Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Harissa (Agenzia Fides) - Lebanese Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, renewed the consecration of Lebanon and the entire Middle East to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy which he presided over yesterday, Sunday, June 6, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, in Harissa.
Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, also took part in the liturgical celebration with believers from different regions of the country. In his homily, the Patriarch again criticized the Lebanese political class. "In these difficult days", said the Lebanese Cardinal among other things, "officials are trying to save themselves and their own interests" and they do not worry about the people, who are tired of "humiliations in front of banks and cashiers, in front of businesses and at gas stations and bakeries, in front of pharmacies and hospitals".
Referring to the devastating scenario of the Lebanese crisis, the Cardinal wondered if the institutional stalemate that is preventing the formation of a new government does not actually hide the intention to postpone and effectively sabotage the parliamentary and presidential elections on the agenda between May and October 2022, or even the plan to provoke the collapse of the country-system, shortly before the centenary of national independence. "We are a people who do not die", added the Primate of the Maronite Church "and therefore we will not allow this program to be carried out".
For the first time, Patriarch Béchara Boutros Raï consecrated Lebanon and the entire Middle East to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on June 16, 2013 (see Fides, 17/6/2013). On the occasion of that first solemn act of consecration, which at that time was also celebrated in the Marian Shrine of Harissa, the Maronite Patriarch prayed that all the peoples of the region "will be freed from the sins that lead to division, aggression and violence". At that time, many believers gathered around the basilica to pray that the land of the cedars would not be overwhelmed by the sectarian conflicts that were already tearing nearby Syria. In his homily, the Lebanese Cardinal recalled that Lebanon is the only country where the Solemnity of the Annunciation on March 25 is celebrated jointly by Christians and Muslims as a national holiday.
The annual Synod of Bishops of the Maronite Church begins next Wednesday, June 9th. The first part of the Synodal Assembly, from Wednesday 9th to Saturday 13th June, will be held in the form of spiritual retreats with meditations under the direction of Father Fadi Tabet, Rector of the Shrine of Harissa. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 7/6/2021)
