Maroniteparchy

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The Maronite Church provides us with a special Sunday liturgy that extends the festive celebration of the Dedication of the Church. Today, our attention is directed towards the renewing work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church.

The task and the responsibility of the Renewal of the Church is the responsibility of everyone, clergy, religious and lay people. What must we do to renew the Church, to allow the pristine holiness of God to be made visible in this world? I can imagine many suggestions, all of which will be very good and praiseworthy. I offer however an idea that may not come immediately to mind. I propose that we undertake a careful and deliberate listening to the voice of reason. We are creatures who have been given the capacity to reason, and the gift of reason will never contradict the gift of faith. If we wish for our faith to be stronger and more fruitful, I suggest we study and examine our faith using gift of reason.

In this interesting work, I propose we look at the institution of marriage. Often, when marriage is discussed in the Church, we reflexively appeal to the bible, the Church’s teachings and so on. I contend, however, that this only half of the truth and because we neglect the gentle voice of reason, we exclude many from the discussion and limit the foundation of our faith.

+Selim Sfeir

Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus

“Christian love breaks down every barrier, brings close those who were distant, unites strangers, and reconciles enemies … By its very nature, Christian love is prophetic: it works miracles and knows no limits. It makes what was apparently impossible happen … A Church that sets no limits to love, that know no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today.

Η χριστιανική αγάπη καταλύει παν εμπόδιον, πλησιάζει τούς που ήσαν μακράν, ενώνει τούς ξένους και καταλλάσσει τοὺς εχθρούς.