“Remain in peace, O holy altar of God, I hope to return to you in peace. May the offering I have received from you forgive my sins and prepare me to stand blameless before the throne of Christ. I know not whether I will be able to return to you again to offer sacrifice. Guard me, O Lord, and protect your holy Church, that she may be the way to salvation and the light of the world. Amen.” (Anaphora of the 12 Apostles)

St. Rafka Maronite Church

The Best Kept Secret in Denver!
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St. Rafka's Latest Events

Benediction of the Cross
Fri Mar 12, 2010 @07:30PM - 08:00PM
Benediction of the Cross
Fri Mar 19, 2010 @07:30PM - 08:00PM
St. Rafka Celebration
Sat Mar 20, 2010 @06:30PM - 12:00PM
ENDOW Mulieris Dignitatem
Sun Mar 21, 2010 @12:00PM - 02:00PM
Benediction of the Cross
Fri Mar 26, 2010 @07:30PM - 08:00PM
Hosanna Sunday
Sun Mar 28, 2010 @10:30AM - 12:00PM
Coming to the Harbor
Mon Mar 29, 2010 @07:30PM - 08:30PM
Coming to the Harbor
Tue Mar 30, 2010 @07:30PM - 08:30PM
Rite of the Lamp
Wed Mar 31, 2010 @07:30PM - 08:30PM
Thursday of the Mysteries w/ the Rite of Washing of the feet
Thu Apr 01, 2010 @07:30PM - 08:30PM

Updates & Upcoming Events

  • Jurisdiction:

    Maronite Eparchy of
    Our Lady of Lebanon

  • Eparchial Bishop:

    His Excellency
    Bishop Robert Shaheen, D.D.
    1021 S. 10th St.
    St. Louis, MO 63104-3518
    Tel. 314.231.1021
    Fax. 314.231.1418

  • Pastor:

    Fr. Armando Elkhoury
    St. Rafka Maronite Church
    2301 Wadsworth Blvd.
    Lakewood, CO 80214-5710
    Tel: 720.833.0354
    Fax: 720.833.0390

  • Liturgy Schedule:

    Sundays at 10:30A.M.
    Holy Days at 7:00P.M.

Welcome...

We have 4 guests online

Welcome to Denver's Hidden Treasure!

We invite you to be a part of our spiritual family.

St. Rafka Maronite Church is a place where you can fall in love anew with God. We invite you to enter into a loving, compassionate, and meaningful relationship with God the Father, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit through the unique and rich theology, spirituality, and traditions of the Maronite Church.

A hidden treasure in Lakewood, CO, a suburb of Denver, St. Rafka Maronite Church witnesses to Jesus Christ’s plan of salvation for us: from His conception, birth, and holy baptism to His saving passion, life-giving death, His burial for three days, His glorious resurrection, ascension to heaven, His sitting at the right hand of the Father, and His wondrous, awesome and royal return, when He shall judge all people and separate them according to their deeds.

We invite you to be a part of our spiritual family.

Maronites in the United States are bearers of a rich tradition. Not only do they embody their ethnic heritage, but they also witness to two great religious traditions, the tradition of the earliest converts to Christianity and the rich heritage of the Church of Antioch. Their prayers and liturgical formulas are filled with references to Sacred Scripture. Their hymns are filled with the poetry of the Middle East. Maronite theology emphasizes the mysteriousness of God, but also the call to humans to be united to divinity through the humanity of Christ. It declares that humans beings are not only created in the image and likeness of God, but are also called to a new creation through the Holy Spirit in baptism where they become spiritual beings called to immortality. It honors the Blessed Mother as being the New Eve and the paradigm of the Church.

The Best Kept Secret in Denver, CO

St. Rafka Maronite Church is the best kept secret in Denver! In their worship and liturgy, the Maronites reflected the tradition of Jewish Christianity. The theology found in their liturgy is that of St. Ephrem, one of the greatest Fathers of the Church. Their earliest Eucharistic Prayer (Anaphora), known as the Anaphora of Third Peter or Sharar, is the oldest in the Church and shares a common ancestry with the Chaldean Anaphora of Addai and Mari. Many of the liturgical prayers and the ritual of baptism can be traced to St. Ephrem and another great Syriac writer, James of Serug. Get to know the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church from within by praying her prayers as found in her liturgical worship. Come and See the beauty of God as seen through the eyes of this ancient and Apostolic Church.

Welcome to your Spiritual Home. We invite you to share in this hidden treasure. St. Rafka Maronite Church, the best kept secret in Denver!

