Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, presided over Sunday Mass in the summer patriarchal seat of Al-Dimane this morning.
Addressing Muslims in his homily, the Patriarch asserted that “there are no winners and losers in peace, but brothers who move from conflict to unity.”
To the Lebanese, al-Rahi said: “Come, let us meet again, throw all our absurd differences behind us, and walk in the light toward the future, and we will have a great future. Pope Francis has called us to faith, hope, love, penitence and forgiveness.”
He added: “We yearn for these spiritual and human values just as we crave bread, food and medicine, for in them we find the solution and salvation, and we find the bread of life.”
“His Holiness Pope Francis has made appeals in the form of duty, respectively: to everyone who has the power: to place himself definitively and decisively in the service of peace, not in the service of his own interests. It is enough that a few people seek selfish profits at the expense of many! It is enough that half-truths dominate people’s hopes! Enough of using Lebanon and the Middle East for foreign interests and gains! The Lebanese must be given the opportunity to be the builders of a better future, on their own land and without interference that is not permissible,” al-Rahi underlined.
He called on political leaders to find urgent and stable solutions to the current economic, social and political crisis.
Addressing the youth of Lebanon, al-Rahi said: “I remind you of the words of the poet Gibran Khalil Gibran: Behind the curtain of the black night, there is a dawn awaiting us. You are lamps that shine in this dark hour. Let there be shining on your faces the hope of the future. The birth of Lebanon will be at your hands…”
Turning to the Lebanese Diaspora, the Patriarch asked them to render their best available resources and capabilities at the service of their nation, while urging members of the international community to “provide for Lebanon, with a joint effort, the appropriate conditions so that it does not drown, but rather embarks on a new life,” stressing that “this will be good for all!”
Source: National News Agency