday and Holy Week, which have been uploaded on the maronitemusic.org website.
Johnette Benkovic Williams will present a biblical understanding of women’s gifts at the 2nd annual Women’s Retreat, Saint Sharbel Spiritual Life Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The weekend is an opportunity for faithful women to grow in their spiritual awareness of what Pope Saint John Paul II called the “feminine genius”.
O Lord God, bring peace to this world that we ourselves have messed up and bring it quickly, Lord God, for the sake of your people. We ask through Christ our Lord.
The Maronite Servants of Christ the Light will be hosting an online Maronite Faith Formation Series on the three pillars of Great Lent: Prayer, Fasting & Almsgiving starting Thursday February 19 in collaboration with the Saint Sharbel Center.
A beautiful testimony has been given to the Maronites. Written in 1980 by Charles Malik, I ask you to give it a good read. It’s kind of embarrassing and humbling to see someone from the outside view the Maronite Church and the great responsibilities and gifts that have been placed in our hands as Maronites through our Father in faith, St. Maron.
A vocation is a calling, a unique path that God has designed just for you. It can manifest in various forms - as a priest, a religious sister, or even as a layperson. Every vocation is a gift and an opportunity to make a positive impact in the world. It's important to take a moment to listen to the whisper of your heart.
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.