Come worship with us on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. We know you'll love it!
2301 Wadsworth Blvd. • Lakewood, CO 80214 • Tel: 720.833.0354 • Fax: 720.833.0390

Spiritual and Thought Provoking Corner

Vision Care Charity PDF print email
Written by Karen Hart   

December 2009

Dear Saint Rafka’s Parishioners and Friends,

YEA! We are ready and able to begin our charity work as a parish!

I am very privileged that the Parish Pastoral Council and Fr. Armando asked me to head St. Rafka Charities Committee. Charity work is something to be passionate about. I hope by working together our church will be an instrument to help others.

St. Rafka - the Blind Maronite Nun

The Maronite nun who prayed to God to allow her to share in Jesus’ suffering became blind and bedridden for many excruciating years. Rafka never complained and carried her painful cross with joy for she was united with Christ.

We, who chose her as our blind patron saint, would like to offer a little hand to our brothers and sisters and encourage them to seek eye exam. It seems appropriate that our first year of charity work be directed toward eye care.
Read more: Vision Care Charity
 
St. Rafka Charities PDF print email
Written by Fr. Armando Elkhoury   

Charity is an essential ministry of a Maronite Church. The word charity comes from the Greek verb to love. From God’s love stems doing work of charity for it shows our love to our neighbor which the Lord has commanded.

An Eye Exam

"The first [commandment] is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12, 29-31)

During the 2009-2010 liturgical year, our goal is to raise $1000.00 to support 20 people get vision care. The idea was inspired from the life of our patron saint, Rafka, the blind Maronite nun from Lebanon.
Read more: St. Rafka Charities
 
St. Joseph Hosts St. Rafka PDF print email
Written by Fr. Armando Elkhoury   

More than 200 people attended the Maronite Divine Liturgy celebrated in Wyoming. The celebration took place at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Cheyenne on Saturday, October 18, 2009 at 6:00pm.

St. Rafka Maronite Church's Choir

“You must bring your choir,” Deacon Bradley stipulated when he, on behalf of Fr. Moss, Pastor of St. Joseph, extended an invitation to celebrate the Maronite Divine Liturgy at their church. The choir of St. Rafka and families, Deacon Kelvin Brath and his wife Nona of All Souls Roman Catholic Church in Englewood, CO, and Kathy Grywusiewicz, music minister at All Souls, along with Fr. Elkhoury gladly responded to Deacon Bradley’s invitation.

Fr. Moss and Deacon Bradley wished to introduce the Roman Catholics of Cheyenne to the Eastern Catholic Churches. The Catholic Church is a communion of 23 Churches. The RomanCatholic Church, which is also known as the Latin Church or the Western Church, is the largest of these churches.

The Fathers of Vatican II taught in the document Orientalium Ecclesiarum, (No.2) “The Universal Catholic Church is a corporate body of Churches.” It is “made up of the faithful who are organically united in the Holy Spirit by the same faith, the same sacraments and the same government. They combine into different groups, which are held together by their hierarchy, and so form particular churches.”
Read more: St. Joseph Hosts St. Rafka
 
Send Out, O Lord, Laborers for Your Harvest! PDF print email
Written by Fr. Armando Elkhoury   

The church is in dire need for men and women to come forward and join the ranks of holy priests, monks, and nuns whom God called to be His shining instruments in this ever-changing world.

This shortage of vocations affects all of us. As of today, there are not enough Maronite priests to serve the overwhelming number of parishes in the United States. Many of our communities are blessed to have a priest serving them. Unfortunately, many others are not as blessed. Our bishops hope to have an overabundance of priests to serve their flocks. We priests hope for our numbers to grow. We cannot afford getting sick! It would be a tremendous blessing to have monasteries and convents in our communities.
Read more: Send Out, O Lord, Laborers for Your Harvest!
 
To Be a Maronite, to Be a Maronite in the United States PDF print email
Written by Chorbishop Seely Beggiani   

To be a person of faith involves several dimensions. Religious faith is the conviction that all of reality, despite the many aspects of life that seem to go wrong, is radically good and has an ultimate purpose. Faith arises from an encounter where God offers us his unconditioned love and awaits our response. For the Christian, faith is the choice to see God, the world, and ourselves through the eyes of Jesus Christ, and the decision to live our lives according to His teachings and His way of life. Faith is embodied in liturgical worship, creeds, a code of morality, and commitments to action especially against injustice.
Read more: To Be a Maronite, to Be a Maronite in the United States
 
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