Haitham Fakhouri

Beloved,

In the spirit of keeping in touch with each other during this world-wide disruptiveness of work, school and every aspect of our lives, I wish to direct to your attention that as bad as these disruptions are to the world and especially the economy, it behooves us, as people, to now reflect on our souls and priorities whether in family, in business or in church.

Bottom line, world events, be it war or viruses, take away from us the need to be in control. We know that God, Who created this universe said, “Let there be light” and He said, “It is good.” He holds the whole world in His hands and since we are in this world, He holds us in the palm of His hand.

The Coronavirus asks us not to be withdrawn, but to take a personal inventory of our life and think about what matters. This crisis has made the entire world cooperate with each other for information and finding a vaccine. This is not about Republicans or Democrats or any political party, but about the safety and protection of God’s inhabitants, men, women and children.

For a long time, family has been distanced from each other, husbands and wives at work, children in day-care or at school. It seems the home has become a gathering place to eat and sleep. Today, this disruption calls upon parents to communicate with their children, provide structure and feed them with faith. We are to rejoice in the Lord. “We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

I wish to reflect on the Parable of the Rich Fool, taken from the Gospel of St. Luke 12:16-21 and how this man, like the rest of us, worked, produced and stored his goods without reflecting on his own mortality and eternal life. “It appears to be the most egregious folly imaginable, for men to spend their time and strength in getting and laying up treasure upon earth, in the meantime neglecting or not duly endeavouring, to be rich towards God.”

I do not wish to underestimate the chaos and disruption of your family and the families around the world from the coronavirus. I wish to emphasize that God made us people to pray, in season and out of season, in good times and in bad times, as He assured us that He is with us whether walking through fire or flood or climbing the mountain or passing by the shadow of death. At the end, we belong to Him, Who is the author of life and makes us reach out to each other, to check on each other and to be a good neighbor, even to strangers.

 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7)

Even though you are not physically present in church, the church is praying for you and your family for your good health and well-being.

Your Loving Priest,

Fr. George Shalhoub

In this gospel lesson of St. Luke 13:10-17 we hear of the lord teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. Whereby Jesus sees a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for 18 years and could not stand straight. Our Lord who is compassionate calls her to him and says to her “Woman you are freed from your infirmity!”. After Jesus laid his hands on her and made her straight, she glorified God. We then hear of the indigent ruler who chastised Christ for healing the woman on the Sabbath because people who help other people was considered “work” and was strictly forbidden on the sabbath according to the Jewish law of the Sabbath, except in emergency situations. Jesus calls the ruler a hypocrite and makes reference to animals needing water on the Sabbath to be cared for. Then tells him, (paraphrasing) “isn’t a daughter of Abraham (daughter of Israel) more important to be cared for than the animals”. The bottom line is, Jesus is telling him if you can water your animals on the Sabbath which is work on the Sabbath, then it is perfectly fine for the woman to be released from Satan’s hold or spiritual infirmity on the Sabbath.

Reflection

Ask yourself this question, “do you think before you speak?” We hear in this gospel lesson how Christ got the ruler as we say “on a technicality.” How many times in our own lives are we caught in our own technicalities by others because we do not think before we speak and judge and accuse before we think and before we speak?

Many accept Christ but then drift away in their relationship to Him or they keep it superficial. This type of relationship often won’t bear much spiritual fruits.

Like a plant, we must be well rooted in Christ to have a fruitful spiritual life. St Paul wrote “6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6-7).

Dear friends, life in Christ is meant to transform us. Deepen your relationship to Him. Love Him, keep His commandments and contemplate in His life and words. Spend time with Him in prayer. Talk to Him often. He is the spring of love. Satisfy your spiritual hunger. Feed your spirit. Remain in Him by partaking His body and blood in the Eucharist.

Let your roots go deep to withstand any storms.

May God bless you.

Most if not all of us are guilty of idle talk. Idle talk is any vain unnecessary talk that can be damaging to ourselves and others even though it may seem harmless. The Bible warns us against idle talk. Jesus said “36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” (Mathew 12:36)

St. Paul wrote “4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:4). 

Dear friends, controlling the tongue is very difficult yet we must learn how to tame it. It starts at the source which is our hearts. If we cleanse our hearts and fill it with love and humility, it will reflect in our speech. Jesus said “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Mathew 12:34)

Pray like King David prayed, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalms 141:3)

May God bless you.

In the parable of the rich and Lazarus, Jesus talked about the eternal destiny of both the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man ended up in Hades and Lazarus went to heaven in the bosom of Father Abraham. 

Lazarus had suffered a difficult life on earth in poverty and illness. The rich man on the other hand enjoyed a luxurious life and chose to ignore poor Lazarus who laid at the gates of his house. 

The parable never mentioned that the rich was a bad person or that Lazarus was a holy man. The rich man grave sin however was that he ignored poor Lazarus while enjoying life. 

