THE SENDING OUT OF THE APOSTLES
إرسال التلاميذ
Year 110 - Issue No. 27 | July 5 - July 11, 2020
Happy
Independence
Day!!
In Solidarity we Pray for Lebanon
And to Overcome Racism and first responders
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T
he Lord, is sending us, like sheep among wolves! Seriously!! We always forget that He is the Shepherd though! And he is the Lion of Judah.
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a real shepherd—I’ve seen many in the mountains of Lebanon. I can’t imagine that any of them would actually die in place of their scruffy sheep, though. After all, what good is a dead shepherd for the rest of the sheep?
This is what distinguishes the Lord Jesus Christ from any other god or religious leader, his readiness to die. The Greek gods found men amusing, and the Asian gods are benevolent to men, but only the Christian God
dies
for the human. As St. Augustine wrote in a Christmas homily: “
We would have entered death eternally, had he not entered life temporally. We would have perished, had he not come
.” Jesus is a shepherd who has come precisely to die, to die in our place: “
I will lay down my life for them
,” he says. This is not reasonable, and Christ’s love for each of us, his sheep, is above and beyond reason. But “
this is why the father loves me, that I lay my life down, in order to take it up again
.” This death is not to end in failure after all, and no one who suffers or dies with Him does so uselessly. In Christ, death has become an act of love and a means of abundant life.
Catholics believe Christ gives this charism of the shepherd, this pastoral office, to men. We call them bishops and priests; we call them “
father - abouna
,” and so they are, because they beget spiritual life through their own spiritual death. A shepherd knows the voice of his sheep, and he even “
smells like the sheep
,” but a Christ-like shepherd
dies
for his sheep. He can do that without flinching because he knows that the Divine Shepherd is looking after him. The martyrs heard a voice calling them to green pastures beyond this world. Your priests too must be ready to witness to this voice with their lives, for the good of the Church he founded. And we can only do that through a consistent and sacrificial prayer life, by which we hear and know the voice of God. “
In the silence of the heart God speaks
.” The crisis of the priesthood is simply a crisis of prayer.
We priests are tempted to be worldly like everyone else, to see nothing greater in life than bodily health and sufficient wealth. The priesthood, calls a man to think beyond these worldly parameters. We must pray for our priests, and encourage them to know the voice of God, which is not like any voice he will hear on earth. They must be so much more than mere “spiritual leaders” or moral examples.
Peter, the chief shepherd on earth after Christ had ascended, preached powerfully after receiving the Holy Spirit: “
There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race, by which we are to be saved
.” But Peter didn’t just preach this with words. He was crucified and his body tossed into a shallow grave on the Vatican hill 30 years after Jesus himself gave his life for his sheep. Your priests must preach, yes, and they must pray, yes, and that prayer and preaching must prepare them to be crucified, to die in place of the good people entrusted to their care. Let us not be naïve about secular attacks on our Church and on our priests. Many of our (arch)bishops are regularly denounced in the media for leading us to the Gospel. These attacks will only intensify as the world becomes less tolerant of Jesus Christ and his disciples…
Like sheep among wolves...
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The Relics of St. Sharbel
D
uring this time of trouble, we are so blessed and fortunate to have the Relic of St. Sharbel visit us on his feast day*.
July 18-20, 2020 (*
The Third Sunday of July).
The plans are simple, this time. We will be
celebrating his presence with us with personal
devotion and family prayer, mainly.
- Saturday July 18: 4:00 pm Liturgy
6:00 pm Choir Hymns & Meditations.
Until 10:00 pm personal prayer.
- Sunday July 19: 10:30 Liturgy, removal of the cincture around the church and procession.
Noon - 6:00 pm: personal prayer.
6:00 pm: Divine Liturgy in Arabic.
Until 10:00 pm personal prayer.
- Monday July 20: Noon - 6 :00 pm Personal
prayer. Followed by Liturgy at 6:00 pm
- Tuesday July 21: The relic goes to Cleveland, after praying the Angelus & the Most Holy Rosary at noon.
