Beloved Parishioners and Friends of St. Maron,
May the grace and love of our Lord Jesus be with you and your loved ones always. I pray that this letter will reach your hands and find you in good health of spirit and body with your loved ones.
Another month passes by and still missing many of you in your spiritual home of St. Maron. I thank God that after the reopening of the churches we are able to see some of you coming back to your home to worship God together with many who are still joining us virtually. A pastor is like a father, who misses his children when they are away from home and prays for them and hopes that they are protected, blessed, and happy.
Although I don’t see you physically or often, you are still in my prayers and in my thoughts every day. With every Divine Liturgy I remember you and ask God to look over you from heaven. Life in the parish without the parishioners is a challenge, like everything else, however, we want everybody to be healthy and happy and protected with the hope that life will return to normal sooner than later.
We are living in a time of uncertainty, especially with the corona virus, that really has affected most people on the face of the earth. On top of that we also end up with the protests and riots in our country, and worldwide, that affect more people, and many of them lost their businesses and livelihood because of some of these riots. Yes, there is an injustice that exists in society and there is racism that has been for centuries in our country and beyond. It needs to be treated with wisdom, compassion and love, not with violence, for violence begets violence and hatred begets hatred. We need peace instead of war, love instead of hate, so that we may build bridges between each other and to respect and to love every human person on the face of the earth, all colors and races and those in the wombs all the way to those near death. God created us all in His love, to be like Him and to love like Him. We need to put that love into action and as Christians we must play that role of being the light to the world and the salt to the earth, by putting first and foremost our trust in God and to follow and fulfill His will on our journey. The Lord depends upon all of us and calls us to play our role, to fulfill our vocation, of course with precautions. This country and this land is a gift from God to us and we need to protect it, respect it, and love it in any way possible so that we can help it to prosper and to be closer to God. This is our mission especially this month as we celebrate the 244th Anniversary of the beautiful USA.
Be assured of my prayers and please remember me in your prayers.
In Christ’s Love,
Chorbishop sharbel Maroun
