The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) 

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Gospel Reading
John 1:1-18 (or shorter form, John 1:1-5, 9-14)
John announces that in Jesus, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

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Family Connection

At Christmas we celebrate the great mystery that God became flesh and dwelt among us. We call this mystery the Incarnation (the word means “to take on flesh”), and it changes everything. Today's Gospel reminds us that we can also look upon the Nativity from God's perspective to better appreciate the significance of the Incarnation.

 Read More at Loyola Press

History of the Ecumenical Councils

 

ORTHODOXY & HETERODOXY

The History of the Ecumenical Councils

 Wednesdays, January 12 - 26 & February 9 - 16 @ 8 - 9 PM ET

Join us as Rev. Christiaan Kappes leads us through the breathtaking story of the battle of the Holy Fathers of the Ecumenical Councils to preserve the integrity of the faith against heresy in the decisive first centuries of Church history. 

Christmas Novena Prayers

 Christmas Novena Prayers (click here)

By Living Maronite

 Maronite Christmas Novena, begins on 15 December and is nine consecutive days of prayer. It is a wonderful way of preparing ourselves for the birth of our Lord.

The Novena is designed to be prayed as a Parish community and includes incensing of the Blessed Sacrament, prayers, Syriac hymns and ends with Benediction of the blessed sacrament.

However, we have adapted a version on this podcast for families who can’t make it to a Church to participate at home for 9 days. It follows the inter-eparchial English format below and only requires 15 minutes per day. The text can be found at the link below and of course the podcast can’t include the benediction.

The Season of Announcement Explained

Fr. Boutros El-Hachem's talk ends at the 27 minute mark, then followed by questions and answers.  You will find this video helpful in understanding the six Sundays before the Glorious Birth and how they help us to spiritually prepare for celebration and worship.  

The Hoosoyo: A Tool for Liturgical Catechesis

By Fr. Claude W. Franklin, Jr., S.E.O.L

Around this time every year our parishes begin anew their Sunday School programs, and we celebrate “Catechetical Sunday”; this year on 20 September. But what exactly is “Catechesis?” Is it only done in Sunday School classrooms?

“Catechesis” comes from the Greek word katakeesis, meaning: “oral instruction” or more generally “instruction.” Thus, the one receiving “instruction” is known as a “catechumen” and the “instructor” is his or her “catechist.”

In a technical sense, the “Catechumenate” is a program for those coming into the faith, who have not yet been Baptized, nor received the Mysteries of Chrismation or the Eucharist. But we often use the term in a broader sense, such as the “Catechism of the Catholic Church.” In this case, we are referring to a document of the Catholic Church intended to “instruct” the Catholic faithful in the teachings of the Catholic Church.

The Hoosoyo is comprised of a Proemion, Sedro, Qolo and ‘Etro. A Proemion (Greek: “preface” or “introduction”), is typically an introduction to the commemoration being celebrated, and invokes the Trinity, for example: “Let us raise glory, honor, and praise to

the One Father, Whose voice came from Heaven testifying to His Beloved Son; and to the Only-Begotten Son, Who is worshipped, Whose light radiated upon the river, and Who accepted Baptism from John, His Forerunner; and the One Holy Spirit, Who descended and appeared above the head of the Son. To the Good One be glory and honor, on this Feast, and all the days of our lives, and forever. Amen.” (Feast of Epiphany, Book of Offering, 110)

Notice how this “introduction” sums up the Feast of Epiphany (Greek word meaning: “manifestation” or “appearance”) in terms of how each of the Persons of the Trinity “manifested” themselves on this day. However, the Proemion also reminds us that the Most Holy Trinity is “One” – “One Father,” “Only-Begotten,” “One Holy Spirit” – for the prayer ends by sending up “glory and honor” to the “Good One”!

This is followed by a Sedro (Syriac: “list” or “order”). This term refers to the fact that the second half of the Sedro prayer is a “list” of petitions, for example: “strengthen the weak, heal the sick, and satisfy the hungry...” (Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Book of Offering, 567). The first half of the Sedro is often the teaching portion, in which we are reminded of what or who we are commemorating, which leads into the second half, in which we ask either the Lord directly, or the saint being commemorated, to intercede to the Lord on our behalf with our “list” of petitions.

The next element which we find in a Hoosoyo is a Qolo (Syriac: “voice” or “hymn”). The tunes used for the Qolo of the Hoosoyo varies, but it will often mention the burning of incense, for example: “Alleluia! Aaron offered incense to Almighty God pleading with Him to avert death from the plague. With the fragrant incense that we offer now, may God spare us from the sting of sin and death.” (Thursday B of the Season of Pentecost, Book of Offering, 536) Note first the connection here between the incense of Aaron and our incense – as God did in the past, so too we ask Him to do for us now. But notice that the second half of this Stanza develops this theme. We remind the Lord that the incense offered in the past helped God’s People (the Jews) “avert death from the plague” (cf. Numbers 16:46-48), now we ask Him to “spare us from the sting of sin and death.” (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

