Do not think that you are strong with your weapons, but rather that you are the weakest of the weak

The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, presided over the Sunday Mass and the Feast of Divine Mercy at the altar of the Church of the outer courtyard of the Patriarchal edifice in Bkerke, “the Chapel of the Resurrection.” He was assisted by Bishops Boulos Abdel Sater and Hanna Alwan, the Patriarch’s secretary, Father Hadi Daou, and a group of priests, in the presence of the head of the Pharmacists Syndicate. Dr. Joe Salloum, Consul of the Republic of Mauritania, Elie Nassar, son of the martyrs Sobhi and Nadeema Al-Fakhri Patrick, a delegation from the Lebanese Forces Teachers Department headed by Ramzi Bteish, the Divine Mercy family, and a crowd of activists and believers.

After the Holy Gospel, the shepherd delivered a sermon entitled: “Peace be with you, Thomas, put your hand in my side and be a believer.” (John 20: 26-27), in which he said: “Jesus gave his peace to his apostles, and his apostle called Thomas to put his finger in his side where he was wounded.” With the spear with which one of the soldiers stabbed him, he did not put his finger in the wound, but rather shouted, declaring his faith: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). The blood and water that flowed from Jesus’ spear wound toward his heart are signs of the love and mercy emanating from his heart, and from them came the new life for humanity. Water symbolizes baptism, from which we are born again, sons and daughters of God, and blood symbolizes the erasure of the sins of all humanity and the continuation of the sacrifice of redemption in the mystery of the Eucharist. This Sunday, which follows Resurrection Sunday, is called New Sunday, because Christ the Lord, through his death and resurrection, made everything new, and because Sunday became “the Lord’s Day,” which the third commandment of the Ten Commandments calls for keeping. On this Sunday, the believer stands in the presence of God and evaluates his life after the six days that have passed. He takes aim at correcting what is needed in his life with the power of divine grace. It is called “the day of man,” meaning the day of his peace with God, himself, and people. It has also become a day of community, where believers form a unified group around the mystery of Christ, and carry out acts of love, mercy, and solidarity. Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Divine Mercy, which the Lord Jesus personally wanted and revealed to the Polish nun, Saint Faustina, in his apparitions that began in 1931. He appeared to her at his full height with two rays emerging from the direction of his heart, one white and one red. He asked her to draw this picture and publish it, and to call for the worship of divine mercy as a source of heaven’s blessings for every male and female believer who confesses his sins and obtains the complete erasure of all his sins and their expiatory fragments.”

He continued: “We salute our brother Bishop Boulos Abdel Sater, the spiritual supervisor of the Divine Mercy communities in Lebanon on behalf of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, and our dear Father Milad Al-Saqim, its general guide and other guides, and Mrs. Rosie Shaanen, secretary, and the assistants. We also salute the Divine Mercy communities in Lebanon, hoping that they will spread more and more in honor and worship of the Divine Mercy. The Feast of Divine Mercy began in 1985 in the Diocese of Krakow, where the body of Saint Faustina was. Then Pope Saint John Paul II circulated it to all the dioceses of Poland in 1995, and then to the dioceses of the world during the celebration of the canonization of Blessed Faustina on April 30, 2002. Divine Mercy intended that this should be the death of The Holy Pope on the night of the Feast of Divine Mercy in 2005. The Lord Jesus intended this feast with these words to Sister Faustin: “I want the first Sunday after Easter to be the Feast of Mercy. Behold, I send you with My mercy to all the peoples of the world. I do not want to punish a suffering humanity, but rather I want to heal her, bringing her to my merciful Heart. He asked those who honor his divine mercy to commit to three things: work, word, and prayer, and he said to the nun: “These three are conclusive proof of their love for me.” And through it the soul glorifies My mercy. Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but it should be a day of works of mercy.”

He added: “On March 6, 1996, the Divine Mercy Groups in the world, known as the Apostles of Mercy, were established in Krakow. Their goals are:

– The longing for Christian perfection, that is, complete love through trust in the Lord and complete mercy toward one’s neighbor.

– Delving deeply into the mystery of divine mercy, which is revealed in its fullness in the person of Jesus, crucified and risen from the dead, and proclaiming this mystery to others through the word, prayer, and action through the testimony of life.

– God’s mercy for the whole world, especially for sinners, priests, and consecrated people.

-Practicing the worship of the Divine Mercy in the ways given to Saint Faustine by Jesus Christ, namely: honoring the icon of the Divine Mercy, daily prayer of the Rosary of Mercy, the daily third hour prayer, the novena, and celebrating the Feast of the Divine Mercy on the first Sunday after Easter.

– Consecration in the community.

He said: “These groups spread throughout Lebanon, and thanks to the distribution of the Prayer Booklet for Mercy, they were established and their number currently amounts to 20 groups spread throughout the entire Lebanese territory. Some groups were also established in Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, in addition to the Arabian Gulf, Australia, and Canada. These groups participated in 5 World Conferences of Mercy and in more than 6 Conferences of the Apostles of Mercy in Poland. The Middle East region had two regional conferences, prepared and supervised by the Divine Mercy communities – Lebanon: the first in Egypt in 2017, and the second in Lebanon in 2019, and the third Divine Mercy Conference for the Middle East region will be held in Amman (Jordan) between September 26 and 29, 2024. It is The second time after the Resurrection that the Lord Jesus uses the phrase “Peace be to you” (John 20:19 and 27), and we do not find it anywhere else in the Gospel. After his resurrection, “Peace be upon you” does not mean merely a social greeting, but rather means: “I am with you,” your savior, redeemer, and companion on your path. For this reason, he wanted the first Sunday after his resurrection to be the feast of his mercy. The Church calls this Sunday “New Sunday,” because with it a new time began, which is the “time of the new man,” the man of mercy, and the “time of the new culture,” the culture of peace. This newness was revealed by the Lord Jesus through his vision to John the Apostle: “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). He adds: “Yes! “I am coming in a hurry.” Then the church shouts: “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

He added: “Wait, you who have lost the image of God in you through sins and evils. God loved you and made you possessing a mind for truth, a will for good, a heart for love, and the freedom to choose every good and beautiful deed. Return to the divine beauty within you! Be renewed in Him! Wait, you warlords who are thirsty for blood and remain thirsty for it! Who has given you power over human lives and you are violating the authority of the Creator, the Giver and Restorer of life? Do not think that you are strong with your weapons, but rather you are the weakest of the weak! What strengthens you is your heart if it contains love and mercy! What strengthens you is your mind, if it enlightens you, then think about whom you kill, whose property you destroy, and whose homes you demolish! What strengthens you is your will if you refrain from using all these weapons with which you think you are strong. no! Rather, you are strong through your human being, created in the image of God, with love and mercy. The new time announced by Christ the Lord is a time of peace that the Church and all people of good will spread. This divine peace does not allow resorting to war by the decision of a person, party, or group of citizens. It is the state’s decision in extreme cases after considering the human, material, financial and destructive losses and the fate of unsafe citizens. The decision to go to war carries a heavy responsibility for its consequences. The decision to go to war is a bitter and responsible decision.”

Al-Rai concluded: “Let us pray, in order to spare the people of southern Lebanon from more casualties, losses, destruction and displacement, and to stop the war on Gaza. God, the God of peace, is the Hearer and Answerer! To Him be glory and thanksgiving forever.”

After the Mass, the shepherd received the believers participating in the divine sacrifice.