Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus our Lord,

In the last weeks I have been so happy to see so many of you come back to attend the church liturgies, joining together in church to celebrate Sundays and other festivities. I also know that your safety comes first and I respect that. Thank God we are able to stay connected. For more than a year, the lockdown has forced many of you to stay home to worship instead of coming to Church with your families on Sundays. By a divine providence and through varied communication channels, the Church has been reaching you in your homes as Liturgy is celebrated and attended by you and your families wherever you are.

On behalf of the church community, councils and groups, we thank all of you who keep showing your support to the church. It makes a great difference and enables the church to reach out to all parishioners in all channels possible. We also thank those volunteers and workers who commit their time to the church in a variety of ways: office, finance and maintenance. You are all doing a spectacular job in this uncertain time of Coronavirus.

In the month of April we celebrated Holy Wednesday with the Ritual of the Lamp; Holy Thursday with the Washing of the Feet Ritual and Adoration of the Holy Sacrament and confessions; Holy Good Friday with the Ritual of the Crucifixion of the Lord; Holy Saturday with confessions and the Ritual of Forgiveness, and two liturgies, Easter Eve and Easter Sunday, all on time and schedule.

In this month of May, we go through the Season of the Resurrection of the Lord and His Apparitions to the Disciples. We will celebrate on the Ascension Feast Day on Thursday May 13, celebrate the Feast of Pentecost on Sunday May 23 and conclude with the Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity on May 30.

As always, I thank the MYO Committee for organizing their meeting activities in a safe manner for the church youth every single Saturday since March of last year without interruption, not even a summer break. We also thank the Faith Formation team, especially Gary Schwery and the teachers, for preparing our kids for their First Holy Communion and Confirmation if needed. I thank them for their constant care and teaching to the MYO and children. Unlike the postponed celebration of last year, this year, the First Communion Mass will be celebrated during this month of May on Sunday.

The Month of May dedication. The month of May features a series of events and stations. The whole month of May is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, mother of God. People will focus on the daily prayer of the Rosary and the noon prayers of the Angelus, which is the Annunciation. The first Sunday of May, May 2, is dedicated in the Maronite calendar to Our Lady of Lebanon. We pray for the peace and security in Lebanon, where the last political and free Christian community in the Middle East and Holy Land still resides and survives. This following Sunday, May 9, we pray for the mothers of our parish family, asking the Lord to keep them in good health and enlighten their minds so they can raise, with their husbands, a new generation that preserves the Christian and Catholic faith and values.

Wishing you and your family a safe and healthy month of May as you take advantage of the situation to revive your family spirit and life, and discover real and better priorities in your life where we see today that wealth and power and earthly glory becomes second to health and safety and faith and hope. May this month be a blessing for you and your family.

God bless you all.

Abouna Emmanuel Nakhle-Ghorr +

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