Patriarch Rahi: “We struggle so that Lebanon does
not turn into an area for region's conflicts, a missile platform and a battle
front”.
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Patriarch Rahi: “The Lebanese state was not
established to be the enemy of its brothers and friends, so let us not make it
the enemy of itself”.
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Patriarch Rahi: “We look forward to holding the
elections on time, announcing the truth of the port bombing, accelerating
reform, completing the implementation of "Taif" and adopting the
system of positive neutrality”.
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President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun,
Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister, Najib Mikati,
participated in the Divine Liturgy held at St. Maron Church in Gemmayzeh on the
occasion of the feast of St. Maroun, patron saint of the Maronite community.
The mass was headed by Maronite Patriarch, Mar
Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, who was assisted by the Patron of the Beirut
Archdiocese of the Maronites, Archbishop Boulos Abdel-Sater, Archbishop Khalil
Alwan and a group of priests, in addition to a number of official, political
and diplomatic individuals.
Upon President Aoun's arrival in the church's outer
courtyard, he was received by the President of the Maronite General Council,
Eng. Michel Matta, who accompanied the President to the entrance to the church,
where he was received by Patriarch Al-Rahi and the Maronite Archbishop of
Beirut, Bishop Boulos Abdel-Sater, and Public Prosecutor Ignatius Al-Asmar.
President Aoun and the Patriarch went to the statue
of Saint Maron and its relics, and lit two candles and prayed. Then, the
President went to his seat, where applause and cheers rose for him, before he
saluted Speaker Berri and PM Mikati.
Attendees:
The mass was attended by former Prime Ministers
Fouad Siniora and Tammam Salam, Deputy Prime Minister Saade Al-Shami, former
Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani, Ministers of: Foreign Affairs and
Emigrants Abdallah Bou Habib, Justice, Judge Henry Khoury, Defense, Brigadier
General Maurice Selim, Tourism, Walid Nassar, Economy, Amin Salam, Displaced,
Issam Sharaf El-Din, Finance, Youssef Khalil, Energy and Water, Walid Fayyad,
Industry, George Bouchikian and Social Affairs, Hector El-Haggar.
Also attending were several current and former
representatives, the Papal Ambassador to Lebanon, Monsignor Joseph Spitri, a
number of Arab and foreign ambassadors, a crowd of bishops and representatives
of heads of Christian denominations also attended, President of the
Constitutional Council, Judge Tannous Meshleb, and a number of council members,
the Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, the Central Inspection Head, Judge
Georges Attia, the Director General of the Presidency of the Republic, Dr.
Antoine Choucair, Director General of State Security, Major General Tony
Saliba, Gendarmerie Commander, Brigadier Marwan Salilati, Director of Civil
Defense, Brigadier General Raymond Khattar, Director General of Customs,
Raymond Khoury, Head of the Lawyers Syndicate, Nader Kaspar, Chief Editors
Syndicate, Joseph Al-Qusaifi, Head of Doctors Syndicate, Sharaf Abu Sharaf, and
Pharmacists Syndicate Joe Salloum, Beirut Governor, Judge Marwan Abboud, Dean
of the Consular Corps, Joseph Habis, President of the Maronite General Council
Michel Matta, Dean of the Maronite Council, former Minister Wadih El-Khazen,
President of the Maronite League, former MP Neematallah Abi Nasr and Vice
President of the Association Ambassador Khalil Karam, head of the Maronite
Diaspora Foundation, Engineer Charles Hajj, and political, party and social
figures.
Speech of Archbishop of Beirut, Bishop Boulos
Abdel-Sater:
“Thanks be to God who gave us to celebrate again the
feast of Saint Maron, father of our Maronite community, in the presence of
officials in our country, His Excellency the President of the Republic, the
Speaker of Parliament and the Prime Minister, accompanied by deputies,
ministers, heads of security services, general managers and ambassadors of
friendly countries, in the midst of a believing people who adhere to their
faith and their land.
It is a source of joy and pride for the Maronite
Archdiocese of Beirut that His Beatitude our Father, the Patriarch, presides
over this celebration and prays within the walls of this church for the
intention of Lebanon and its capital, Beirut, and its people.
