St. Maron Church Philadelphia
May 16, 2008
Msgr. Sharbel Lischaa, Pastor of St Maron and Beloved Parishioners;
Bishops Mansour, Aboujaoude and Shaheen;
Fathers Mouawad, Madi, Beloved Clergy, Religious and Laity;
We gather today on day after the Feast of Our Lady of the Harvest, May 15th. We take time to chant, with heartfelt emotion and sincere respect, the Ya Um Allah and we honor Mary under her many titles.
In a special way these days we pray for a good spring harvest and ask Mary’s intercession. We also ask Our Lady for a blessing on our spiritual harvest as well. Whenever we sow in justice we reap peace. Each of our actions and words sow either justice and peace or hurt and division.
Let our entire life sow justice and goodness so that the fruits of our labor may be peace.
May Our Lady of the Harvest, Our Lady of Lebanon, bless all our endeavors and bring Lebanon justice and peace. Amen
✝ Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir
reprinted with permission