www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall hello!!

Hello my dear brothers and sisters in Christ and in Our Lady!

This is my first post! lol ( now you may say... 'that's too obvious boy, isn't it?', heeheh)

When I first heard about this forum, it was through a chat with a friend of mine who's also from this forum, his name is Philippe Gebara. And I really felt like "mmm, let's see what happens here?" lol

First of all, I have to say that I am catholic and my mother was born in Lebanon, so, I started to learn about the maronite rite. Although for a long time I went to a few masses in the maronita rite and I got all my sacraments from the Latin Rite, in the last two years, my Latin pastor from my Latin Parish, he received the authorization to become a biritual priest. So, he is in the Latin Rite and in the Maronite Rite. And in the last two years, I've been given the grace of taking part of all Sunday Masses in the Latin Rite, at a Chapel which is now a Latin and Maronite Chapel. The Maronite Masses are now happening at this chapel which is not the same Church where this same priest used to celebrate the Latin Masses.

And the most incredible of this small Chapel, is that, it is a very simple and old Chapel... and, it has a lot to do with the humbleness of Saint Marun our patron, the one who started with this rite.

And of course, I must say that...
If today, I am so happy to attend to a Mass, it doesn't matter if the Mass will be in the Latin Rite, in the Melkite Rite or even a mass in the Orthodox Christian Church. If I do it without any problems and I am 21 years old.
It is because, when I was 13 years old, my parents started to be missionaries in a Catholic community which treats people who are drug addicted. And in this Community, they have lots of Icons, Orthodox Christian Icons, they do the sign of the Cross as the Orthodoxes and Melkites do it... and I started to do the same way too, heheh. Although the Maronites do the Latin way.
And there I fell in love with this Byzantine Tradition, although the priest is a Latin priest, the founder is a Latin priest.
And, in this community I attended to many spiritual retreats, and one of them was called "Retreat of Pentecost". Which finished with the Mass of Pentecost.
And... in this day... I did fell in my heart the very same things which Saint Paul says in the First Epistle of Corinthians from chapters 11 to 14.
In that day, I saw a person who was tetraplegic person, as all people know, these people can rarely move their necks. In this day, after a prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit, this person lift up his hand.
In that day many people were cured by illness, and they went back to testify it through medical prescrecption.
And in that day, I really felt the Holy Spirit of God praying in me with the tongues of His Spirit.
And... I can say that... if I am attending to the Mass, if I am going to places in order to pray for people, if my life although with lots of problems, if my life is still walking in the Lord, the reason is because I felt the prayer experience which is known is "baptism in the Holy Spirit". It is not "another sacrament", it is not "an invention". It is just an experience with God's Love and with the person of Christ Jesus ressurected.
Just that...

Oh... I guess I wrote too much, are you guys gonna read all the things I wrote ? hehehehe

My dear brothers and sisters, all I must say is... I do know that God Himself manifest His Power and His Love in many ways.
So, the way I felt God's Love in a sooo deep way, I am sure you must have felt it in many other ways. And even if you have never felt anything "extraordinary". The most extraordinary reason of our faith is called the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Where Christ Jesus is totally there, the same Christ is There and the "extraodinary fact" is that... you look at that, and you don't see his eyes, his mouth, his nose, but YOU ARE SURE HE IS THERE and this certain of faith is given by the Holy Spirit!
I just told what happened to me, because I wanted to be a very clear person.
If I am here, it is because of what I gave as a testimony of what God really did with me. If I am, it is because, I saw the Lord, through his extraordinary gifts of His Holy Spirit.
And this truth, I can never denny!

Brothers and sisters, it is a pleasure to meet each one of you who is reading this post and I really ask God to bless each one of you in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by the Powerful Intercession of Our Lady and of all the Triumphant Church in unity with the Holy Spirit! Am�m! ooops, "Am�m" is in Portuguese, in English, it is "Amen", heheh

for sure, I love you all! In Christ Jesus Sacred Heart and in the Imaculate Mary's Heart!

P.S.: if you happen to ask yourself why I have chosen the Icon of Our Lady of Tenderness. It is because, this is the first Icon of Our LAdy that I have ever seen and I've seen at the community which God has most touched me in my whole life! hehehe

Welcome tot he baord.

thanks!!

I just want to correct something I wrote

"And in the last two years, I've been given the grace of taking part of all Sunday Masses in the Latin Rite, at a Chapel which is now a Latin and Maronite Chapel. The Maronite Masses are now happening at this chapel which is not the same Church where this same priest used to celebrate the Latin Masses. "

I wanted to mean that in the last two years I've been given the grace of taking part to the Sunday Masses in the MARONITE RITE which is celebrated by this SAME priest who is a biritual priest.

