Posted on 08/04/2005 7:11:57 PM PDT by Siobhan
Alleluia!
O Mother who gave Life to us,
petition on our behalf
the Son who appeared from you:
may he remove from us the blows of punishment,
and keep away divisions and disputes.
May he lead us in the path of life in which we journey
at all times.
On your memorial day,
we sing praise to your only Son.
Alleluia!
Blessed are you, O Mary,
for God, who feeds all creatures,
was nourished by you
and rested on your breast.
O Wonder!
The Son of God was nourished
by a human creature!
He assumed what is ours
and gave us what is his.
On his mother's memorial let us proclaim:
Glory to you, O Lord.
Alleluia!
As dew was falling gently
over the city of Ephesus
Saint John wrote to its people.
He instructed them to celebrate
the memory of the Blessed Mary,
three times each year:
In January, during the time of planting of the seeds;
in May, during the time of harvest;
and in August, during the time of the grapes.
For the mysteries of life are prefigured in these months.
Alleluia!
On your memorial day, O Blessed Mary,
angels and mortals are overwhelmed with joy.
The dead rejoice in their tombs
because of the glory in creation.
God will bless
those who celebrate your memory with faith
and pour his mercy upon them.
Alleluia!
Who is to see a new ship
sustaining the One who is mighty;
the One who sustains and rules all creation.
Mary bore him, yet he bears all creation.
He nourishes all living creatures,
yet she nourished him with her milk.
He is the Maker of all infants,
yet he dwelt, as an infant, in her womb.
The fiery beings in the heights
sing hymns of praise to him!
Alleluia!
"The Lebanese dialect of Arabic is very different from that used by other Middle Eastern countries. As you've no doubt noticed, there is a very obvious French flavor to it. IMHO, that influence makes the language especially pleasant."
I've chanted with the Maronites a couple of times in Arabic. Arabic is an incredibly beautiful language to sing in, which I find surprising because spoken Arabic to my western ear sounds harsh.
I think you're right. The Lebanese dialect sounds softer come to think of it.
"This is what I love so much about the Maronite Church! We gather as a community to pray and then share our mutual faith afterwards, with coffee and special delicacies offered up by a member of the congregation."
I think this is a bigger eastern tradition. We do much the same thing in the Byzantine church. There's always food and fellowship after liturgy, and it seems that we always have visitors. We also seem to have at least one Roman Catholic seminarian as well as a deacon or two attending Divine Liturgy.
And this in a parish that has maybe 50 families.
Perhaps it was John Paul's funeral or the Novendiale Masses that followed but US catholics are beginning to discover the Eastern Churches. Like you, we seem to have visitors each week. One woman who came today is from a local parish that was just shut down by the bishop. She was so impressed and plans to return.
You speak Arabic! I'm impressed!!! How and were did you learn it? Do you also read Arabic characters? I speak French and Italian, and can figure out Spanish and Portuguese but the great consternation with Arabic is the different alphabet. It's a double learning experience but one I would like to attempt. Any suggestions?
Speak Arabic? Heavens no...just some Italian and English. They have phonetic translations for the Arabic challenged. I follow along as best I can.
Bump for the Solemnity of the Assumption.
BTTT, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15, 2005!
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