NNA – Jbeil – The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, presided over a festive mass in the shrine of St. Rafqa in a park hostile to the intention of peace in Lebanon, in celebration of the memory that the peace of St. Rebekah brings to the people of the town, and an annual honor for this anniversary, at the invitation of the Town Development Association, who helped him in it The Maronite Diocese of Byblos, Bishop Michel Aoun, Metropolitans: Mounir Khairallah, Boulos Sayah and Youssef Soueif, parish priest Edmond Khashan, head of the Maad Monastery of the Lebanese Maronite Congregation, Nima Nehme, and a group of priests and fathers, led by Mersal Badawi, in cooperation with the parish choir and with the participation of the artist Tony Hanna.
The mass was attended by: Minister of Tourism in the caretaker government, Engineer Walid Nassar, representing the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, Minister of Industry in the caretaker government, Georges Bouchikian, Manal Nehme, representing the Minister of Social Affairs in the caretaker government, Dr. Hector Hajjar, and Representative Simon Abi Ramia, representing the head of the “Current Movement”. The Free Patriotic Party” MP Gebran Bassil, MP Ziad Al-Hawat representing the leader of the “Lebanese Forces” party, Samir Geagea, MPs: Farid Heikal Al-Khazen, Nada Al-Bustani, Raed Berro and Salim Al-Sayegh, Ambassador Gabi Issa, Director General of the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water Establishment, Engineer Jean Gibran, Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Louis Lahoud, Acting Mayor of Jbeil, Natalie Marai El Khoury, Head of the Maronite Gathering for Lebanon, Lawyer Paul Kanaan.
The head of the Maronite League, Dr. Khalil Karam, the mayor of Ghalboun, Eng. Elie Jibrael, the head of the Jubail District Mayors’ Association, Michel Gibran, and the town’s mayor, Tony Al-Hajj, the head of the Martyrs, Injured and Prisoners’ Service in the “Forces” party, Charbel Abi Akl, the Jubail District Coordinator Hadi Merhej, and mayors and mayors attended. Randa Kalab, Head of the Byblos Center in the Red Cross, President of the Maad Development Association, Jean-Claude Sorour and members, events and a crowd of people from the town and neighboring villages.
cues
At the beginning of the liturgy, the Society presented the chalices to the shepherd who blessed them, and delivered Mila Sorour Khair, a speech in which she welcomed the shepherd, who gave a sermon after the Gospel, in which he said: “Today we need to hear God’s words in these difficult days that we live in. The Lord Jesus calls us in the Gospels. Because we search for the main requirement, and he calls it the only requirement, which is to find time, to be alone with him and hear his words as Mary did, because by hearing his words we enlighten and correct our thinking, actions and behaviors, and we need in particular to hear his words in difficult days and the circumstances in which we live, whether it is good or bad. We need to hear him speak to every human being, because he is the Word.
And he talked about the stages of St. Rafqa’s life, who loved the people of Ma’ad, recalling that while she was on the bed of pain and pain and in her last hours, she said to one of the town’s daughters, “Salm me to the people of Ma’ad.”
He stressed that “today, in light of the difficulties we are experiencing, we need to hear the words of the Lord in order to live the true light.”
He believed that “if we have difficulties in Lebanon and are unable to engage in dialogue and live with a kind of mistrust, caution and fear of one from the other, it is required to hear the word of God, who alone enlightens, guides and comforts us and opens the way for us.”
He added: “We pray for Lebanon, and for His Excellency the President of the Republic and his aides, so that we may hear the words of God. We cannot remain in this state of chaos in life and social relations, a state of disruption, as if the main goal has become for us to disrupt everything.”
He asked: “What is this greatness and ability to stop and disrupt everything, so who is in the interest of this obstruction? Is it in the interest of Lebanon, the state, the people? Noting that Saint Rafqa tells us today, “No, and she also tells us that life is with its giving, and its value is through its dedication and love in the heart of man.” The constructive word.
He wished the representative of the President of the Republic to convey his peace and the peace of the metropolitans to the President of the country, and to assure him that “we support him with our prayers in order to continue the march and end his reign as it should for the good of Lebanon and its people, and we are by his side in light of the difficult circumstances in which we live, and we are all above all problems.” .
