The 9 Ornaments of Christmas -- Christmas Novena with Bishop Gregory

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.

Maronite Young Adults meeting, Tampa, FL

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

International Religious Freedom Summit 2022 ⁠— Bishop Gregory Mansour's speech

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.

Steadfast Wonder: The Liturgical Spirituality of Jacob of Serugh

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.

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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

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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.

American Freedom: Gift and Task

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.

Holy Spirit Activate! Subdeacon Christian Hbaiter appears on A Message of Hope

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.

Help build the new Ave Maria on-campus Maronite chapel

Ave Maria University is building a Maronite Chapel that truly will be a home away from home for Eastern Catholic students. At the same time, this small jewel of a chapel will help to educate western Latin Catholic students about the Church’s rich heritage from the east.

The Maronite Chapel will be constructed of stones in many shades of cream and tan, reminiscent of the colors found at the Cave of the Monks where Saint Maron took refuge and at the Monastery in Annaya where Saint Sharbel lived as a hermit.

Please see the donor brochure, below, for more information. Or go to the Chapel Project web page to help them in this endeavor.

The beatification of Leonardo Melki and Thomas Saleh, Lebanese Capuchin Martyrs

Two Lebanese priests will be beatified today in Beirut.

Capuchin Fathers Leonardo Melki (1881-1915, pictured right) and Thomas Saleh (1879-1917, pictured left), both born in Baabdath, Lebanon, outside of Beirut, were martyred in Turkey during World War I, defending their faith and fellow Christians. Please see news articles and web pages such as these to learn more about their lives:

• Lebanese man’s decades of research helps great-uncle’s sainthood cause

• Martyrdom of two Lebanese Capuchin missionaries recognized

• Blesseds Thomas Salech and Leonard Melki

Photo from Fides.org

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Father Leonard Melki ofm. cap. during his last visit to his native village Baabdath (Lebanon) where he came to rest for a few months in 1911.

Image By CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

A message to Catechists

Beloved Catechists,
This is Bishop Gregory.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of your role in the parish.

Even if you connect with two, one, twenty of the children — you are building a future of the church and you are passing on the faith. Thank you!

Prepare yourself as well as possible. Give a little bit of your human touch, and let them know that God loves them and so do you. And I appreciate you and I love you.

Thank you.

Vote for Lebanon

Brothers and Sisters,

I wish you, all of you, who are able to, to go to the polls ⁠— here, wherever you are, and vote.

Vote for a Lebanon;

• a Lebanon renewed;
• a Lebanon that is truly an image of her people.

May God Bless the Beloved Lebanon and May God Bless You.

+ Gregory

Polling station locations:

To check online for the location of your polling station, on May 8, go to: https://www.dgcs.gov.lb/arabic/where-to-vote

For Lebanese Expatriate Citizens voting in New York and the northeastern United States

The parliamentary elections for Lebanese Expats living in New York and the northeastern United States will take place in the 5 polling stations listed below. Voting hours are from 7 am to 10 pm :

• Philadelphia, PA:

Saint Maron Hall,
1013 Ellsworth St
Philadelphia, PA 19147

• Somerset, NJ:

Saint Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church,
7 Reeve St, Somerset, NJ 08873

• New York, NY:

Pashalian Hall, 221 East 27th St,
New York, NY 10016

• Danbury, CT:

Lebanon-American Club,
22 West St, Danbury, CT 06810

• Jamaica Plain, MA:

The Cedars Center,
65 Rockwood St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

(source: https://nylebcons.org/)

Additional locations

Alabama

• Honorary Consulate
  2119 3rd Avenue N, 2nd Floor
  Birmingham, AL 35203

Arizona

• Honorary Consulate of Lebanon
  9515 West Camelback Road, Suite 100
  Phoenix, AZ 85037

California

• House of Lebanon
  4800 Wilshire Blvd
  Los Angeles, CA 90005

• Saint Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church
  500 S Central Ave
  Glendale, CA 91204

• Islamic Center of Anaheim
  1136 N Brookhurst St
  Anaheim, CA 92801

• Saint Joseph Maronite Catholic Church
  3870 Castleman St
  Riverside, CA 92503

• San Diego Saint Ephrem Maronite Catholic Church
  750 Medford Street
  El Cajon, CA 92020

• Honorary Consulate of Lebanon in San Francisco
  262 Michelle Court South
  San Francisco, CA 94080

Colorado

• Saint Rafka Maronite Church
  2301 Wadsworth Blvd
  Lakewood, CO 80214

Connecticut

• Lebanon-American Club
  22 West St
  Danbury, CT 06810

Florida

• Our Lady of Lebanon Catholic Church
  2055 Coral Way
  Miami, FL 33145

• Jacksonville Marriott
  4670 Salisbury Rd
  Jacksonville, FL 32256

• Honorary Consulate of Lebanon
  7042 Benjamin Rd
  Tampa, FL 33634

Georgia

• Honorary Consulate of Lebanon
  1827 Powers Ferry Rd SE
  Building 9, Suite 100
  Atlanta, GA 30339

Illinois

• Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church
  950 N Grace St
  Lombard, IL 60148

Massachusetts

• The Cedars Center
  65 Rockwood St
  Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Michigan

• Consulate General of Lebanon
  1000 Town Center, Suite 2450
  Southfield, MI 48075

• Bint Jbell Cultural Center
  14201 Prospect St
  Dearborn, MI 48123

• Saint Charbel Church
  43888 Hayes Rd
  Clinton Township, MI 48038

Minnesota

• Cedars Hall
  602 University Ave NE
  Minneapolis, MN 55413

Nevada

• Honorary Consulate of Lebanon
  8890 Spanish Ridge Avenue
  Las Vegas, NV 89148

New Jersey

• Saint Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church
  7 Reeve St
  Somerset, NJ 08873

New York

• Pashalian Hall
  221 East 27th St
  New York, NY 10016

North Carolina

• Honorary Consulate of Lebanon
  6208 Fayetteville Rd, Suite 103
  Durham, NC 27713

Ohio

• Sultan Club
  8959 Dorr St
  Toledo, OH 43611

• Honorary Consulate of Lebanon
  6607 Pearl Rd
  Parma Heights, OH 44130

Oregon

• Saint Charbel Church Oregon
  1804 S East 16th Ave
  Portland, OR 97214

Pennsylvania

• Saint Maron Hall
  1013 Ellsworth St
  Philadelphia, PA 19147

Texas

• Hilton Houston Post Oak by the Galleria
  2001 Post Oak Boulevard
  Houston, TX 77056

• Austin Southpark Hotel
  4140 Governors Row
  Austin, TX, 78744

• Saint George Maronite Catholic Church
  6070 Babcock Rd
  San Antonio, TX 78240

• 222 Municipal Drive Suite 180
  Richardson, TX 75080

Washington, D.C.

• Embassy Residence
  2841 McGill Terrace NW
  Washington, DC, 20008

Washington (state)

• Honorary Consulate of Lebanon in Seattle
  17617 NE 65th St
  Redmond, WA 98052

(source: http://www.lebanonembassyus.org/2022/04/14/parliamentary-elections-2022/)

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information, see:

• The Consulate General of Lebanon in New York
• The Embassy of Lebanon, Washington D.C.

Monthly Online Rosary

Angry? Need a Weapon?

Pray the Rosary!

Join us as we pray the rosary every 2nd Monday of the month at 8pm ET. To build a culture of life & to overcome evil in the world.

Led by Bishop Elias Zaidan, Bishop Gregory Mansour or their representative.

Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/ofslmonthlyrosary