SAINT GEORGE MARONITE CHURCH

AN EASTERN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THE

WEST SYRIAC ANTIOCHENE TRADITION

Week of May 21, 2017 Sixth Week of the Resurrection

Annette Garcia - Parish Secretary Ex. 100

Nick Morey – Bookkeeper Ex102

Jo Ann Reed - Financial Consultant

Michele Chebib - Hall Manager Ex. 104

Deborah Mery Fernandez - Cultural Arts Director

Richard Karam - Church Attorney

Edward Karam - Church Realtor & Lector Coordinator

Soumaya Doenges - Greeter Coordinator

Ameen Al Bahloly- Altar Server Coordinator

Regina Aune - Archivist

Fernando Fernandez - Athletic Director

Brendan George - Pastoral Council Chairman

Jose Fernandez - Finance Committee Chairman

Candy Monsour - LAS President

Patricia Karam - Scholarship Committee Chairman

Elyse Karam, Monica Chavez, & Sabrina De La Cruz -

MYO Directors

Crystel Harb - Religious Education Coordinator

Edmond Karam – MYA President

Dave Sweeney - Veterans Committee Chairman

Toufic Khalife & Larry Monsour - Grounds Committee

Liturgy Schedule:

Monday-No Liturgy

Tuesday 5:30 PM

Wednesday - Friday 12:00 Noon

Saturday 5:00 PM, Sunday 8:00 AM & 11:00 AM

Saint George Maronite Catholic Church

6070 Babcock Road, San Antonio, TX 78240

Offices: (210) 690-9569 (210) 690-2240

Fax: (210) 690-5093 www.stgeorgesa.org

Hall: (210) 696-5937 www.stgeorgemaronitecenter.com

Fr. Charles Khachan, MLM – Pastor Ex. 101

E-mail: ckhachan@gmail.com

Deacon Tom Billimek

Gym: http://www.sgmgym.com/

Bingo: http://www.randysbingo.com/

Merciful Like the Father!

Religious Education

Pre K - 12th grade-See bulletin for schedule

Bible Study

See bulletin for schedule

Church Organizations

See bulletin for schedule

Adoration

Tuesday 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Mystery of Reconciliation (Confession)

30 minutes before Liturgy and upon request

Mystery of Baptism & Chrismation

Parents and Godparents must meet with the pastor to make

arrangements

Mystery of Crowning (Marriage)

Notify the pastor AT LEAST SIX MONTHS in advance for the necessary arrangements

Sick and Hospitalized

Contact the pastor for visitation

Memorial Sunday

Last Sunday of the month

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Intentions and Readings of the Divine Liturgy

Sat. May 20th 5:00 PM Liturgy for Kyriacou and Sidaoui families req. by their families

Liturgy for Anthony Mery Jr. req. by Beverly Fernandez

Phil 2:19-30 Mt 17:24-27

Sun. May 21st 8:00 AM Liturgy for the intentions of the parishioners of St. George

11:00AM Liturgy for Bjorn Aune req. Regina Aune

Rom 10:1-13 Sixth Week of the Resurrection Lk 24:36-48

Mon. May 22nd No Liturgy

Phil 3:1-12 Jn 11:1-16

Tues. May 23rd 5:30 PM Liturgy for the sick and hospitalized members of St. George

Phil 3:13-21 Jn 11:17-28

Wed. May 24th 12:00 Noon Liturgy for Bjorn Aune req. by Regina Aune

Phil 4:1-7 Jn 11:32-44

Thurs. May 25th 7:00 PM Liturgy for Therese Antoun req. by Amira & JoAnn Andera

Acts 1:1-14 The Ascension of the Lord Mk 16:15-20

Fri. May 26th 12:00 Noon Liturgy for Therese Antoun req. by Gene Viola

Phil 4:8-14 Jn 3:12-15

Sat. May 27th 5:00 PM Liturgy for Margaret Gabriel Craig (55 year anniversary)

req. by Pamela and Michael Craig

Phil 4:15-23 Jn 14:1-6

Sun. May 28th 8:00 AM Liturgy for the intentions of the parishioners of St. George

11:00AM Liturgy for Toni Jetani req. by his loving family

Liturgy for Daniel and Maria Noujeim req. by their loving family

Eph 1:15-23 Seventh Week of the Resurrection Jn 13-31-35

We apologize for any inconvenience if a name of a loved one was

misspelled or dropped off the list of masses by mistake.