Dear friends, we may be enjoying life but are we ignoring the less fortunate. This is an important issue we may be guilty of in a materialistically self-centered culture. The consequences of ignoring the poor are grave. 

We ought to help others not out of obligation but out of love. We ought to care for our needy brothers and sisters in humanity. God wants us to love each other. Our relationship with Him is tied to our relationship to each other. The more we love God, the more we would love our neighbor. It is a direct relationship. Take advantage of every opportunity God puts your way to help someone. Don’t give yourselves excuses. The path to hades is paved with excuses. Even better look yourselves for opportunities to help others. 

May God bless you. 

When entering the monastic life, Christian monks are taught a very valuable spiritual lesson. They are taught not to be affected by human praise or insults alike. If people praise us, pride may creep into our hearts leading to vain glory. If people insult us, this may lead us to revenge or despair. People are often not fair in the way they judge because of their lack of knowledge. Therefore, it is best to thicken our skin and not worry about how people view us. Only God knows what exactly is in the hearts. He is just, merciful and He loves us. 

Dear friends, seek to please God. Do good to others not to seek their praise but rather give praise to God who transformed you into a better person. Don’t be affected by insults because God is your ultimate judge. 

You are a child of God Almighty. You are dear and valuable to Him. Nothing should affect your self-value or esteem. Focus on your Heavenly Father and the rest is secondary. Love people because this is your new nature not seeking any secondary gains. Pray for those who insult you that they may repent and come to know God. Be proactive not reactive. Bring people to God.

May God bless you. 

Jesus in His deepest pain on the cross taught us the ultimate lesson on forgiveness. He prayed for those who were crucifying Him while being tormented on the cross!! 

Jesus said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). Anger and Revenge would have been on the natural man mind, but when the divine speaks, only moral perfection is uttered. 

Dear friends, you may feel revengeful to those who hurt you. But ask God to give you the power of forgiveness. Jesus not only forgave those who crucified Him but also prayed for them. Forgiveness opens the gates of heaven to us. Forgive and pray for someone who hurt you. Be like Christ who is our example to emulate. Love is powerful because it can turn enemies into friends. Revenge only exacerbates the hatred leading to wars and loss. Choose the narrow path that leads to the kingdom. Unfortunately, only few choose this path. 

May God bless you. 

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Don’t Repay Evil with Evil:

St. Paul wrote “17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” (Roman 12:17-21)

Dear friends, if we repay evil, then we are no different than those who commit evil. If we love God, we must do our best to gain people around us. This is difficult to do on your own. We need God’s to help do this. God will give us the power to forgive and to do good.

We can change those around us by repaying evil with good. Otherwise, we only offer back evil, and we lose our internal peace. Be wise. Follow what your creator Has commanded you to do. God can defend His children against all evil according to His wisdom.

May God bless you.

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Prayer:

O God, be attentive to help me. Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed and confounded who seek my life. Let them be turned back and ashamed who desire evil against me. Let them be turned back because of their shame, who say to me, “Well done! Well done!” Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; and let those who love your salvation say continually, Let God be magnified! But as for me, I am poor and needy; O God, help me! You are my help and my deliverer; Lord, do not delay. (Psalm 70)

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Restoration:

God created Adam and placed in him paradise. Then He created Eve to be Adam’s wife and companion. They disobeyed God and they were kicked out of heaven. They lost their comfortable and pure life in paradise. Now they had to toil and work to make a living. Sin made them lose paradise and now they and their descendants must suffer the consequences of sin, namely sickness and death.

Even though we are not responsible for Adam and Eve’s sin, we inherited the effects of their sin. In this fallen world, we all will eventually get sick and die.

God never gives up on His creation. He loves His creation and He sent His only begotten son Jesus to save the world. God wanted to restore what Adam and Eve had destroyed. Jesus conquered death by His resurrection. Our sins are forgiven by the price He paid on the cross.

Therefore, death can no longer conquer us. Jesus gave us victory. Even though we may die physically, we shall have eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Jesus restored what was broken. God loves us, and as our Father, always tries to fix the mess His children cause.

God is Holy and for us to live in His kingdom we must become Holy. Therefore, we must experience transformation from the old sinful self into a new righteous self. This is what rebirth is or being born again means. We must grow to become Christlike. The old Adam brought sin, the new Adam (Christ) saved us and restored our relationship and communion with God. May God bless you.

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Prayer:

God of our fathers, you always treat us with leniency. Do not withdraw your mercy from us, but by the intercessions of our fathers, guide our life in peace. With the blood of your martyrs throughout the world, as if with purple and fine linen having been adorned, your Church through them cries out to you, Christ our God. Send down your mercies upon your people. Grant peace to your commonwealth, and to our souls your great compassion. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto ages of ages. Amen. (from the Small Compline)

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