Saint Maron Maronite Catholic Church

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Saint Maron Maronite Catholic Church September 15-16, 2018 DEFENDING OUR FAITH! WHY WE BELIEVE WHAT WE BELIEVE! As we begin our series of Defending our Faith, Fr.

We will expound on this topic in the next edition of our bulletin. In the meantime, I ask you to please read this beautifully written article for food for thought.

1 Saint Maron Maronite Catholic Church September 15-16, 2018 DEFENDING OUR FAITH! WHY WE BELIEVE WHAT WE BELIEVE! As we begin our series of Defending our Faith, Fr. David Fisher has written the following article which is a great resource as we discuss the dignity of life from conception to natural death. We will expound on this topic in the next edition of our bulletin. In the meantime, I ask you to please read this beautifully written article for food for thought. The Holy Innocents: In Defense of the Unborn "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; (Jeremiah 1:5) Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother's womb. (Psalm 22:5) Introduction The Catholic Church often finds itself alone in the United States and in the International Community, in its defense of Life and the rights of the unborn. In the United States and Canada we find some of the most extreme legislation and judicial decisions, literally leaving the unborn child with no rights and defenseless. Much like the decision to defend slavery in the nineteenth century, long after most predominantly Christian nations had given up the practice; we may very well find ourselves on the wrong side of history in our lack of defense for the Right to Life of the unborn. Roe v. Wade is the twentieth century equivalent of Dred Scott v. Sanford the infamous decision holding that slaves and their descendants were not and could not be citizens of any American State for purposes of the Constitution. Conceptually, the Roe abortion rule is like slavery; it dehumanizes and treats as chattel a whole class of humanity. As Dred Scott held that Blacks were not persons entitled to constitutional protection, so Roe holds that unborn humans are not entitled to basic constitutional protection for their lives. As the Court in Dred Scott said that Black slaves are merely the property of their owners, so Roe said that an unborn human being is merely property belonging to it s pregnant mother which the woman can dispose of as she wishes. If, as Abraham Lincoln said at Coopers Union, the message of slavery is that a man is not a man if he is Black, the core message of Roe is that a human being is not a human being if he or she is in utero. (CNSNews.com, Lynn Wardle, January 23, 2015) The justice which the Catholic Church seeks for the unborn is part of the seamless garment of life; the association of life issues with the seamless cloak of Jesus that his executioners did not tear sense it had no seam. This term was coined by the Catholic activist Eileen Egan ( ) and further developed by the late Joseph Cardinal Bernadin ( ), to promote the notion of a consistent ethic of life as concerns the issues of abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia. Within the last hundred years we have witnessed the holocaust of the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazis, the holocaust of the Armenians by the crumpling Ottoman Empire and the holocaust of the unborn, which in length of years and numbers lost, is greater than all others. The Right to Privacy The philosophical and judicial notion of a right to privacy has its roots in the philosophy of the seventeenth century British Empiricist philosopher John Locke, whose ideas on government greatly influenced Thomas Jefferson. Locke opposed the divine right of kings style of government, which was popular in France and other European countries of his day. He supported the deposing the last Catholic monarch of England, James II and the installing of William and Mary to rule as limited monarchs. In his Natural Rights Theory, he proposes that every person is born with a right to life, liberty and private property, in other words these three inalienable rights could not be taken away by and monarchy or parliament. It is this third right of Locke s theory, the right to private property, that had been employed by modern pro-choice proponents to support their idea of a woman s right over her body as extending to even the unborn child. This of course was never the intention of Locke himself, his concern was to limit QUOTE OF THE WEEK Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no Fr. Vincent Farhat, Pastor Fr. David Fisher, Weekend Assistant Fr. Richard Cannuli, Weekend Assistant Mrs. Zeina Topalian, Religious Education Director Address: 1013 Ellsworth Street, Philadelphia, PA Office: Hall Reservations: Evening Emergency Number: or Website: Church Office: saintmaronphiladelphia@hotmail.com Instagram Facebook Page: Saint Maron Maronite Catholic Church of Philadelphia OFFICE HOURS: The Church office will be open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm.