May 21, 2017

Flowers: by Regina Aune in memory of her husband Bjorn Aune

Refreshments: by Regina Aune in memory of her husband Bjorn Aune

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Bertha Acevedo,

Rocky Anawaty,

Amira Andera,

Regina Aune,

Corey Baines,

Gerry Baines,

Sharon Benson,

Pamela Gabriel Craig,

Terry Griebel,

Marina Curie-John,

Diana Curi-Ryder,

Josephine Daaud,

David Emerson,

Norma Emerson,

Zeyna Faris,

Brendon Fuselier

Muriel Keogh George,

Hank Grage,

Betty Gudat,

Harry Hilton,

Jackie Hill,

James Hughlette,

Sal Isgro,

Marie Joseph,

Al Jowdy,

David Karam,

Elyse Karam,

Eugene Karam,

Mary Anne Karam,

Mary Ann Trad Karam,

Donna Khattar,

Marie La Monica,

Richard La Monica,

Margaret Craig Loyd,

Gloria Maldonado,

Charles Malouff,

Louise Malouff,

Maria Marines,

Karen Martinez,

Elvira Mery,

Maria Mery,

Paul Mery, Jr.,

Tony Moawad,

Connie Moller,

Adele Morrison,

Nancy Nasif,

Tim O’Connor,

Jose Olvera,

Roger O’Shaugh-nessy

Thelma O’Shaugh-nessy,

David Palazzo,

Noel Palazzo,

Ashley Polley,

Larry Raba,

Tanya Raba,

Curtis Reed,

Curtis Michael, Reed

Kirsten Reed,

Rose Ribble,

Johnny Rodriguez,

Pedro Rosas,

Gloria Saliba,

Marie Schechter,

Bella Rodriguez Torres,

Rose Trevino,

Jeanette Van Delden,

Gene Viola,

Joe Walker,

Miriam Wells,

Cathy Turcotte Wolfe,

George Yamin.

Sophie Abdo Karam - June 24, 2016

Ted Van Delden - September 27, 2016

Amira Mery Dean - November 14, 2016

Anthony Mery, Jr. – November 30, 2016

Grant Peisen - December 12, 2016

David Saliba - December 23, 2016

Robert Dieck - February 17, 2017

Roberto Rodriguez - April 3, 2017

Nicolas Alhaj - May 14, 2017

Abraham El-Nakat - May 16, 2017

Saturday, May 20th (5:00 PM)

Lector: Ray Dustin

Ushers: Ameen Al-Bahloly & Simon Salinas

Greeter: Souraya Sarkis

Altar Servers: Zack Karam & Aaron Mery

Sunday, May 21st

Lector: (8:00 AM) Frank Westermann

Lector: (11:00 AM) Ernest Karam

Ushers: Mike Daly & Chris Karam

Greeters: Ladies Altar Society

Altar Servers: Anthony Kuri, Andre Kuri, Chris-

topher Geha

Saturday, May 27th (5:00 PM)

Lector: Joe Khattar

Ushers: Ameen Al Bahloly, Dora Cuellar

Greeter: Jo Sullivan

Altar Servers: Jeremy Daly, Kiersten Salinas

Sunday, May 28th

Lector: (8:00 AM) Frank Westermann

Lector: (11:00 AM) Brendan George

Ushers: Toufic Khalife, Adriana Khalife, Marcel

Noujeim

Greeters: Marina Younes

Altar Servers: Eddie Martinez, Dean Martinez,

Maroun Harb, Harry Deonges

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SUNDAY MAY 21ST Qurbono (Liturgy) 8:00 and 11:00 AM Rosary at 10:40 AM LAS, MYO, MYA Meetings after the 11:00

AM Liturgy

TUESDAY MAY 23RD Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will be

from 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM followed by the Qurbono (Divine Liturgy) at 5:30 PM. Adora-tion will resume at 6:00 PM and will con-clude with the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

ASCENSION THURSDAY Thursday, May 25th is the feast of the Ascension of Our Lord, holy day of obligation. There will be Divine Liturgy at 7:00 PM.

SUNDAY MAY 28TH Qurbono (Liturgy) 8:00 and 11:00 AM Divine Mercy Chaplet at 10:40 AM LAS, MYO, and MYA meetings after the

11:00 AM Liturgy at the MCC.

FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL The 46th Annual Texas Folklife Festival is around the corner. The dates this year are June 9, 10 & 11, 2017. Volunteers are needed to make this event a success. Please sign-up for at least two shifts. Please sign-up to volunteer at the church office or after all weekend liturgies. You can also purchase your entrance tickets now for $10.00, at the door tickets are $15.00 each.

BACCALAUREATE LITURGY

ALL graduates (High School, Undergraduate, Masters, Postgraduate, and Professional) are in-vited to attend the Baccalaureate Liturgy on June 4th, 2017 at 11:00 AM. If you are about to gradu-ate or will graduate by August 2017, please call the Church office at 210-690-9569 or email us at annette@stgeorgesa.org and give us your name so your achievement can be recognized. Please submit the information by Wednesday, May 29, 2017.