Finally, the Hoosoyo is concluded with an ‘Etro (Syriac: “incense” or “smoke”), also known in many manuscripts as Qubolo (Syriac word meaning: “acceptance”). The ‘Etro, or Qubolo, is a prayer which asks the Lord to “accept” the “incense” we have offered to Him, similar in scope to the Stanza of the Qolo we just saw, except the ‘Etro is expressed in prose, for example: “O Lord, You are the Pleasant Incense and the Sweet Fragrance, and You bless the whole world with Your Divine Gifts. Accept the fragrance of this incense that we have offered to You, and grant mercy to our souls, forgiveness for our sins, and rest to our departed. To You be glory, now and forever. Amen.” (Tuesday B, Season of Pentecost, Book of Offering, 517) Note that here the request for the Lord “to accept” our incense is direct; unlike the Qolo, which has us (and the Lord) remember how the Lord accepted the incense of our ancestors. Also, in this instance, Christ is taking on the terminology of the incense itself: “You are the Pleasant Incense and the Sweet Fragrance.”

We also find this theme of “acceptance” of our incense in Psalm 141:2 “Let my prayer be counted as incense before Thee...” (RSVCE). For in the Syriac view, the incense represents our sins; the burning charcoal is God’s Mercy. Our sins are placed upon God’s Mercy and are transformed from foul-smelling sins to sweet-smelling prayers rising before the Throne of God, which we ask Him to accept, along with our “list” of petitions from the Sedro. This idea of transformation and our role in helping others be transformed is found in 2 Corinthians 2: 15-16: “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life...” (RSVCE)

While the primary function of the Hoosoyo is as a “Prayer of Forgiveness,” it is also a liturgical tool for catechesis. How?

Let us return to the Sedro, especially the first half. The first half of the Sedro has characteristics of an Anamnesis (Greek word meaning: “remembrance” or “commemoration”). It is here that we see the Church “instructing” the faithful about the feast being commemorated. The Church “remembers” and in a sense “reminds” God of what wonders He has done in the past and how the “Righteous and Just” have held onto the Catholic Faith, and in the case of the martyrs, even to the point of shedding blood. The actions of these holy ones teach us in our days to be faithful as our ancestors in the past were, so that we may achieve holiness like them. We already saw an example of this in the Stanza of the Qolo above, but this is often much more developed in the Sedro itself. The first half of the Sedro naturally flows into the second half, which is the “application” of the theme for us and our loved ones, usually with the connecting word of “now.” Much like in a sermon, the preacher will explain how a particular Scripture passage “applies” to our lives, so it is with this “now” portion of the Sedro, that we ask the Lord to “apply” His Mercy and Compassion upon us and fulfill the requests of our “list,” for example:

“O Christ our God, You are the True Light Who has come into the world. You are the Way that leads to the Father, and no one comes to the Father except through You. You showed us Your Love when You lived among us, and You told us of the Father’s Compassion and His Love for repentant sinners. You spoke to us of repentance, of mercy, and of living water. Today we meditate on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, who, trusting his father; turned from his life of corruption and repented of his sin.

Now, O Lord, we ask You, with the fragrance of this incense, to have compassion on us, as you have compassion on all sinners. May we humble ourselves before You and repent of our sins. Enlighten us that we may know You. Strengthen us with Your Power, and do not turn Your Face away from us lest the darkness of sin surround us.

Send Your Spirit to us sinners during this forgiving Season of Lent, so that we may return to You seeking forgiveness. Open Your Blessed Arms to us, and bring us close to You, so that we may meet You with joy and find happiness in knowing You. Be our strength and our help, that we may glorify You, Your Father, and Your Holy Spirit, forever. Amen.” (Sunday of the Prodigal Son, Book of Offering, p 220-221)

This Sedro beautifully demonstrates how the Hoosoyo in general, and the Sedro in particular, is a “tool for liturgical catechesis.” It takes the famous “Parable of the Prodigal Son,” reminds us, and our Lord, of key important aspects of it: “repentance” and how the son “turned from his life of corruption” by “trusting his father” and his “mercy.” In the “now” portion of the Sedro, we are encouraged to do the same as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Like the son in the parable, we must “humble ourselves before You and repent of our sins.” But notice that we cannot do it on our own, we need help, and so we make our “list” and ask our Lord: “with the fragrance of this incense, to have compassion on us.” And to “enlighten us that we may know You. Strengthen us with Your Power, and do not turn Your Face away from us...” Finally, this particular Sedro, in addition to the normal Anamnesis section has an Epiclesis (Greek word meaning:“invocation,” normally an invocation of the Holy Spirit). “Send Your Spirit to us sinners...so that we may return to You seeking forgiveness,” again a reminder to us, that we cannot repent on our own, we need God’s assistance. And we are finally reminded of how the father of the prodigal son (representing the Heavenly Father) reacted to his son’s return: “Open Your Blessed Arms to us, and bring us close to You...”

