Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Peace and grace to you from your home of Saint Maron.

I hope that your Christmas celebration was a blessed one, and I pray that its joy may remain with you throughout the New Year and your whole life.

As we open the New Year, let us focus our hope on Christ, the Light of the world. Let us storm heaven with prayers on behalf of the nations and leaders of the world, especially in the Middle East, that they may find a peaceful solution to every conflict and build bridges of love between all people. We pray that the new changes in some countries will give birth to a long lasting period of peace and stability. We also pray for all the people suffering from losing their loved ones or homes or wounded physically or emotionally.

With the New Year, I challenge all of us, including myself, to go deeper into our faith and become more committed to our Christian vocation. 2025 is a Jubilee Year (Holy Year) and we are all called to benefit from the graces that God bestows upon us during this very special year.

I invite all of you to join us for the celebration of the Feast of our Patron, Saint Maron on Sunday, February the 9th. We will also have a dinner and hafli the night before on Saturday, February the 8th in our Cedars Hall. Please mark your calendar for this special event. That day will be the 122nd Anniversary of our parish.

What do you expect from this New Holy Year? Each one of us has a great and sacred vocation to live and a great mission to bring Christ to others and lead others to Christ. Each one of you must build up your relationship with Christ, learn more about your faith and tradition and share it with others with pride and happiness.

Let us unite our hearts and hands together and work for a better future for our children and family and parish and world. 30 years ago, the late Sy Kouri was asked by his son, "Why do you do all that for your Maronite community" He answered, "I am very proud of my community and I want it to flourish." What do you want for your church community? Let us join our hearts and hands together to continue building strongly on the great foundation of our forefathers. Love your parish, work for its wellbeing and help bring more holiness into it.

I pray that this New Year may be a very blessed and holy one for all of you, filled with happiness, prosperity and growth in spirit and faith. Be assured of my continuous love and prayers for all of you.

With best wishes and prayerful thoughts, I remain, ntinue showering His abundant graces upon us.

With best wishes and prayerful thoughts, I remain,

Wishing you God’s choicest blessings, I remain,
Devotedly yours,