Another Grammar correction which I guess you couldn't even notice, hehehe, but I just noticed now, hehehe

" I did fell in my heart the very same things which Saint Paul says in the First Epistle of Corinthians from chapters 11 to 14. "

I mean : "I DID FEEL", ok? eheheh not " I did fell", hehehe

I wish this board would give us 24 hours to correct our silly typos and unintended grammatical ambiguities.

Welcome Gabriel! Join the dyslexic crowd with two left fingers.

Y'all are in for a treat. I have got to know Gabriel over the last few years through a list that we are on, and another forum. He is a young man with the gift of exortation, so totally excited about the Lord Jesus Christ, and always ready with Christ's joy to share with everyone.

Pray for him and Phillipe, as they seem to be called to the priesthood, that they have strenth to answer their vocation in life wherever it may lead them. They are another case of a friendship developing over the internet, how else would they have ever got to know each other. It is truly amazing that God uses these phone lines as such wonderful tools.

Welcome Gab!

Dear Pani Rose!

I have to say something, you were the first person who told me that I had this gift. First time I heard it, I was like "oh, she's so sweet, but that must be just a compliment", but... after I heard it from another person, here in Brazil, I felt like...
"Oh, Pani Rose has told me the same...
So, God, if you wanna use me to call your people and tell them about YOUR LOVE expressed in the Cross of Jesus Christ and tell the world that the reality of the book of Acts, chapter 2, is still ALIVE, so... I say 'amen' Lord to that!"

And about the vocation...
I myself don't feel called to be a priest. I would only be a priest, if, in Brazil, married men would have the permition to be a priest, as the ones in Lebanon. Because if it wasn't something possible in Lebanon, my mother and my grandmother wouldn't be born! lol
I would only be a priest if our loving Pope could allow the married men to be priests. As he doesn't allow it in the Western World, he only does it, in the Eastern World. So...
I still see the great things God can do through the lives of the lay people.
We as lay people, we can go to places that maybe the priests can't.
We can change the world in a way and with a special calling, that only lay people can do! Don't you guys agree with that too?

But, again and again, I bless the Lord and glorify Him for all the wonders He has already done in Pani Rose's life through the action of the Holy Spirit!

As you noticed I'm a bit in love with the Holy Spirit, and I will ALWAYS BE, because, He is the One who wakes up my faith!

I wanna thank each one of you for the "welcome to the forum greetings"!

And what else can I say?
I know something: MAY GOD BE WITH YOU AND MAY HIS SPIRIT GIVE THE GRACE OF THE UNITY, TO ALL CHRISTIANS! MAY ALL CHRISTIANS BOW THEIR KNEES IN THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN HIS HOLY EUCHARIST! Amen!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ and in Mary!

I just realized at something I wrote which I don't know if I have said something you couldn't agree.

When I wrote " may all Christians bow their knees in the pressence of Christ in His Holy Eucharist".

I mean the very same things Saint Paul says in the Book of Philipians, chapter 2, when he says that "at the name of Jesus all knees must bow on the Earth, in Heaven and in the hell". It is said in the verse 10 or 11, I'm not so sure.

And a friend of mine reminded me the fact that in the Orthodox Christian Tradition and in all the ones who follow this Tradition, in the Catholic Church, it is not "common" to mean "reverance" by "put the knee on the ground".
And, even because, as a friend of mine who teaches Theology says,
in Greek the verb "to stand up" is the same is "to rise up". So, in Greek, at th same time you say Christ is Risen, you mean Christ is stood up. So, that makes you guys just stay stood up and pray, adore and glorify Christ Jesus in His Eucharist.

I just wrote it to ask forgiveness if, I wrote something so "wrong" or "out of context".

And I want you guys to consider the fact I am a boy raised in the Latin Rite, with a Maronite Tradition, Familiar Tradition. Although, even in the Maronite Mass, which is prayed all in Arabic and Aramaic in Brazil. All the consecration moments all the people including the priests, they stay with their knees on the ground. Even at Adoration Hours.

The most beautiful and even the reason why I went to this forum, was really to admire how the Same Love God touches his people in all these different expressions of Rites and Easter Churches.

More than ever, all I pray is that, someone, we all will be able to live what Jesus tells in the Gospel of John, chapter 17
"Father I pray that they all will be ONE, so that, the world will believe that you SENT ME".

cya next post! :-)!!

small Grammar correction : " THE SAME LOVING GOD "

lol, me and the attention to writing the things, ehheeh

ooops, and I meant "some day" ... but I wrote "someone", hehehe

As a fellow 21 year old, I extend a warm welcome to you, Gabriel.

Pax!

Alexis

Hey Alexis!!

It's always cool to find people in our age serving GOD with such a happiness and being sure that we don't do it because anyone else asked us to do...
God HIMSELF calls us to follow him and to be real servants in His hands!

nice meeting ya!

You too, Gabriel. While I am sure that in the amount that I serve God, I certainly don't serve Him because others asked me to, the amount that I properly serve God is certainly not as high as it could or should be.

Alexis