Quench Your Spiritual Thirst
Quench your spiritual thirst by becoming a member of St. Rafka Maronite Church, Denver’s Hidden Treasure. We invite you to experience the beauty of God as expressed in the unique spirituality, theology, and liturgical tradition of the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church. Drink from the Eternal Spring and quench your thirst!
Richness of the Catholic Church
The Word of God is infinite and cannot be contained or exhausted in any one human culture or theology. Human beings respond to God’s Word in belief and worship that can only be expressed in finite ways. God intended that His plan of salvation be incarnated in a plurality of cultures and peoples. Thus, from the beginning, the preaching of the Gospel of Christ was articulated in various languages and explained through various cultural expressions. The faith response to this preaching was in the language, music, poetry, art, and architecture of the particular people to whom it was preached. In the first centuries of the Christian era, the Gospel of Christ became embodied in the cultures of the Middle and Far East, North Africa, Asia Minor and Europe. The various Church traditions throughout the world celebrate the richness of God’s Word and the human response to it. These Church traditions we identify as the Chaldean, Antiochene, Coptic, Byzantine, Armenian, and Roman traditions. No tradition is superior to the other. But the Church as a whole is diminished when one or more of these traditions are ignored.
The Maronite Church is a worldwide Church whose doors and communities are open to anyone who comes to our churches and falls in love with God according to the worldview of the Maronite Church. As Christ welcomed the Maronites into His sheepfold, we welcome our brothers and sisters into the Church of Christ as well. The Maronite Church has a rich spiritual, theological, and liturgical patrimony. Her mission is to heed the call of Christ and make disciples of all nations. The time is always ripe to be a missionary Church and bring people to Him. We pray that our churches are good soil allowing the seed of the Word to grow and produce fruit of hundredfold.
Fr. Armando Elkhoury, Pastor
St. Rafka Maronite Church
Be A Part of an Ancient and Rich Apostolic Tradition
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.
Welcome to your Spiritual Home. We invite you to share in this hidden treasure. St. Rafka Maronite Church, the best kept secret in Denver!
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All are Welcome