Beirut, which resists death by its people's desire
for life and their attachment to its neighborhoods and streets, even if the
sacrifices are great.
Beirut, which resists all hegemony by adhering to
independence, sovereignty and free decision away from the interactions of
regional and international axes.
Beirut, which is resisting partition, is close to
its people, who are in the majority from several regions of Lebanon, with each
other and by their solidarity in distress and by sharing each other’s sorrows
and joys.
Beirut, which resists sectarian and partisan
fanaticism by opening its people to the other, accepting his distinction, and
respecting the freedom of his conscience, religion, tradition and culture.
Beirut, which resists injustice by standing by the
weak, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the pursuit of the truth, especially
the fact of the explosion of August 4, 2020, and by struggling with it until it
obtains its right and attains the truth it seeks.
Your Beatitude, Your Excellency, the President, and
Your Excellencies, let us pray together for the intention of the resurrection
of Beirut and Lebanon and work for it”.
Word of Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros
Al-Rahi:
Mar Maroun's Day
“If a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,
it bears much fruit” (John 12:23).
Mr. President,
1. We thank you for accepting the invitation of our
brother, Archbishop Boulos Abdel-Sater, Archbishop of Beirut, to participate in
the feast mass of our father, Saint Maron, while preserving your good custom.
We also thank His Excellency the Speaker of
Parliament, Mr. Nabih Berri, and His Excellency the Prime Minister, Mr. Najib
Mikati, for accepting the invitation.
Your presence confers on the feast its religious and
national dimensions, with its comprehensive pluralistic content of the
components of the one Lebanese family. While we welcome your Excellency and the Prime Minister and Speaker,
we also welcome the papal ambassador, metropolitans, ministers,
representatives, ambassadors, officials and this faithful people.
It also pleases me to congratulate the Lebanese
citizens in general, and all the sons of the Maronite nation in particular, in
Lebanon and the countries of the East, and the diaspora of the feast of our
father Saint Maron, who invites us to return to our spiritual and
civilizational origins.
2. The grain of wheat, which Christ the Lord speaks of in today's
Gospel, symbolizes the mystery of his death and resurrection, from which the
Church and the new humanity were born. It is the "grain of wheat" par
excellence. And Saint Maron lived and died on Mount Cyrus between the Great
Antioch and Aleppo, through austerity, death and prayer, is a “grain of wheat”
that yielded a ripe tree that is the Maronite Church.
There on the fortress of Kaluta in Mount Simeon he
built a little hut, which he rarely used. God generously bestowed upon him the
gift of healing, and he drew crowds to him from every direction. He cured all
kinds of diseases with one medicine, which is prayer, and instructed and taught
the way to ascend the ladder of virtues, so he was called "the teacher of
Cyrus hermits and their father."
3. When we speak of Saint Maron, it comes naturally to talk about
Maroniteness, not in its political appearance, but in its essence and origins.
Maroniteism is basically a Syriac Antiochian
spiritual path, which began on the example of that monk Maron, who is dedicated
to the philosophy of God's love through asceticism. Then it became a
theological school based on the doctrine of the Council of Chalcedon (451),
which states that the two natures are divine and human in the person of Christ.
It is a Catholic belief that made the Maronites in permanent union with the see
of Peter in Rome. Then it was embodied in a human society united by faith.
Finally, it was organized as a legal entity with the
establishment of the Maronite Antioch Patriarchate at the end of the seventh
century. This entity has remained independent for centuries from any civil
authority (Father Michel al-Hayek: Maroniteness: a knot or a cause? pp. 27-29).
The mother of the Maronites is Lebanon, not
insofar as it is a land, a state, or a nationality, but rather, a land of
freedom.
They made freedom their spiritual, social and
political project, and it made them students in every stance, initiative and
decision.
4. The Maronites followed Saint Maron from the
beginning, not only for his faith, but especially for his values. Therefore,
Maroniteness begins in us when we adhere to the virtues of benevolence, giving,
love, steadfastness, dignity and strength. It ends in us when we are possessed
by grudge, envy, hatred, revenge and the spirit of surrender.
History teaches us that the political and military
downfall of all empires was preceded by the collapse of the ladder of values
in their societies, the low level of their leaders, their entrenched
differences, the spread of corruption, and the control of whims of interests.