2 government search and seizures of property and to further an idea that the fruit of your labors were a part of your person. Much of the attention the Supreme Court once lavished on a broad concept of property it now devotes to certain personal liberties that it has designated as fundamental. Remarkably, the property paradigm, including the old language of absoluteness, broods over this developing jurisprudence of personal rights. The new right of privacy, like the old right of property, has been imagined by the Court and lawyers generally as marking off a protected sphere surrounding the individual (the right to privacy was) quite literally pulled from the hat of property. (Mary Ann Glendon, Rights Talk: The Impoverishment of Political Discourse, 1991; pages 40, 50) The Right to Privacy first emerged from the Right to Private Property in American Jurisprudence in 1890, but was concerned with the protection of private communication from unlawful use by the press and publications. It entered the realm of law as concerns human sexuality in 1965, when the Supreme Court struck down contraceptive restrictions legislated by the States in Griswold versus Connecticut. This decision was a nod by the court Supreme Court towards Planned Parenthood and its contraceptive programs. This fallacious extension of the Right to Private Property to a Right to Privacy, along with the usurping of State s Rights by the Supreme Court reached its pinnacle in the landmark decision of Roe versus Wade in Ironically part of the argument for legalized abortion was the bad science being taught at the time, that it was impossible to say when human life begins, or when the fetus feels pain, or has viability outside the womb. All these arguments have been debunked by science today, so much so that the feminist Naomi Wolf has declared that abortion is the taking of a human life, but that women should be allow to do so. (Naomi Wolf, our Bodies, Our Souls, New Republic, 1995) With Roe versus Wade, the Constitutional Rights of the unborn, which had existed since the ratification of the United States Constitution ceased to exist. EVANGELIUM VITAE Blessed Paul VI in 1968, had clearly upheld the Catholic Church s teaching on the protection of the unborn s right to life: Therefore We base Our words on the first principles of a human and Christian doctrine of marriage when We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children. (Pope Paul VI, Humane Vitae, July 25, 1968, no.14) Saint John Paul II, further explained Catholic teaching on life in his encyclical letter, Evangelium Vitae of 1995, which was written to proclaim that, The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus' message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as "good news" to the people of every age and culture. (Evangelium Vitae, no.1) John Paul II points to the confusion of culture today, the devaluation of life and the violence against the poor, elderly, women, the handicapped, and the unborn. He names this the culture of death, which violates the sacredness of human life. He writes: In fact, while the climate of widespread moral uncertainty can in some way be explained by the multiplicity and gravity of today's social problems, it is no less true that we are confronted by an even larger reality, which can be described as a veritable structure of sin. This reality is characterized by the emergence of a culture which denies solidarity and in many cases takes the form of a veritable "culture of death". This culture is actively fostered by powerful cultural, economic and political currents which encourage an idea of society excessively concerned with efficiency In this way a kind of "conspiracy against life" is unleashed. In order to facilitate the spread of abortion, enormous sums of money have been invested and continue to be invested in the production of pharmaceutical products which make it possible to kill the fetus in the mother's womb without recourse to medical assistance. On this point, scientific research itself seems to be almost exclusively preoccupied with developing products which are ever more simple and effective in suppressing life and which at the same time are capable of removing abortion from any kind of control or social responsibility. (Evangelium Vitae, no ) Reflecting on Sacred Scripture in Jeremiah, Job, Psalms, and the meeting of the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth in Luke; John Paul II writes, How can anyone think that even a single moment of this marvelous process of the unfolding of life could be separated from the wise and loving work of the Creator, and left prey to human caprice? Conclusion While St. Stephen is counted as being the first Christian martyr, the Holy Innocents were the first to be martyred because Christ had entered into the world. The selfish pursuit of power and unwillingness to be open to the Truth, led Herod to slaughter the Holy Innocents, in hope of that one of them would be the baby Jesus. Unfortunately, in our culture the pursuit of personal wealth, power, and extreme individualism coupled with a secular-agnosticism as regards Truth, has produced a new group of Holy Innocents; again in hope of removing Jesus, the Lord of Life from our world. Just as an individual is judged not so much by the way he or she treats their peers, but by how they treat those they have an advantage over, so shall our society be judged by how we treat those who are least powerful and in the greatest need of our protection. Our Lady and the Holy Innocents, pray for us! (Rev.) David A. Fisher MYA THEOLOGY ON TAP The MYA will meet on Saturday, October 13, for Theology on Tap. Please mark your calendars and join us at 7:00 PM. Please RSVP by October 10 th so that we can choose a place to have our discussion. I m looking forward to seeing you all there. God bless. BIBLE STUDY Fr. David will begin bible study on Thursday, September 20, at 7:00 PM in the Church hall. I hope many of you will join us as we begin another year of bible study and the Church history. Thank you once again Fr. David for your knowledge and instruction.