At the end of the mass, everyone moved to DOMAINE SAINT GABRIEL, where a dinner was held in honor of the shepherd, who toured and Ministers Nassar and Boushekian throughout it and were briefed on the modern equipment in it and the production that it annually exports abroad. Saint Rafqa gathers tonight the towns of Ghalboun and Maad in its peace, showering its blessings.
He added: “To those who were given the glory of Lebanon, who raised aloft the slogan of company and love for all the sons of Lebanon, we say: With your arrival, divine grace and the blessing of the Holy Spirit accompanies you, and you are the faithful shepherd who preaches peace and love. You have all our appreciation, and your blessed visit is the motivation for us to launch this project.”
He said: “The good news of Al-Rai is the good news between us and today, and in the vital sustainable development project, thanks to the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Foundation, we announce the good news of the arrival of water to the land of Ghalboun from the artesian well at a depth of 425 meters, which we desperately need for such a project.”
server
In turn, the head of the Ma’ad Development Association, Jean-Claude Sorour, thanked the pastor for presiding over the mass, noting that Saint Rafqa practiced the mission of education in the town from 1864 to 1871. He also thanked the President of the Republic for sending him as his representative, stressing that “Maad was and is still loyal to Bkerke and Baabda together. Praying to Saint Rafqa, “the cooperation of Bkerke and Baabda for the salvation of our homeland, Lebanon, peace, love and coexistence.”
Nassar
Nassar stressed in his speech, “The relationship between Baabda and Bkerke is normal, and we should not talk much about this issue as if there is something that needs to make efforts to pave the road between them, and the road between Baabda and Bkerke was once only passable, and we hope that it will remain that way.”
He announced the establishment of a syndicate of guest houses in Lebanon, whose number has reached 137, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Tourism and its laws. It made its way from the Ministry of Labor to the Interior, and “today it is in the General Directorate of Public Security and next week it returns to the Ministry of Labor, and Ghalboun is a founding member of this union thanks to Elie and Gabi Gabriel. And this town will be on the hotel tourism map as a founding member of this union.”
He pointed out that “today there are 58 brands in Lebanon between exporters and wine manufacturers, while the number in 2010 was between 8 and 10, and Lebanon, six months ago, became a member of the European Council for Cultural Paths, and is the first non-European country to be selected as a member of this council and among the These paths are the Wine Road, the Olive Tree, the Phoenician Road, and today the Silk Road, and the town of Ghalboun, distinguished by its wine industry, will be a stop on the Wine Road.”
He revealed that the Ministry of Tourism, in cooperation with the private sector, is organizing the largest wine tourism event in this region, with the participation of 58 wineries in Lebanon, Cyprus, France, Italy and Greece, and the longest wine tasting table in the world will be held with a length of 1200 meters. Especially, where it will be recorded as the longest table in the world, noting that “the main goal of such a commercial and cultural exchange project, because wine is not only a commercial product, but enters our culture and the culture of our ancestors, and we have to preserve and develop it.”
He praised the role played by the Ghalboun municipality to make this town a model, and thanked the people of Maad for this meeting, wishing the sponsor more health and a long life.
shepherd
At the beginning of his speech, Al-Rahi renewed his call to Nassar to convey his greetings to the President of the Republic.
He commended the importance of the DOMAIN SAINT GABRIEL project in this region of the country of Byblos, describing it as a source of pride for Lebanon, and thanked Saint Rafqa and the Inma Maad Association for this inclusive meeting, and congratulated Ghalboun and the neighboring villages for the project, “whose water erupted today to irrigate the people of Ghalboun and the neighboring villages.” According to the Minister of Industry, all the lands in this town should become vineyards.
In his speech, he spoke about the influence of the town of Maad and its people on the life of Saint Rafqa, who saw God’s will in her in this town that she taught us to love.
He noted “the achievements made by the Ministry of Tourism at a time when we were happy to hear the positives, not the negatives.” He also thanked the Minister of Industry for encouraging Lebanese industries.
He stressed that in Lebanon, “we need political stability, and this is what the Lebanese scattered around the world are asking of us, especially since we used to hear in our tours abroad from officials in those countries that the Lebanese are a creative and creative people,” noting that “this people needs political stability in their homeland.” To return and promote it and exploding its potential on Lebanese soil.”
He wished all politicians to “work together to create this stability,” stressing that “the first and last duty of political action is to create stability so that the people can realize their selves and talents.”
He concluded by asking God, through the intercession of Saint Rafqa, to “protect Lebanon and its people so that they can live in peace and tranquility.”
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