Hopefully this short explanation of the Hoosoyo has fostered an appreciation of the Hoosoyo as a tool for liturgical catechesis transmitted to us by our spiritual fathers. To learn more about the Hoosoyo, especially a bit about its history and origins read: Amar, Joseph, “The Syriac Hoosoyo: A Consideration of Narrative Techniques,” Diakonia 22/3 (1988-89) 153-168.

Fr. Claude W. Franklin, Jr. is a Maronite Priest of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn and in 2005 received a Licentiate Degree in Liturgy from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome.

Catechetical Sunday Resources

 

You can find all the resources here from the God With Us Online website.  This is a Byzantine resource that can be used (except for the catechetical religion books). Our Maronite catechetical series is The Faith of the Mountain.  

Also, the Roman Catholic Bishops' website has resources for Catechetical Sunday- click here- 

The Calling of a Catechist

The word vocation and catechist are not always used together.  However, the article cited below explains how serving as a catechist (religious education teacher) is a "calling."  It follows the understanding of Pope Francis who recently elevated the role of catechist as a ministry in the Church. 

Article by Joe Paprocki, Loyola Press webpage

Recruiting and forming catechists is a primary responsibility for catechetical leaders and is an ongoing challenge. You’re not just looking for any warm body but for people with the gifts that enable them to apprentice others into the faith.

With that in mind, I prefer to use the word calling instead of recruiting. We recruit people to perform a function. We call people to live out a vocation! Serving as a catechist is more than simple volunteerism. It is more than performing a function. It is more than filling a slot. It is a vocation: a call from God to serve his Church!

Perhaps this notion of catechists as having a vocation is new to you. In days gone by, we thought of vocations as pertaining to priests and nuns. While that is true, all people have a vocation: a call to live a life of holiness. In addition, some people have vocations to serve the Church in very important ways. Being a catechist is one of them. The Church refers to the vocation of the catechist in the General Directory for Catechesis (#23): “Indeed, efforts must be made to encourage in parishes and Christian communities vocations for catechesis.”

As a catechetical leader, you are not simply recruiting volunteers; you are calling people to a vocation to serve as a catechist. READ MORE HERE

Ministry of Catechist Instituted by Pope Francis

INSTITUTING THE MINISTRY OF CATECHIST

APOSTOLIC LETTER
ISSUED "MOTU PROPRIO"
BY THE SUPREME PONTIFF

FRANCIS

1. The ministry of Catechist in the Church is an ancient one. Theologians commonly hold that the first examples are already present in the writings of the New Testament. The service of catechesis may be traced back to those “teachers” mentioned by the Apostle in writing to the community of Corinth: “Some people God has designated in the Church to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then, gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way” (1 Cor 12:28-31). 

Saint Luke begins his Gospel by stating: “I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received” (Lk 1:3-4). The evangelist seems to be well aware that his writings offer a specific form of instruction that can give firm assurance to those already baptized. The Apostle Paul, for his part, tells the Galatians that: “one who is being instructed in the word should share all good things with his instructor” (Gal 6:6). As is evident, this text provides yet another detail; it speaks of the communion of life as a sign of the fruitfulness of an authentic catechesis.

2. From the beginning, the Christian community was characterized by many different forms of ministry carried out by men and women who, obedient to the working of the Holy Spirit, devoted their lives to the building up of the Church. At times, the charisms that the Spirit constantly pours out on the baptized took on a visible and tangible form of immediate service to the Christian community, one recognized as an indispensable diakonia for the community. The Apostle Paul authoritatively attests to this when he states that “there are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes” (1 Cor 12:4-11). 

Within the broader charismatic tradition of the New Testament, then, we can see that certain baptized persons exercised the ministry of transmitting in a more organic and stable form related to different situations in life the teaching of the apostles and evangelists (cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, 8). The Church wished to acknowledge this service as a concrete expression of a personal charism that contributed greatly to the exercise of her mission of evangelization. This glance at the life of the first Christian communities engaged in the spread of the Gospel also encourages the Church in our day to appreciate possible new ways for her to remain faithful to the word of the Lord so that his Gospel can be preached to every creature.

Continue reading....

Year of St. Joseph Resources

 In this Year of St. Joseph, here some free resources that you can use in your catechetical programs: 

St. Joseph Catechesis.   

Reach out to Sister Marla Marie if you need assistance with developing a catechesis on Saint Joseph. (contact: maronitereligioused@gmail.com)

  

Join the Meeting with Patriarch Rai March 27

Syriac Maronite Themes in Passion Week

Father Aaron Sandbothe, pastor of St. George Maronite Church in Uniontown, PA presents on Syriac Themes in Passion Week.  You can access the series on this link.  These workshops are an excellent resource for catechist or adult on-going formation.  

NAM VOCATIONS CONTEST Grades K - 12

Maronite Saints Coloring Pages

 

These coloring pages are designed for grades K-2 to teach the life of saints in the Maronite calendar. 

Parents and catechists are encourage to print them and use them on the feast of each particular saint or 

throughout the catechetical year.  

Maronite Formation Workshops