Page
One
YEAR OF THE PRIEST
(JUNE 19, 2009 - JUNE 19, 2010)
Bishop Sarhad Yawsip Jammo
New Temple, New Offering, New Priesthood:
The coming of the
Lord into our world and his self-insertion into the
history of our humanity is not just a “happening”
among other relevant or less relevant events, but it
is the radical and uniquely pivotal and central act
of divine intervention. A defining moment of that
intervention, and a major lordly sign of the
establishment of a new
covenant between God and his people, was the
cleansing by Lord Jesus of the temple of Jerusalem,
in the wake of the Jewish Passover celebrations:
“… The Jews …
said to him: ‘What sign can you show us for doing
this?’ Jesus answered and said to them:
‘Destroy this temple and
in three days I will raise it up’…But he was
speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore,
when he was raised from the dead, his disciples
remembered that he had said this, and they came to
believe the scripture and the word Jesus had
spoken.”
(John 2: 18-22.)
The offering of gifts and sacrifices to divinity was
a worshiping act that was practiced by all cultures
of antiquity; its main purpose was tripartite: a)
Praise and thanksgiving to God; b) Atonement for
men’s sins; c) Memorial celebration of redemptive
events. Furthermore, the
proper offering of sacrifices entailed two
requirements: the provision of sacred altar and
temple, and a consecrated class of priests.
Thus, for Jesus to envisage the destruction of the
temple of Jerusalem, with its sacrifices and
priesthood, should entail likewise the provision for
the new People of God not only of a new temple, but
as well of a new sacrifice, and a new priesthood.
The
New Temple:
Two locations identify and embody the features of
the New Temple: Golgotha,
where a cross carried a slain tortured body with the
pierced side of Jesus the Son of God, and a
tomb that became empty
when the dead body of Jesus was raised to divine
glory. Therefore, a cross
with the icon of the Crucified and glorified Lord
connected to an altar, signifying the empty tomb,
are the visible features of every church building,
worthy to be a new temple and properly host the
offering of the sacrificed Lamb of God.
The
New Offering:
Lord Jesus, the night before he died, taught his
disciples how to celebrate his redemptive memorial,
in the pattern of bread and wine, ordering them to
reiterate his own sacrificial Eucharist until his
second coming. Indeed, the crucified Lord himself is
the vicarious sacrifice for our disobedience, and
his blood is offered for the forgiveness of our
sins: “For if the blood of goats and bulls…can
sanctify those who are defiled…, how much more will
the blood of Christ… cleanse our consciences.”
(Heb. 9: 13-14).
The
New Priesthood:
“Do
this in remembrance of me”
(1 Cor., 11, 24 & 25),
Jesus ordered his disciples, providing his faithful
followers, everywhere under the sun, with those who
are qualified to be participants in his priesthood
and mandated to celebrate his eternal sacrifice for
his people.
For the world, nothing is
greater in meaning, value, and impact, than the
sacrifice of Jesus the Lord; thus, of all human
endeavors, nothing is greater in relevance and
implications than the priestly celebration of the
divine Qurbana. O Priesthood, how lofty are
you!
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Page Two
Congratulations!
By Tarik Attar
Life is a struggle: from the womb
we struggle to see the light. And once we’re
out, we’re automatically crying. As we grow
older we grow more tired and more restless. At
times we find ourselves saying “I am sick and
tired of being sick and tired.” But what are we
really rebelling against? Life is a struggle; we
struggle out of the womb, and we struggle
against ourselves and the world, physically and
mentally.
Life is a lively poem, filled with
happiness, sadness and suffering. Life is a
motion picture with an un-edited script that is
truly a reality show. Drama, action, a little
bit of suspense and the right characters are all
what make movies great. Our lives are a movie,
filled with family dramas, action and suspense.
What a great movie God is watching. He sees the
beginning and the end all at once, He is the
original movie maker, who doesn’t give us a
script, but gives us a glimpse of the ending.
Our emotions and desires all lead us
to one thing, and that is to come to the
understanding of God in our lives. We know
suffering exits, because there is happiness. We
know something is bitter because we have tasted
something sweet. God is a great poet, artist,
and movie maker; He allows the opposite to exist
in every respect. Where there is sickness,
health, where there is fire, water, and where is
joy, despair. We are all dependent on these
cofactors; without them our lives & freewill are
compromised. So, what kind of answer will
satisfy our asking of this question of life’s
struggles? Are we looking for an idea, or a
solution, or maybe a clue, a sign to point to
something else?
If we
are constantly whining about the pain, then the
tears from our eyes will keep our vision
impaired. We don’t need to tell the sick, “you
are sick,” Or the hungry, “you are
malnourished!” But we need to give them
reassurance of the better things to come.
God gives us the Real Answer, He
gives us a real solution, he gives us everything
he has, his only Son, and he gives us the real
presence (Holy Qurbana) until the end of time.
He comes down and not just to answer the
question in person, but takes on the question on
the cross. He gives us death so we might be born
again in the resurrection. In the midst of
darkness God will gives us light, so we can see
His Son. We are conceived to be born out of the
womb, to make not just empty choices but to make
the choice, the choice to be with God, or
without God, and God respectfully accepts our
choice eternally.
As we enter life through the womb ,
we also enter the journey of life to only
graduate and receive our certificate in heaven,
handed to us by Christ himself. Education is a
great tool that helps us live our daily lives.
