By Stephen Lacey and Elise Gharrach
Bishops, priests, monks and nuns from Australia’s Middle Eastern churches gathered at Strathfield this week to pray for peace in Lebanon and the world.
His Excellency Antoine-Charbel Tarabay Maronite Bishop of Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, hosted the esteemed gathering at Beit Maroun Chapel for the one-hour prayer session, held in response to the ongoing crises in the Middle East and other conflict zones around the world.
“Lebanon today is enduring the most dangerous phase of its modern history, due to a war imposed on it both from within and from outside,” Bishop Tarabay said in his opening address.
“That is why we meet in this blessed church and raise our prayers together, asking God, through the intercession of Saint Charbel, for peace.”
He also emphasised the Christians’ duty to pursue justice, truth, and peace, particularly in Lebanon, where the situation remains dire.
Bishop Tarabay referenced the recent letter from Pope Francis to the Catholics of the Middle East…“I am close to you, I am with you… Thank you for wanting to remain in your lands… You are a seed loved by God. Planted in your sacred lands, become sprouts of hope…”
The Bishop reiterated the pope’s call to prayer and fasting as “weapons of love that change history.”
One of the most stirring homilies was delivered by Bishop Robert Rabbat, President of the Australian Middle East Christian Apostolic Churches (AMEC) and Bishop of the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania.
“The holy Gospel of our Lord warns us that there will be wars and rumours of wars and that nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, but do not be alarmed,” said Bishop Rabbat addressing the gathering.
“He urges us to keep alert at all times and pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the son of man.
“We are especially blessed to live in a peaceful land, and so our prayer this afternoon is not primarily for ourselves but is offered most fervently for our relatives and friends, our ancestral homelands, towns and villages that have sadly experienced horrors that we can barely imagine.”
Prayers of intercession for peace in Lebanon and the Middle East were led by clergy representatives from various Eastern Churches, including Fr Assad Lahoud, Superior of Saint Charbel’s Monastery, Punchbowl, Sr Grace Dakkak, Chaldean Sister from the Order of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate Conception, Fr Lenard Ina of the Syriac Catholic Church, and Msgr George Khachab of the Antiochian Orthodox Church.
Msgr Khachab prayed for God to guide the minds and hearts of Middle Eastern leaders toward peace referring to Proverbs 21:1.
“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.”
The gathering concluded with a moment of silence, followed by the Ziyah of Saint Charbel, and a final blessing from Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay.
Photo Credit: Bishop Robert Rabbat delivers a moving homily on war and peace. Photo: Stephen Lacey.
Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay calls for peace, truth, justice and humanity in Lebanon, the Middle East, and the world. Photo: Stephen Lacey.