LITURGY INTENTIONS Saturday, September 15, 2018 @ 6:00 PM, (Feast of St. Simon the Stylite) liturgy is being offered for the soul of Richard DiGregorio requested by Ida Farhat.

Sunday, September 16, 2018 @ 11:00 AM, liturgy is offered for the soul of Peter Koway requested by Mike and Jean Marakowski. May his soul rest in peace.

Thecla) Liturgy is being offered for the soul of Robert Cherfane requested by his family. May his soul rest in peace.

3 LITURGY INTENTIONS Saturday, September 15, 6:00 PM, (Feast of St. Simon the Stylite) liturgy is being offered for the soul of Richard DiGregorio requested by Ida Farhat. May his soul rest in peace. Liturgy is being offered for the soul of Youseff Rahme requested by Nan Farhat. May his soul rest in peace. Sunday, September 16, 11:00 AM, liturgy is offered for the soul of Peter Koway requested by Mike and Jean Marakowski. May his soul rest in peace. Saturday, September 22, 6:00 pm, liturgy is being offered for the soul Theodore Scairato. May his soul rest in peace. Sunday, September 23, 11:00 am, Feast Day of St. Thecla) Liturgy is being offered for the soul of Robert Cherfane requested by his family. May his soul rest in peace. Monday, September 24, 11:00 am, Tuesday, September 25, 11:00 am, Wednesday, September 26, 11:00 am, Thursday, September 27, 11:00 am, SANCTUARY CANDLE The sanctuary candle is available for special intentions throughout the year. Each week the candle is offered for your special intention. Please contact the Church office for availability. UPCOMING EVENTS FALL HAFLI, Saturday, October 20, immediately following 6:00 PM Divine Liturgy. SAINT JUDE NOVENA, October SAINT JUDE NOVENA DINNER, October 28, pasta dinner after novena, $5.00 per dinner. WELCOME TO THE FLOCK OF CHRIST We welcome to the flock of Christ Sharbel Takfoor who was baptized on September 9. Congratulations to Tony and Georgette Takfoor and Youssef as well Tete Aliss Takfour, Sharbel s grandparents in Dubai, his aunts and uncles, and all his family members. May Almighty God protect Sharbel and keep him in His loving arms forever. Mabrook! CCD REGISTRATION FOR CCD registration has begun for the year. Please register your children early so that we may prepare accordingly with books and supplies. Applications were ed last week. If you are in need of these forms please visit our website or contact the office. They are also available in the Church hall after Divine Liturgy. We are looking forward to another great year. SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION (CONFESSION) Please know that confession is available before liturgies. You may also call to set up an appointment. MYO PARENT/MEMBERS MEETING There will be a meeting for all MYO Parents and MYO Members on Sunday, September 16, immediately following Divine Liturgy. I ask all of you to please make every effort to attend this gathering as we prepare to introduce our new program for the year. Bishop Gregory is very happy with the program and I thank Zeina, Annie, and Amal for their help and insight for this agenda. WELCOME BACK YOUTH GLOW DANCE St. Maron will host once again our annual Glow Dance party on Saturday, September 22, beginning at 7:00 PM. Pizza, snacks and drinks will be provided so we are calling all our youth to put on their dancing shoes and have some fun. Tickets will go on sale next Sunday, September 15. $10.00 dollar donation. VIRTUS CLASS OFFERED AT SAINT MONICA'S Saint Monica's will be hosting a VIRTUS Class on Thursday, September 27, at 7:00 PM. For those who missed the last class, you may register online at This session will be held at the senior building cafeteria. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Fr. Vincent at the office. WITH DEEPEST SYMPATHY It is my sad duty to inform you that Rose Kouri passed away on Sept.13. Rose is the beloved mother of Rosemarie (Carmen) Marrone and Helen (Joseph) Abdallah, and grandmother of Fr. Michael, Mark and Christian Marrone and Christina Abdallah (Kelsey) Graham and Maurice (Jane) Adballah, and many great grandchildren. Visitation will be on Sunday, September 16, at St. Maron Church from 6:00PM-9:00PM, and on Monday, September 17, from 9:00-10:00AM, with the funeral liturgy to begin at 10:00AM. Our condolences go to Rosemarie, Helen, and all of Rose's family. May Almighty God welcome Rose into His kingdom and may her soul rest in peace. Allah yer hamma. IN OUR PRAYERS Please keep in your prayers Francesca Impo, Lorraine Gerace, Raja Kaldany, Lucy DiLuce, Kevin McCrea, Brian

