Catholics in Syria live and lead by example. There is no other option for them. And by their example we can see our own lives with fresh eyes. How are we living for Christ, today, in our families and workplace and business practices?
To gain fresh perspective, consider this: In Damascus, the heart of war-torn Syria, threatened on every side by ISIS and horrific violence, Archbishop Samir Nassar announced that a new parish church will be dedicated January 8, 2016.
A new church in the suburbs of Damascus, the capital of Syria?!! How is this even possible? After all, think of the news headlines we read and hear every day.
Yet it is true.
Can you imagine what hope a new chapel brings to the severe minority population of Christians who must every day face opposition to nearly everything they believe as Catholics?
But it is not just local hope. This news brings hope to the entire Mystical Body of Christ, in all parts of the world, even in the most sophisticated, bustling, busy, biggest cities, where the thought of Christ can easily be squeezed out to the point that it seems but a distant childhood memory, a fable.
Today Catholics in Damascus show us all that sin and death and wars and horrific violence will not —cannot— quench the fire, the love, the truth of Christ.
Savor the inspiring words of the Maronite Catholic archbishop of Damascus:
“Christ continues to allure and attract people to him,” says Archbishop Samir Nassar.
Announcing the first of three new Maronite chapels to be built in three different locations in Damascus, the Archbishop continues, in his short, beautiful Christmas Letter:
“In the middle of destruction, this new chapel appears like the star of the Magi which leads to the Divine Child. It is a true Christmas present, an oasis of prayer and a sign of joy and of hope in the middle of a world of violence, of intolerance, anguish, fear, and death.”
“To build a church in times of war and desolation expresses the will to overcome death and the courage of living the Faith,” he added.
“Our modest faithful choose to row against the current and to renew their confidence in Jesus Christ in this dark night,” Archbishop Nassar concluded. “This year Christmas in Damascus merges with the Resurrection.”
For those who may not know, the Maronite liturgy is one of the oldest—if not the oldest—in the Catholic Church. It retains use of the Aramaic/Syriac language and its prayers echo Semitic and Old Testament forms, retaining its Jewish roots more than any other Catholic rite.
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