Just as we have goals to become doctors,
lawyers, and engineers, we must also have a goal
set for the eternal life. We need good schools
to help us become more informed people to be
successful in our society, and we need the
church to help us become better people (saints),
so we can be a holy people. On our graduation
day we receive our earthly diploma and we are
congratulated by our parents and friends. We
want to also receive our heavenly diploma, where
we will hear God our perfect parent along with
the Saints and angels to say: “Congratulations!
You made it!”
______
Ode to Jesus
By Michael Asmar, 13
You
are a man of honor so kind and courageous
So cool and so awesome the way you lived through
the ages
You came about to be
Through a girl who married just past thirteen
While
living in a place full of sinners and gossipers
You helped your father become one of those
things you call carpenter
A world full of hate, you couldn’t stand it
So you set out to be a preacher and very
compassionate
With a life long journey ahead which would only
last 3 years
You said goodbye to your mom and left your house
with tears
Knowing the journey would be hard
You made friends with some fishermen that were
very smart
They
knew always where to go to eat and to sleep
They protected the man where they knew they had
to keep
Jesus said bye, and they knew exactly where
Up in heaven where it was all nice and fair
But
you came back in only three days
And at that everyone was amazed
They started to believe
In a man even greater than Hercules
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Page Three
The Artist Retreat
From Friday May 29 to Sunday, May 31, a group of
Chaldean artists from St. Peter Diocese attended a
retreat at St. George Chaldean Monastery near Lake
Matthews in Riverside, CA. The Retreat was led
by Fr. Andrew Younan and the topic was beauty and
the nature of art and the artist. It was amazing to
see how many of our youth are such creative and
talented individuals who express themselves with a
variety of art. Musicians, painters, designers,
photographers, poets, writers, and all sorts of
artists were welcomed. It remains a surprise to find
out what happens on the retreat, so please join us
on next years’ Artist Retreat!
__________
The Emmaus Retreat
Another Weekend, Another Great Success
For the fourth time in San Diego, the Emmaus retreat
was held once again at the Monastery of St. George
in Riverside. On the beautiful Thursday afternoon of
June 18, a group of about forty young people drove
up for the retreat and a life changing experience.
Through different talks and activities, the
retreatants were challenged to take a closer look at
their lives and find where God was missing. Though
the people attending started out the weekend as
strangers, they came home with a new family, a
family centered on Christ. Please keep them in your
prayers that the graces which God began pouring into
their souls this weekend may continue in abundance.
______
An evening with Tim & Valerie Staples
“The Sacrament of Marriage”
Tim
and Valerie Staples were invited by St. Peter’s moms
group to St. Michael’s Hall in El Cajon, CA, on June
19, 2009, to do a talk on Marriage. Tim Staples is
a convert to the Catholic faith. He has given
hundreds of talks all over the country. He is a
writer, speaker and radio show host. Valerie is a
full time mom, and director of prepaid legal
services. She is a facilitator of ENDOW (education
on the nature and dignity of woman) Catholic
Scripture Study & is also the president of the
Goretti Girls, which is a group of Catholic teens in
San Diego.
They spoke extensively of their commitment to the
sacrament of marriage and what it means. When we
make our vows there is the third person
present-God! God gives us the Grace to face any
challenges in our marriages. Just as Jesus kneeling
at the garden of Gethsemete says yes to the cross,
we too are saying yes to the crosses that we will
face in marriage. There are joys and many sufferings
in marriage. The goal is to make saints out of each
other and get each other to heaven. Men are to die
for their bride and women are to be like our blessed
Mother ready to do God’s will. We are to give 100%
of ourselves, not 50% or 90%, but completely. They
spoke of the gift of NFP (natural family planning)
and the blessings that has brought to their
marriage. We are to honor each other bodies even in
our marriages.
Jeandark
Putris
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Page Four and Five
2009 Knights of Columbas Graduation Party
The Knights of Columbus 11th Annual Graduation Party
took place Friday, June 26, 2009, at St. Peter’s
Hall. Hundreds of guests attended this joyful event
while enjoying dinner and music. Mar Sarhad Yawsip
Jammo wrote a very inspiring letter in the graduate
yearbook congratulating the graduates for their
achievements and success: “your graduation is a time
to reflect upon who you are as an individual, but
this really means to reflect upon how you can turn
to others and share your gifts with them- first in
your own home, then with your Chaldean community,
and finally with the entire world.” At the event, he
offered his prayers and blessings to the graduates
as they begin a new phase in their life. He also
congratulated the families of the graduates and
thanked them for their support and encouragement,
explaining that the accomplishments and diplomas of
their children in some way is theirs too, and they
should be proud of that.
Before dinner, Mar Bawai Soro congratulated the
graduates and their families, and offered a blessing
prayer. Thomas Meram, Knights of Columbus (Mar Toma
Council) Grand Knight, had an opening statement in
the 2009 yearbook saying, “As you move on into a new
chapter in your life, know that God has a plan for
all of us. Be thankful for all the blessings God has
given you, and the love and support that you receive
from your family, friends, and community. With God’s
grace, you can achieve great things”.
The
book was prepared and designed by the Knights of
Columbus Youth Committee and was printed at the
Chaldean Media Center. Many graduates had the chance
to apply for scholarships in four different
categories. Scholarship grants were all donated by
many generous sponsors, individuals and
organizations from our community. God bless them.
For graduation party photos, please contact
NABIL TOMA from QUALITY VIDEO
PRODUCTIONS at 619-244-2598
For graduation party video, please contact HAITHAM
YALDO from
MOVIE REEL PRODUCTIONS at 619-277-7154
High
School Leadership Awards
High School Academic Awards
High
School Athletic Award
|
High School Newcomer Award
 |
College Leadership Award
 |
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