June 29, 2025
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
We have lived the month of June facing the Heart of Christ, and now, at the conclusion of the month, our Divine Liturgy honours the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. The Heart of Christ has taught us that love for God compels us to the love of our neighbour. For a Christian our faith in Christ, cannot remain as just an intellectual pursuit. This would not be faith in Christ. Christ comes out to meet us, Christ teaches, Christ does apostolate!
The double feast of the two great apostles, Peter and Paul, crowns the month of the Sacred Heart, reminding us that true devotion to the Heart of Christ is manifested in apostolate. These two men, so different in temperament, went to the nerve center of the ancient world to preach Christ, to build the Church, and to topple the false idols of their day.
“The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of St. Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin: and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world. All members of the Church share in this mission, though in various ways. "The Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well." Indeed, we call an apostolate "every activity of the Mystical Body" that aims "to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth." #CCC 862
Today, let’s dream big! Let us dream of renewing our Maronite Church of Cyprus, working closely with our Latin brothers and sisters, and our Orthodox brothers and sisters! Let us dream of doing apostolate in our families, and among our young people. Let us imagine how we can build the Body of Christ in and through our good example, the seed of good doctrine and our sacrificial efforts. God will do the rest!
† Selim Sfeir
Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus