Shlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
A couple of years ago, a friend of mine created a great pamplet called: "How Do Catholics Hear the Gospel?" He let me modify it for Maronite use. In turn I would suggest that those of you of different Traditions also look at this as a template for use within your own Church Communities.
Most times our people just do not have the resources to defend themsleves and we need to provide it if we can.
Poosh BaShlomo Lkhoolkhoon,
Yuhannon
"How Do Maronites Hear The Gospel?�
Many of our Brothers and Sisters in the Maronite Faith are being approached by well meaning people to become �Bible Believing Christians�. These people, being either friends or �kindly� strangers, will approach us and asked if we are �SAVED�. They will also say that the Catholic Church is not a �Christian Church� since it does not follow the Gospel Plan of Salvation.
The question then becomes is this true. Does our Divine Liturgy teach us the way to Salvation. Most Protestant Christians will agree that these four points are essential to Salvation. They are:
�First, we acknowledge that we are all sinners in need of God�s forgiveness.
Secondly, we recognize that only God can save us.
The third step is that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins and to bring us to God.
And the fourth and final step is that each individual accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior to be saved.�
The Divine Liturgy and the �Gospel�
Do we acknowledge that we are all sinners in need of God�s forgiveness? In the Entrance Dialogue of the Maronite Divine Liturgy we state in either English or Syriac:
Celebrant: I have entered your house, O Lord, and have worshiped before your throne. O King of heaven, forgive all my sins.
Congregation: O King of heaven, forgive all our sins.
Also in the Memorial of the Plan of the Son (Anamnesis) from the Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles we Maronites have this Dialogue.
Celebrant: Whenever you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you do so in memory of me until I come again.
Congregation: O Lord, we remember your death, we witness to your resurrection, we await your second coming, we implore your compassion, and we ask for the forgiveness of our sins. May your mercy come upon us all.
Celebrant: We your sinful servants, O Lover of all people, remember your plan of salvation and we ask you to have compassion upon us. Have mercy on your worshipers and save your inheritance when you shall appear at the end of time to reward justly all people according to their deeds. Through you your Church implores your Father saying:
Congregation: Have mercy on us, Almighty Father, have mercy on us.
In all of the Anaphora that we use, each Anamnesis acknowledges that we are sinners and we beg God�s forgiveness.
Protestants may respond with: �But Catholics (and by extension Maronites) don�t believe that God alone can save them (point number two from above). They believe Mary and the saints will save them.� This is untrue. We like the Archangel Gabriel give praise to Mary and the saints. Here is the Sedro from the for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary:
Celebrant: Almighty Lord God, you are beyond all knowledge. In your love for all peoples, you left your heavenly heights and came to dwell in the holy Virgin Mary. You have showered your mother with all graces and filled us with spiritual praises to honor her glorious assumption. On her feast, we sing the noblest hymns to her, saying:
Hail, pure Mother of God;
Hail fountain of blessings and ship bearing holy treasures;
Hail, leaven of life, concealing the divine grain;
Hail, blessed censer, Mother of the fiery ember;
Hail Mary, full of grace;
Hail, Mother of God the Word;
Hail, bridal chamber of the heavenly King;
Hail, fragrant rose;
Hail, temple of the Holy Spirit.
On this day the apostles left their distance places to escort you, and fiery beings sang their hymns of joy.
On this day of your assumption, we petition you, O Mary, to beseech the Lord Jesus, who appeared from you. Through you, may he grant pardon for our sins, tranquility to churches, peace to monasteries, support for the aged, energy to the young, good upbringing to the children, and forgiveness to our faithfully departed. As we enter the kingdom, we offer glory and thanks with you and with the assemblies of the saints to the Holy Trinity, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Congregation: Amen
As can be seen by this Sedro (and other prayers of the Maronites) we are God centered. Even within the Hails listed above you can see that they refer back to the Lord, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. Even the Hail Mary is straight out of the Bible. In Luke 1:28 the Archangel Gabriel says: �And coming to her, he said, �Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.�" In all of our prayers we start and finish our prayers to God, and God alone. At all other times we do not pray to Mary or the saints, we ask them to pray with us, or petition them for guidance.
Likewise, the Eucharistic Pray dialogue we say:
Celebrant: May the love of God the Father, the grace of the only-begotten Son, and the unity and indwelling of the Holy Spirit be with you, forever.
Congregation: And also with you.
Celebrant: Let us lift up our thoughts, our minds, and our hearts.
Congregation: They are raised to you, O God.
Celebrant; Let us thank the Lord with fear and worship him with humility.
Congregation: It is right and proper.
Now let us look at point number three that most �Bible-believing Christians� will bring up. That is do we acknowledge that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for our sins and to bring us to God.
I will refer you back to the part of the Anamnesis that states:
Congregation: O Lord, we remember your death, we witness to your resurrection, we await your second coming, we implore your compassion, and we ask for the forgiveness of our sins. May your mercy come upon us all.
Further, in the Blessing and Dismissal that the priest says at the end of the Divine Liturgy, he states:
Celebrant: O Lord our Savior, you became flesh and by sacrificing yourself for us you saved us. Redeem us now from eternal damnation, make us temples of your holy name, for we are your people and your inheritance. To you, O Christ, to your Father, and to your Holy Spirit, are due glory, honor, and power, now and forever.
Congregation: Amen.
And the fourth and final step that �Bible believing Christians� bring up is that each individual accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior to be saved.�
We Maronites do not just take Christ into our hearts, but also receive that same Christ who died on the cross on Calvary into their mouth and into their stomachs � body, blood, soul and divinity � and become one with him in an unspeakable way. Now that's accepting Christ!�
Here is dialogue of Blessing with the Mysteries and the Thanksgiving near end of our Divine Liturgy states:
Celebrant: We render always glory and thanksgiving to you, O Lord, for giving us your body to eat and your blood to drink. O Lover of all, have mercy on us.
Congregation: O Lover of all, have mercy on us.
In the Thanksgiving the Dialogue is:
Celebrant: O gracious Lord, what return shall we make to your Goodness, for the salvation you have just given us? Who is able to offer the proper glory due to you? Although of little worth and according to our measure, we glorify, praise, and thank you, your only Son, and your Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Congregation: Amen.
It is worth remembering that not only is the Gospel preached each time we Maronites attend Church, but the entire Bible is entwined in our Divine Liturgies in both words and deeds.
I would also like to acknowledge Gary Michuta who�s work: �How Do Catholics Hear The Gospel� on which I based this pamphlet on.