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For personal reasons, Mrs. Ashley Farris, will be moving out of town and she will not be with us starting July 10
th
. With a heart full of prayer and gratitude, we thank Ashley for her professional administration and loving formation for our children.
We hope that this new chapter of her life and her family is filled with blessings and may the Lord’s providence be accompanying her and her family in every step of the journey.
-Fr. George Hajj
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B
lessed be God! I am humbled and appreciative for the opportunity to have served the St. Anthony of Padua Maronite Catholic Church community for the past several years. In particular, I am deeply grateful for the gentle and compassionate leadership of Abouna George, the precious children who brought so much joy to the classroom on Sundays, Subdeacon Don and Tom, all of the catechists and everyone who has volunteered in the office. As our family moves into a new season, please be assured we will always hold you close to our hearts and pray for you unceasingly. I beg you to do the same for us.
May God continue to bless the work he has begun at St. Anthony Church and continue to transform your hearts to be more like His. I am Eternally Grateful,
-Ashley Farris
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relaunched on
JUNE 13
, feast of our Patron Saint(s).
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W
e are happy to announce the following steps of the gradual resumption of public worship of the Divine Liturgies, with the “soft opening” of our Parish.
DURING THE MONTH OF JULY:
Or by calling Fr. George, 513-917-3333.
¨
Weekend services are open to ALL (in the upper church)
Saturday (4:00 pm); Sunday (10:30 am) - (6:00 pm)
- PLEASE HAVE FACE MASKS ON & RESPECT THE SOCIAL DISTANCING -
We highly and strongly recommend that all of our parishioners, over the age of 65 and who are immuno-compromised, stay home and stay safe. You are not required to begin attending the Divine Liturgy. Also, if you are sick, feeling like you’re getting sick, or suspect you are sick…. please, stay home. Please communicate with Fr. George, if you would like to receive the Eucharist at home.
We will continue live streaming our Liturgies online; this is a permanent fixture for our church.
We ask for God’s grace, through the intercession of St. Anthony and St. Aquilina, to keep us healthy, strong, kind, and patient. With the Blessed Virgin Mary interceding on our behalf we will get through these challenging times and draw nearer to her Son, the Good Shepherd.
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July 2020, PRAYER Intention
The People of Lebanon
Remember O Lord, the people of Lebanon, for their human dignity, the society stability, and for his Leaders’ commitment of its common good.
May it remain a message of freedom and peace
-We Pray to you O Lord
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May God abundantly bless every person who during this hard time, kept the offerings.
We have been asked on how to we can contribute to St. Anthony's discrete work of charity and how can we make and online offering.
The online donation link can be found here:
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It has always been the case, where we zealously want to help each other, this zeal comes from our middle eastern background and culture that has been victimized with many catastrophes throughout history.
I want to thank the many good men and women of good will in our parish family, who offered to help out. I would like for all of us to consider the church and myself as the hub where anyone who needs any kind of assistance (food, medicine etc.) contacts, and I can find and ask who in the neighborhood could help. Thank you for everyone who called and asked about me. I love you.
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Estate Planning
Consider the Church as one of your children
One of our most important acts of stewardship is the final distribution of our life’s accumulation. How we distribute our estate speaks volumes about our values and our concerns for our loved ones. Bequests to our Home Parish, of St. Anthony, affirms our belief in the mission and ministry of our Maronite Church.
Please remember: St. Anthony of Padua, Maronite Catholic Church and
the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon when planning your estate.
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Please remember to register your Kroger Plus Card to benefit St. Anthony's.
It is a ONE TIME registration online at:
Register your card, and assign, St. Anthony of Padua carrying the Non-Profit Organization (#NPO) number is:
PV014
Thank you from, St. Anthony's. Every bit, helps.
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2530 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, OH, 45206
Telephone: 513-961-0120 || Fax: 513-861-5075 || email:saintanthonycincinnati@gmail.com
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