Al-Rahi: Nations Are Not Preserved by Weapons!

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi presided over a festive Mass in the courtyard of Our Lady of Deliverance Church in Bsalim on the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of the Crops.

After the reading of the Holy Gospel, Al-Rahi delivered a homily in which he said: “I am very pleased to make this pastoral visit to the dear parish of Bsalim, Mezher and Majzoub, together with our brother Bishop Antoine Bou Najem. We are celebrating with you this divine liturgy before the shrine of our Mother Mary at the foot of the Cross in the courtyard of Our Lady of Deliverance Church, imploring the grace to ‘hear the word of God and act upon it.’ I was also pleased to visit Middle East Hospital, to meet the administration and the medical and nursing staff, and I prayed with them for the healing of the sick. I gave Holy Communion to some of them and asked God for the continued growth of this hospital so that it may serve even more patients.”

He added: “I was delighted to inaugurate the Monsignor Tawfiq Bou Hadir Center of the ‘Youth of Hope Association’ in the building of the Charity Unity Association in Bsalim. I thank journalist Majed Bou Hadir, president of the Youth of Hope Association, for this humanitarian initiative that commemorates his late brother, Monsignor Tawfiq, in its fourth year. I was also very pleased by the loving meeting and reception at Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral by His Eminence Metropolitan Silwan Moussa, shepherd of the Mount Lebanon Diocese. It was a fraternal encounter that strengthened the bonds of love and cooperation in the name of Christ the Lord, who unites us and sanctifies us in the spirit of sincere brotherhood.”

He continued: “This is our Christian culture. We are not people of the Book; rather, we are a community of the Word. We carry the Word, live it, and bear witness to it. In Christianity, the Word is not a theoretical idea, but a life-giving power.”

He said: “‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it’ (Luke 8:21). With this word, we look today at our national reality, because Lebanon needs now more than ever people who hear the word of truth and act upon it, not slogans that are uttered and then lost amid divisions.”

He pointed out that “the culture of the Word is our Christian culture. We are a community of witness, a community of truth, and a community of responsibility. Our role is not limited to prayer inside churches, but to being witnesses to the word of God in our society, our homeland, and our public life. When a person truly hears the word of God, his conscience is enlightened. And when he acts upon it, society changes. And when the Word becomes commitment and responsibility, the nation begins to rise again. We are partners in this homeland, and responsible for it and for its future. A nation is not built by words alone, but by conscience, by action, and by the ability to turn principles into daily practice. But what we are living today is painful and exhausting. Lebanon is still subjected to daily attacks and violations, and people continue to live in a state of ambiguity, anxiety, and waiting. Events keep recurring, fear creeps into souls, and people ask anxiously: Where are we heading?”

He went on: “Internally as well, we are living in a state of fatigue, division, and loss of trust, because the truth is lost amid interests and rivalries, while the Lebanese person wants only to live with dignity, peace, and reassurance. From here, the word of God also becomes a national call — a call to honesty, reconciliation, respect for the human person, and the building of a homeland founded on truth, not fear. We are children of the word of God, children of witness, children of peace, not war. Peace is not built by slogans, but by a living conscience, by the ability to meet one another, by faith that one person is a brother to another, and that the homeland cannot endure if truth, love, and responsibility are absent from it. To the extent that we hear the word of God and live it, to that extent we can build a homeland that endures. Nations are not preserved by weapons, but by living consciences, values, faith, and by the human being who knows he has a role, a mission, and a testimony. Therefore, despite all that we are living through in terms of anxiety, waiting, and ambiguity, our faith remains that the word of God is capable of opening the path of hope, rebuilding the human person, and giving our homeland new strength to rise, stand firm, and endure.”

He concluded: “Let us pray, brothers and sisters: Lord, You who called us to be hearers of Your word and doers of it, make us true witnesses to You in this world. Teach us to carry Your word in our hearts, to live it through our deeds, and to reflect Your presence through our love, peace, and sincerity. Bless our homeland Lebanon, protect it from wars, divisions, and fear, and grant it the grace of reassurance and stability. Make us always a community of the Word, a community of hope, and a community of peace. For when we hear Your word and act upon it, we truly become witnesses to Your presence in this world.”

Middle East Hospital

Al-Rahi had begun a pastoral visit to the Bsalim, Mezher, and Majzoub area, starting with a first stop at Middle East Hospital, where he was received by the chairman of the hospital’s board, Dr. Walid Salmoun, along with the administrative body and the medical and nursing staff.

Dolly Dagher delivered a speech welcoming Al-Rahi on behalf of the entire hospital family — management, doctors, and employees — as well as on behalf of all the patients. Dr. Salmoun also spoke, addressing Patriarch Al-Rahi by saying: “Your Beatitude, we love you! We stand with you and by your side, believing in Lebanon, its state, and its institutions, and we continue with your prayers. Your visit to the hospital is a dose of love and faith, enough to keep us moving forward in the service of humanity.”

After cutting the cake, Al-Rahi gave his blessing before beginning to administer Communion to the patients, saying: “I am happy to visit this venerable medical institution. No one knows the value of hospitals and the difficulty of their services except the patient, and for every patient you are a life jacket and a source of strength to carry on.”

He added: “This work is a mission, faith, and sacrifice to preserve human dignity. May the Lord bless your efforts. We are proud with you of the medical sector, of which all the countries of the world speak so highly.”

Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral

Patriarch Al-Rahi also held a meeting of affection at Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral with Metropolitan Silwan Moussa, head of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Mount Lebanon.

Al-Rahi was welcomed in front of the cathedral, and to the sound of Byzantine Paschal hymns he entered the church, where there was a moment of prayer, tribute, and the presentation of commemorative gifts, including an engraved image of the face of Christ along with a collection of books by Bishop George Khodr.

Metropolitan Silwan delivered a fraternal address, saying: “I welcome you, Your Beatitude, and my heart, together with the members of this parish, beats with joy at your arrival. From this confident joy, I present to you these commemorative gifts as an expression of our unity in prayer and our shared strength for the peace of this homeland and its people.”

Al-Rahi replied, saying: “Thank you, Your Eminence, for your great heart, the gifts, the books of our beloved Bishop Khodr, and the reception filled with love and joy, accompanied by the splendid Byzantine hymns of the Resurrection.”

He added: “We cannot enter Bsalim without visiting our Orthodox brothers; this is a visit dear to our hearts. Thanks be to the Lord who chose you as shepherd of the Mount Lebanon Diocese, succeeding Bishop George Khodr. We know you from Latin America, and we know the richness you will bring to this diocese. In this church, we previously met in prayer for our unity, and today we renew this unity in the season of the Resurrection and Ascension.”

At the conclusion, parish priest Father Youhanna Azar, together with the parish council, presented a gift to Patriarch Al-Rahi: an icon of Christ the Teacher.