McBride, Cat Niven Glaze, Patty Roth, Laurent

Jaber, Alexis Carine, Mary Joseph, Albert Anderson,

Emily Stone, Roseann Anthony, Elaine Nader, Michael

Haney, Lisa Alestra, John Nader, Joseph Alestra,

Marrone, Rose Kouri, Yasmine Myers, Joey Gdowick,

Rita Arrigale, Helen Freedenberg, Maryann Bratton,

James Cordisio, Stacey Fuentes, Debbie Freedenberg,

McGiney, Betty Antrilli, and Bonnie Sabatini.

WEEKLY COLLECTION FOR September 8-9, 2018

4 McBride, Cat Niven Glaze, Patty Roth, Laurent Chidiac, Albert Saleem, Tom Hart, John Hart, Fadi Jaber, Alexis Carine, Mary Joseph, Albert Anderson, Sr., Joseph Realdine, Rita Impo, Benjamin Uzzo, Emily Stone, Roseann Anthony, Elaine Nader, Michael Pascucci, Nicholas Carine, Amelia Habib, Suzanne Haney, Lisa Alestra, John Nader, Joseph Alestra, Chucky Simon, Mary Fetterman, Aminee Skaf, Carmen Marrone, Rose Kouri, Yasmine Myers, Joey Gdowick, Francis Joseph Kerns, Samer Chokeir, Kathy Newman, Rita Arrigale, Helen Freedenberg, Maryann Bratton, Renee Sahar, Sister Nahida Al Sawa, Rose De Jesse, James Cordisio, Stacey Fuentes, Debbie Freedenberg, Noel Andjuhar, Eddie Gussin, Angel Salerno, Dennis McGiney, Betty Antrilli, and Bonnie Sabatini. We ask Almighty God to bless them with good health. WEEKLY COLLECTION FOR September 8-9, 2018 Collection $ 2, Second Collection $ Coffee Hour $ Total: $ 2,363.00

5 Saint Maron Maronite Catholic Church First Reading 2 Timothy 2:1-10 September 15-16, 2018 A reading from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Timothy. Your blessing father Brothers and Sisters: Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. Share in suffering like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving in the army gets entangled in everyday affairs; the soldier s aim is to please the enlisting officer. And in the case of an athlete, no one is crowned without competing according to the rules. It is the farmer who does the work who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things. Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Praise be to God always. بولس القديس رسالة فصل من الثانية إلى طيموتاوس ب الن ع م ة ال تي في الم س يح ي س وع. إ س ت ود ع ه وم ا س م ع ت ه م ن ي ب ح ض ور ش ه ود ك ث ير ين إخو ت ي وأ ن ت يا ٱب ن ي ت ش د د يا ص ال ح ل لم س يح ي س وع. وم ا أ ن اس ا أ م ن اء ج د ير ين ه م أ ي ض ا ب أ ن ي ع ل م وا غ ي ر ه م. ش ار ك ن ي في ٱح ت م ال الم ش ق ات ك ج ن د ي ص ار ع م ن ج ن د ي ي ن ه م ك في األ م ور الم ع يش ي ة إ ذا أ ارد أ ن ي ي ر ض م ن ج ن د ه. وم ن ي ص ار ع ال ي ن ال إ ك ل يال إ ال إ ذا والح ار ث ال ذي ي ت ع ب ل ه الح ق بالن ص يب األ و ل م ن الث م ر. تأ م ل في م ا أ ق ول: والر ب س ي ع ط يك وه و م ن ن س ل د او د ب ح س ب إ ن ج يل ي ال ذي ف ي ه ات األ صول. ب ح س ب ف ه م ا في ك ل ش يء! ت ذ ك ر ي س وع الم س يح ال ذي ق ام م ن ب ين األ م و أ ح ت م ل الم ش ق ات ح ت ى الق ي ود ك م ج ر م لك ن ك ل م ة هللا ال ت ق ي د. ل ي ح ص ل وا ه م أ ي ض ا على الخ الص في الم س يح ي س وع م ع الم ج د األ ب د ي. والتسبيح هلل دائما. ل ذل ك أ ص ب ر على ك ل ش ي ء م ن أ ج ل الم خ ت ار ين

