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.

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.

People are often unreasonable, irrational and self-centered; forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfishness or ulterior motives; be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you; be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight; create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous; be happy anyway.

The good you do today will often be forgotten; do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it may never be enough; give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway.

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is the Lord’s work…

Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

During the Divine Liturgy right after the homily an offertory basket is passed around in which the faithful offer their hard earned money.

Church is free. No one should feel that he or she must pay to be part of a church, to attend the spiritual services offered by the church, or to receive any benefits the church could offer. Therefore, the offertory basket does not collect an entrance, attendance, or belonging fees. One becomes a full member of the Church (one is initiated into the Church) when he or she receives the Mysteries of Initiation (Baptism, Chrismation, and the Holy Eucharist). These mysteries are the only requirement for a believer to become a member in the flock of Christ, the true Shepherd.