The Logic of Jesus Is Different to The Logic of The World
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On the fifth Sunday of the blessed season of Lent, our mother the Church calls us to reflect on the story of the paralysed man, his four mates and their community which was gathered around Jesus. Through this story, we come to know the true essence of grace: every touch of mercy in our lives is a call for repentance. Through repentance, the soul is healed. Healing the soul is required before healing the body.
The Gospel of the paralysed man has a special place in the liturgical memory of the Church. It is the passage that focusses more than any other Sunday passages during lent on the Sacrament of Penance. In fact, is there a lent without repentance and confession?
The fruit of good repentance is forgiveness, getting rid of sins and debts, boundless peace and joy toward God and the human. Who does not experience a wonderful inner peace and an indescribable joy when practising this sacrament? The closer we are to God, the more we become aware of our sin and of the greatness of the Sacrament of Penance. The farther we are from God, the weaker is our awareness of our sin. The distance between us and God reduces the level of confrontation necessary to discern our situation and
scrutinise it.
The confession, for which the Church has rites, holds celebrations and calls to practice it, stressing its importance on every occasion is a call for transformation from what is visible to the invisible. When the soul is healed, it leads to the Kingdom of God, while the body, even after being endowed with the grace of healing, will relapse one day and wear off.
How moving was the scene of the crowds gathered around Jesus, overflowing that place where he was. But He is here too in the confessional with all His mercy! How lovely would it be to see the confessionals similarly overcrowded by all of us, clergy and lay, people, like the situation in Capernaum where the four men lowered down their paralytic friend to bring him to Jesus.
Is it not strange what the paralytic’s four friends did? They challenged all difficulties and lowered him down from the roof, as one united group, as if they were interacting with the gifts of the Holy Spirit without realising it! As usual, the Lord Jesus surprised them and went far beyond what they were asking for. His logic is different from that of the world. He goes to the essence: “your sins are forgiven.” But to demonstrate to the crowd that his authority to forgive sins is authentic, he made the paralytic stand up before them.
How about you? Would you go beyond what people ask from you? Do you know how to read what is beyond the direct need? Do we realise that behind every request, the question is: “do you love me?” Do you know that love is the only need for all people? And if you have experienced the peace and joy of the Sacrament of Penance and touched by this love, why do you not take it to others? Why do you not proclaim the source of this love around you and bring those who are far, those who have been paralysed by sin, to the confessional as the paralytic’s friends did so they can heal?
Come, do not be late! The Lord is waiting.
Pastoral Message from Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay to the Clergy and Faithful of the Maronite Church
I refer to a story that was on a television program on Monday 25 March 2019 about a case involving Mrs Rose Elias, a Maronite parishioner, and Fr Pierre El Khoury, a priest of the Maronite Eparchy of Australia.
I acknowledge that Mrs. Elias and her family have expressed grievances to me in late 2016, which we attempted to mediate at the time. My mediation was necessarily limited as the family had commenced proceedings in the Lebanese civil courts, as is their right.
Contrary to the assertions made in the episode, I have met with the Elias family in the past in an attempt to assist them, but it became clear to me that the matter was beyond the scope of my authority and it was a matter for the civil courts. In addition, contrary to what was reported, I did not make any financial commitment to the Elias family. However, I committed to do my best to assist the family to resolve the matter. The family was and is always welcome to speak to me or meet with me.
I would like to indicate that the case and allegations are between the family and one priest, not against the Maronite Church nor any parish. The alleged actions are those of one person of the clergy. Parishioners need to be assured that our Eparchy is blessed with good priests who serve their parishes with loyalty, sacrifice and devotion. I am personally grateful for their efforts and work, and I am saddened that the story in the media is very embarrassing for our entire Maronite Church and tarnished the image of our clergy.
In correspondence and meetings with Fr Pierre El Khoury, I urged him to resolve the issues with the family in a proper Christian manner, worthy of a priest. As mentioned earlier, attempts at reconciliation were not successful. My decision to wait for the final decision of the civil court in Lebanon, before taking any further action, was not a matter of carelessness or insensitivity, but of prudence.
I have now asked Fr Pierre El Khoury to take personal leave until the matter is canonically investigated and finalised. This is not, however, to conclude that we have judged the matter adversely against Fr Pierre or for him.
It is important to note that the Elias family are members of our Maronite community, and I am concerned for their suffering and I will personally make every attempt to rebuild their trust in the Church.
I do acknowledge that many Maronites are hurting today because of this story and I share your pain. I apologise, if at any time, you have felt that a member of the clergy did not live up to your expectations or made mistakes. Never give up on Jesus or your faith because of human failures. We are not exempt from error or sin. But we are a pilgrim Church, looking to our Lord and Saviour and called in love to accompany one another in prayer.
We also ask Our Lady, the Mother of God and Mother of our Maronite Church, to pray with us and for us, that we may be faithful to her Son and attain our ultimate goal: eternal joy with Him in the Father’s Kingdom.
26 March 2019
Bishop Antoine-Charbel Taraby
Time Was Made For The Human Not The Opposite
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Twelve years of her life were gone while hemorrhaging and no one could help her. All the physicians of the city knew her very well; she had been their patient for years. They tried to treat her as much as they could or knew, but were unsuccessful. She exposed their weakness and limitation as she spent on them all her money without any benefit, until she became penniless. Yet she did not allow despair to creep into her heart. Instead, she crept behind the real physician, fully believing that all she needed was just to touch the fringe of his cloak to heal. A free remedy, finally, yet a very dear one; touching the Lord of glory!
This lady had no name. We only know her from her nickname, the “hemorrhaging woman”, as Saint Luke introduces her to us in his Gospel today! Her identity is linked to her illness, an ailment through which she knew how to glorify the name of God.
This woman could be any one of us! But do we know how to glorify God through our hemorrhage or pain? If you think that you are not hemorrhaging, stop and think again! What about the hemorrhaging in your faith, patience and needs? What about the constant hemorrhaging in your family, work and society? How many things are wasted in your life while trying to limit the loss but in vain?
Jesus was on his way to the house of a man called Jairus who was being tormented as his only daughter was dying. The hemorrhaging woman touched Jesus so he stopped and the heart of this poor man nearly stopped beating as he was so worried about his daughter. He thought that the Lord would be late and would not be able to save her. However, this
father would soon realise that he was in the presence of the Lord of time and life. Jesus does everything with calmness and serenity, never rushing out as if running out of time. He does not allow time to control him. He takes his time to introduce to the crowd the faith of the hemorrhaging woman. The Lord wanted to give that woman some of his time and reward her for her courage and faith. Do we know how to give each person in our life their right from our time? Aren’t our multiple preoccupations states of hemorrhaging in our lives? When would we realise that the time has been made to serve the human, not the human to serve the time?
Upon this logic, we live in our parish the season of the blessed lent with the Lord through many spiritual and liturgical activities, especially with the evening prayer and the reflections on the way of the cross every Friday, from the perspective of the Maronite Spiritual Year and under the theme of “living the Christian values”. You can also experience another
encounter with the Lord, any time you wish, before the 14 stations of the cross at the top of the carpark. In these stations, we reflect on the glory of the Lord’s passion. In addition, you can pray at the Lourdes grotto at the Cathedral entrance. Take your time as it was made for your service, not the other way around.
Do not also forget, dear faithful, the act of mercy during this blessed lent by contributing in the work to stop the hemorrhage of others through supporting the activities of Heaven on Earth which are aimed at the poorest of the poor in the country of the cedars, Lebanon. More information are available at both entrances of the Cathedral.