On this religious and national occasion at the same
time, we renew our faith in Lebanon and our adherence to it despite all the
internal and external challenges. The challenge strengthens our steadfastness and urges us to draw
lessons for the development and protection of our existence.
The Maronites did not choose "Greater
Lebanon" by chance. Before him, they experienced in Lebanon and the Mashreq all kinds of
regimes, kingdoms and sultanates. They lived through all conquests, religions and sects, in Mount
Lebanon, with their Druze brothers in particular, they experimented with
various forms of constitutional formulas, especially in the nineteenth century,
so they knew the advantages and disadvantages of each formula.
And when they became in a position of influence in
the choice of destiny in the year 1920, they chose with the other Lebanese
components the Christian-Islamic partnership and belonging to the Arab
environment.
5. They distinguished their homeland with cultural and religious
pluralism, a parliamentary democratic system, public freedoms, a commitment to
neutrality and peace, and the separation of religion from the state in a unique
charter formula based on living together.
They also distinguished their country with its
liberal economy, prosperity, banking system, schools, universities, and
hospital institutions, and its security, stability and openness.
We wanted it together to be a pioneering project in
the East. So that the
formula of coexistence in the internal environment goes beyond to coexistence
with their Arab environment on the basis of mutual respect.
We wanted it to be a meeting place of civilizations
and an oasis of their coexistence. But the weakness of the national immunity,
which is attributed to the multiplicity of loyalties, distorted Lebanon's
message. However, we struggle together so that Lebanon does not continue to
become a place for the region's conflicts, a missile platform, and a battle
front.
The state of Lebanon was not established to be the
enemy of its brothers and friends, so let us not make it the enemy of itself.
Recognizing Lebanon as a final homeland means
recognition of three constants: the finality of the coexistence pact, the
finality of the Christian role, and the finality of allegiance to Lebanon
alone. By respecting this historical triangle, we will save Lebanon's unity and
prove its neutrality.
6. Since their inception, the Maronites have sought
to be an independent state in Lebanon and the East. Their limits are freedom
and dignity, and their range is dialogue and interaction with civilizations.
They took root in the East and extended their branches
towards the world. Their logic is faith, reason and conscience, and their
loyalty is to one nation, which is Lebanon.
They adapted to reality without submitting to it,
and lived with others without melting into them. They avoided getting involved
in conflicts, not because they are a minority in the East, but because they are
messengers of peace.
7. On the occasion of this national and religious
holiday at the same time, and in the presence of the respected leaders of the
state, we look forward with the Lebanese people to five priorities:
1) Parliamentary and presidential elections are held on their
constitutional dates. The Lebanese people, who are resident and in diaspora,
yearn for change, are looking forward to these two demands to express their
national will, so do not disappoint their hopes again.
2) Announcing the truth about the Beirut port explosion, after nearly
two years. It has been
called the explosion of the age, so it is not possible for the investigation to
remain frozen and a victim of controversies and constitutional interpretations,
as if someone fears the truth?
3) Accelerating the reform process and agreeing with the International
Monetary Fund on a realistic and integrated plan that will save Lebanon from
continuous collapse, and restore to it the elements of its economic, financial
and developmental renaissance.
4) Completing the implementation of the Taif Accord and addressing the
resulting gaps, while seeking to implement Security Council resolutions in
order to achieve Lebanon's sovereignty over its entire territory. If the
state's inability to do so continues, it is necessary to seek the assistance of
the United Nations to convene an international conference to ensure the
implementation of solutions and the safety of Lebanon.
5) Adopting the system of positive neutrality as a basis in our
foreign relations, because it is the guarantee of Lebanon's unity, independence
and sovereignty. The neutrality that we demand is already a structural element
in the formation of Lebanon and is inherent in its geographical location and
its peaceful heritage.
8. We pray to God that, through the intercession of Saint Maron, he
protects our homeland and our Church so that we all remain faithful to our
mission in this East. Praise be to God, now and forever, Amen”.
At the end, the Patriarch accompanied President
Aoun, Speaker Berri and PM Mikati to the entrance to the church, where the
crowd chanted the name of President Aoun and Lebanon.
Then, the President left to Baabda Palace.