HOLY LAND PRESENTATION

Join us on Saturday, June 3, at 6:00 PM in the MCC for a potluck dinner and a presentation on the pilgrimage that we took to the Holy Land in March.

BE READY FOR THE LITURGY Join us every Sunday at 10:40 AM as we prepare ourselves to participate in the Liturgy and pray the Rosary. And, on the last Sunday of every month, to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

BABY ITEM DRIVE We would like to ask the community to donate baby items such as diapers, formula, wipes, clothes, blankets, etc. Items will be donated to the St. Brigid conference of St. Vincent de Paul Society, Providence House and Guadalupe Home, to be given to expectant mothers in need of help. All contributions are greatly appreciated.

DEEPEST SYMPATHY Our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of: Nicolas Alhaj who passed away on Sunday,

May 14, 2017. Abraham El-Nakat who passed away on

Wednesday, May 16, 2017. Funeral services for Abraham are on Sunday, May 21, 2017: - Visitation: 4:00 PM -6:00 PM. - Funeral Liturgy: 6:00 PM.

Grant them rest O Lord and may your perpetual light shine upon them. Amen.

ADOPT A LIGHT CAMPAIGN We are in the process of changing the outdoor lighting in the church to LED lighting. This will provide us a better lighting at night around the church and will cut our electrical bill significant-ly. The cost of the project is $10,000.00. Thank you to Jean and Deanna Abi Assi and their fami-ly for their donation towards this project. We still need to raise $5,000.00. Everyone is invited to participate at a level that is meaningful to them. We thank you in advance for your support and generosity.

LAS LUNCHEON The LAS will be having a Lebanese Luncheon on Sunday, June 4, 2017 after the 11:00 AM Liturgy at the MCC. Menu: Kibbe Sandwiches, Salad, and French Fries. The cost is $10.00 per person.

NAM DUES If you have not had a chance to submit your dues to NAM for 2017, please do so to the office, or online at www.namnews.org. Thank you for all your support to the National Apostolate of Maro-nites Organization. For more information, please see Deborah Fernandez.

Community Life

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Second Collection - Catholic Communications Campaign - $411.00 Adopt a Light Campaign $00.00 Goal: $5,000.00

You can now contribute online, https://www.stgeorgesa.org/donate-online/

“God loves a cheerful giver!” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

STEWARDSHIP Our Gift to God and our Church

LAS CORNER

Cookbooks for sale, $25.00 each. LAS Meeting May 21st There are a limited number of grape leaves ,

large kibbe trays and small kibbee trays availa-ble for sale.

May 23 - Parish Council Meeting May 25 - Ascension Thursday June 4 - Pentecost Sunday June 4 - Baccalaureate Liturgy June 9-11 - Texas Folklife Festival July 15 - LAS Casino Night

FROM POPE FRANCIS

Let us seek to always hold high the “tone” of our life,

remembering the goal and glory for which we exist, work, struggle and suffer

May 7, 2017 Month to date Year to date Our 2017 Goal

Regular Collection

$3,754.00

Online Donations

$750.00

$7,912.00 $70,268.00 $ 175,000.00

Overage/Shortage -$104,732.00

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Medjugorje; the findings of the Ruini report

Esteemed by the Pope Francis, the report is positive on the first appearances, much less on the current ones while it proposes to turn the church into a pontifical sanctuary. Doubts from the Congregation for the Doc-trine of the Faith that discussed the phenomenon in 2016. Andrea Tornielli, Vatican City Source: http://www.lastampa.it/vaticaninsider/eng

Thirteen votes in favor of recognizing the supernatural nature of the first seven appearances in Medju-gorje, one vote against and one “suspensive” ballot, which will give a final answer later. A majority of suspen-sive votes and many doubts instead, concerning the apparition phenomenon from the end of 1981 to today.

These are the results of the work done by the commission on Medjugorje established in 2010 by Bene-dict XVI and chaired by Cardinal Camillo Ruini.