6 Gospel Reading Saint Mark 10:35-45 The Apostle Writes: James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Jesus and said to him, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. And he said to them, What is it you want me to do for you? And they said to him, Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory. But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They replied, We are able. Then Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. This is the truth. Peace be with you. مرقس الق د يس إنجيل من ن س أ ل ك «. فق ال ل ه م ا: د ن ا م ن ي س وع ي ع ق وب و ي وح ن ا ٱب ن ا ز ب د ى وق اال ل ه : «ي ا م ع ل م ن ر يد أ ن ت ص ن ع ل ن ا ك ل ما»أ ع ط ن ا أ ن ن ج ل ع ن ي س ار ك «. اح د «م اذ ا ت ر يد ان أ ن أ ص ن ع ل ك م ا «. قاال ل ه : س في م ج د ك واح د ع ن ي م ين ك وو فق ال ل ه م ا ي س وع: «إ ن ك م ا ال ت ع ل م ان م ا ت ط ل ب ان: ه ل ت س ت ط يع ان أ ن ت ش ر ب ا الك أ س ال تي أ ش ر ب ها أ ن ا أ و أ ن ت ت ع م د ا ب ٱلم ع م ود ي ة ال تي أ ت ع م د ب ه ا أ ن ا «. قاال ل ه : «ن س ت ط يع «. ف ق ال ل ه م ا ي س وع:»أ ل ك أ س ال تي أ ن ا أ ش ر ب ها س ت ش ر ب ان ها أ و ع ن ي س ار ي فل ي س ل ي أ ن أ م ن ح ه إ ال ل ل ذي ن والم ع م ود ي ة ال تي أ ن ا أ ت ع م د ب ه ا ست ت ع م د ان ب ه ا. أ م ا الج ل وس ع ن ي م ين ي أ ع د ل ه م«. ول م ا س م ع الع ش ر ة اآلخ ر ون ب د أ وا ي غ ت اظ ون م ن ي ع ق وب و ي وح ن ا. فد ع اه م ي س وع إ ل ي ه وق ال ل ه م:»ت ع ل م ون ي ت س ل ط ون ع ل ي ه م. أ م ا أ ن ت م فل ي س األ م ر ب ي ن ك م هك ذا ب ل م ن ع ظ م اء ه م أ ن ال ذين ي ع ت ب ر ون ر ؤ س اء األ م م ي س ود ون ه م و أ ر اد أ ن ي ك ون ف يك م ع ظ يم ا فل ي ك ن ل ك م خ اد م ا. وم ن أ ر اد أ ن ي ك ون األ و ل بي ن ك م ف ل ي ك ن ع ب د ا ل ل ج م يع أل ن ٱ ب ن اإل ن س ان أ ي ض ا ل م ي أ ت ل ي خ د م ب ل ل ي خ د م وي ب ذ ل ن ف س ه ف داء ع ن ك ث يرين«. حق ا واألمان لجميعكم.

Saint Maron Maronite Catholic Church

Saint Maron Maronite Catholic Church April 28-29, 2018 GOD BLESS OUR FIRST COMMUNICANTS Congratulations to our First Communicants who will be receiving their First Communion today. This is a very special