Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi presided over the annual mass on the occasion of France in the presence of the French ambassador and the staff of the embassy and delivered a sermon entitled: This is the day that the Lord has made. Come, let us rejoice and rejoice in it.
He said: “It is the day of Christ’s resurrection, victorious over evil and death, the two greatest enemies from which he wanted to save all of humanity. The importance of Easter Monday is that it liturgically inaugurates a time of glory until Pentecost, and a period of time until his ascension to heaven to care for his apostles who were weakened by the tragedy of their teacher’s crucifixion and death.” He singled them out for three appearances.”
He added: “The first appearance was to the two disciples of Emmaus on the evening of the day of His resurrection. He accompanied them on the road, but they did not recognize him. He saw them sad and lost. He explained to them the books about Christ, his suffering, death, and resurrection. Their hearts were glad. They urged him to stay with them as the day wore on. They recognized him when he broke the bread, but he disappeared from them. They immediately returned to Jerusalem to inform the brothers of his resurrection (see Luke 24:13-35).”
He continued: “The second appearance was to the Apostle Thomas, eight days after he did not believe the news from the disciples. Jesus appeared and called him to put his finger in his wound, as he was required to believe. Thomas shouted: “My Lord and my God!” (See 20: 26-31). Thus, he was healed of the disease. “His doubts.”
He added: “The third appearance was to Simon Peter and some of the disciples on the Sea of Galilee. After a failed night of fishing, Jesus called him from the shore to throw the nets to the right. The amazing catch was: 153 large fish as a sign of the number of peoples who would accept the Gospel. And the Lord wanted to teach them that if they worked without Him, they would fail.” But if they work in His name and with Him, they will receive the most delicious fruits of the Gospel.”
He pointed out that “all of these appearances changed the psychological state of the apostles, as he restored their faith in Him, and prepared them to receive the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, and to graduate from His school, so that in His name they would be the light of the world and the pillars of the Church.”
He said: “Over two thousand years, the sons and daughters of the Church have known the positives and negatives in faith and work. This is what is happening on the world stage. We remember the tragedies of wars between Ukraine and Russia, and between Israel and Palestine, and countries support from here and there, without any vision of peace, while the human victims multiply. “The destruction is expanding and the losses are incalculable. We must not forget Lebanon’s tragedy that came from external interventions interacting with internal interventions that made it lose its active, positive neutrality. And southern Lebanon is an innocent victim in all of this.”
He added: “In these tragedies, we remember the encouraging word of the Lord Jesus: “You will have tribulation in the world, but be of good courage. I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We persevere with the strength of the three divine virtues: faith, hope, and love.
A- Faith teaches us that we are not abandoned by our Creator and Redeemer.
B- Hope strengthens us in faith in the face of difficulties and challenges.
C- Love unites us as God’s family with all our diversity.”
Al-Rai continued: “His Excellency the Ambassador, with this offering we raise all our intentions to God, as every year on Easter Monday. We pray for the intentions of France, Lebanon’s friend, and for Lebanon, which France and its people loved from the heart.
For us and for the world, France is a sign of hope for the values of freedom, equality and fraternity. We pray that you remain a beacon that lights the paths toward a better world and a new humanity.”
He concluded: “We ask God to accept our prayers based on the intention of our two countries, and that the blessing of Easter will touch our hearts, direct our minds to all that is right, and direct our will toward what is just, and that France and Lebanon, my country, will remain saints and holiness.” Amen.
2024-04-01 09:17:00
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