Pope Francis mentioned this report in the press conference on the return flight from Fatima when he revealed the distinction between the first apparitions and the later ones, saying, “A commission of good theolo-gians, bishops, cardinals. Good, good, good. The Ruini report is very, very good. It is well known that the sig-nal emerged from the Pontiff’s words is positive about the spiritual fruits and the conversions (”people who go there and convert, people who meet God, who change life”), but is negative with regard to the current appari-tions “I prefer Our Lady Mother, and not the head of the telegraphic office, who sends a message every day”. A commission wanted by Ratzinger

From 17 March 2010 to 17 January 2014, a commission chaired by Ruini was set up for the will of Benedict XVI. In addition to the former chairman of the CEI, Cardinals Jozef Tomko, Vinko Puljić, Josip Bozanić, Julián Herranz and Angelo Amato took part. The psychologist Tony Anatrella, the theologians Pierangelo Sequeri, Franjo Topić, Mihály Szentmártoni and Nela Gašpar, the Mariologist Salvatore Perrella, the anthropologist Achim Schütz, the canonist David Jaeger, the speaker of the causes of the saints Zdzisław Józef Kijas, the psychologist Mijo Nikić and the official of the Doctrine of the Faith Krzysztof Nykiel. Their task was to “collect and examine all the material” about Medjugorje and to present “a detailed report” followed by a vote on the “supernatural nature or not” of the apparitions as well as the most appropriate “pastoral solu-tions”. The committee met 17 times and screened all documents filed in the Vatican, the parish of Medjugorje and the archives of the secret services of the former Yugoslavia. The commission heard all the seers and wit-nesses involved, and in April 2012, they carried out an inspection in the village of Herzegovina. Positive Findings on First Appearances

The commission noted a very clear difference between the beginning of the phenomenon and its fol-lowing development, and therefore decided to issue two distinct votes on the two different phases: the first seven presumed appearances between June 24 and July 3, 1981, and all that happened later. Members and ex-perts came out with 13 votes in favor of recognizing the supernatural nature of the first visions. A member vot-ed against and an expert expressed a suspensive vote. The committee argues that the six young seers were psy-chically normal and were caught by surprise by the apparition, and that nothing of what they had seen was in-fluenced by either the Franciscans of the parish or any other subjects. They showed resistance in telling what happened despite the police arrested them and death threating them. The commission also rejected the hypoth-esis of a demonic origin of the apparitions. The doubts about the development of the phenomenon With regard to the second phase of the apparitions, the commission took note of the heavy interference caused by the conflict between the bishop and the Franciscans of the parish, as well as the fact that the apparitions, pre-announced and programmed individually for each seer continued with repetitive messages. These visions con-tinued despite the youngsters had said they would end, however that actually has never happened. There is then the issue of the “secrets” of the somewhat apocalyptic flavor that the seers claim to have been revealed from the apparition. On this second stage, the committee voted in two steps. (Continued on page 7)

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(continued from page 6)

Firstly, taking into account the spiritual fruits of Medjugorje but leaving aside the behaviors of the seers. On this point, 3 members and 3 experts say there are positive outcomes, 4 members and 3 experts say they are mixed, with a majority of positive, effects and the remaining 3 experts claim there are mixed positive and negative effects. If, in addition to the spiritual fruits, the behaviors of the seers is also taken into account, eight members and four experts believe that an opinion cannot be expressed, while two other members have voted against the supernatural nature of the phenomenon. The Pastoral Solution

Having noted that Medjugorje’s seers have never been adequately followed on the spiritual side, along the fact that for a long time they have no longer been a group, the commission has endorsed the end of the ban on pilgrimages organized in Medjugorje. In addition, 13 members and experts out of the 14 present voted in favor of the constitution of “an authority dependent on the Holy See” in Medjugorje as well as the transfor-mation of the parish into a pontifical sanctuary. A decision based on pastoral reasons - the care of millions of pilgrims, avoiding the formation of “parallel churches”, clarity on economic issues - which would not imply the recognition of the supernatural nature of the apparitions. The doubts of the Doctrine of the Faith

Francis mentioned them on the airplane. The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith led by Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller expressed doubts about the phenomenon and about the Ruini report, considered an authoritative contribution to be compared with other opinions and reports. In 2016 a “Feria IV”, the monthly meeting of Dicastry members, was summoned to discuss the Medjugorje case and the Ruini report. Each of the cardinals and bishops who members of the Feria IV received the text of the commission but also other material in the hands of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. During the meeting, members were asked to give their opinions. However, Pope Francis, unwilling to have the Ruini report, which he esteems, to be put up for “auction”, decided that the opinions of the Feria IV members had to be sent directly to him. And that’s ex-actly what happened. Francis’ decision

After examining the Ruini report and the opinions of the members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pope decided to entrust to the Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser a “special mission of the Holy See” to “acquire more in-depth knowledge of the pastoral situation “In Medjugorje, and “above all, the needs of the faithful who come to pilgrimage” to “suggest any pastoral initiatives for the future.” By summer 2017 the Polish Archbishop will deliver the results of his work with which the Pope will make a decision.

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