Book of Ezekiel 18,1.21-23.27-28

The word of the LORD came to me:
But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; they shall not die. ….

After St Maroun died, many were inspired by his teachings and his ascetic way of life. By the fifth century a monastery was built near where he lived known as Bet Maroun. The monastery became very significant in the region. Also in the fifth century a debate had emerged about the nature of Jesus. The debate centered on whether Jesus was divine, human or both and exactly what that meant. Some, like the Nestorians, argued that Jesus was separately divine and human and that the two natures were independent. Others such as the Jacobites taught that Jesus was only divine and his divinity absorbed his human nature.

In 451, The Council of Chalcedon dealt with the debate once and for all, declaring that Christ was both divine and human, but one person.

The Maronites upheld the proclamation of the Council of Chalcedon. The monks of Saint Maroun led the way preaching the true doctrine and opposing heresy. We learn of the martyrdom of the 350 Monks in a letter from the monks to Pope Hormisdas in the year 517. They described the suffering and attacks they are enduring, particularly from the Antiochian Patriarchs Severus and Peter who opposed the teachings of the Council of Chalcedon. They described that they were mocked for their support of the Council and were suffering afflictions. The described how the Emperor Anastasius had sent an army that had marched through the district of Apamea closing monasteries and expelling the monks. Some monks had been beaten and others had been thrown into prison. While on their way to St. Simon Stylite, the Maronites had been ambushed and 350 monks were killed, even though some of them had taken refuge at the altar. The monastery was burned. The letter was signed by Alexander, priest and archimandrite and over 200 other signatures followed, of other archimandrites, priests and deacons.

We pray that like the 350 Martyrs we are always obedient to the teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

May their prayers be with us always. Amen

The Feast of the Transfiguration commemorates the dedication of the basilicas on Mount Tabor. It originated as early as the end of the 5th century, after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14) came to be celebrated. 6 August, the date set for the Feast, is 40 days prior to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, manifesting its close connection with it. In the West, it began to be celebrated from the 9th century. In 1457, Pope Calixtus III included it in the Roman Calendar in grateful memory of the victory obtained the year before against the Turks, who had presented a serious threat against Western Europe. The mystery of the Transfiguration is, of course, at the heart of the Feast: the vision of the “old man” on the fiery throne and the appearance of the “Son of Man” (cf. First Reading).

The miracle recognized for the beatification of Patriarch Elias Hoyek dates back to 1965 and concerns the healing of Nayef Abou Assi, a Druze officer in the Lebanese army who suffered from chronic bilateral spondylolysis. According to reports, he awoke completely healed after dreaming of the patriarch.

Born in Helta, Lebanon, on Dec. 4, 1843, Hoyek entered the seminary at 16 and later traveled to Rome to study theology, where he was ordained a priest in 1870. Returning to Lebanon, he co-founded the Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family with Mother Rosalie Nasr, the first female apostolic religious institute in the Maronite Church.

Elected Maronite Patriarch of Antioch in 1899, Hoyek dedicated three decades to clerical formation and catechesis while becoming a leading voice for Lebanese independence from the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, he opened monasteries and convents to the hungry and displaced regardless of religion. Ottoman authorities sentenced him to deportation, but the intervention of the Pope and Austro-Hungarian diplomacy prevented this from occuring.

Hoyek also played a key role in negotiations that led to the establishment of the state of Lebanon in 1920. He died in Bkerké in 1931, remembered as a man of dialogue, pastoral charity and evangelical poverty, widely revered a Lebanese ‘founding father’.

References:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-05/pope-beatification-spanish-civil-war-martyrs-elias-hoyek-lebanon.html

There is NO First Friday adoration scheduled till September.

Come be part of a group where you can grow in faith, build friendships, and have fun through activities, retreats, and service.

Ages 12 – 18   –  All are welcome!

“Let your light shine before others.” Said our Lord.

Tele Lumiere and Noursat, like many other institutions in Lebanon and the Middle East, is suffering tremendously and in danger of shutting down if it is not supported.

Very few parishes in the USA, of all Middle Eastern traditions, are supporting it. True there are millions living in poverty in the Middle East and we need to help them, but there are more millions living in darkness and need the message of hope and salvation. It is our responsibility to evangelize them.

We urge you in Christ’s name to help support Noursat. Here are few brotherly suggestions:

Talk about Noursat’s role of evangelization in the Middle East.
Announce this weekend the two-days Telethon. Share on your social media the attached video and flier about the Telethon.
Include in your weekly/monthly bulletin the attached flier about supporting Noursat.

God entrusted Noursat into our hands, let us unite our hands and hearts to keep it shinning.

With prayers and thanksgiving.
Chorbishop sharbel Maroun
President of Noursat, USA