Syriac Maronite Patriarch Mor Bechara Raï in Sunday sermon: some leaders and politicians do not meet the standards of the great people of Lebanon and the distinguished state

BETH KERKE (BKERKI), Lebanon — Syriac Maronite Patriarch Mor Bechara Boutros Raï held his sermon this Sunday morning dedicating it to prayers for the souls of the faithful departed. The Patriarch preached the virtue of evangelical poverty, in praise and remembrance for those who shared with their needy brothers the world’s goods as “sharing worldly goods with the poor is our path to God, and a duty for which we must be held accountable.”

Mor Bechara quoted Saint Basil the Great who said: “Man has no right to use his wealth as something to enjoy as one pleases, but as a trustee of it.”

The Patriarch also addressed the current situation of his home country and called for steadfastness and resistance for the future of Lebanon. He described the predicament of Lebanon and connected it with a deficiency of love with state officials;

“Faith in God is worthless unless it is accompanied by human love. Officials who resort to love spare Lebanon from revolutions. Unfortunately, the Lebanese reality lacks love and is filled with grudges, especially among officials. When grudges prevail, peaceful solutions are disrupted, and Lebanon is no longer saved by initiatives or revolutions. Initiatives become wishes, and revolutions become divisive.”

Mor Bechara also stated that, unfortunately, some leaders and politicians are not up to the standards of the great people of Lebanon and the distinguished state. However, he said, there is no place for fear and defeatism: fear is a preemptive defeat, defeatism is a subsequent defeat. The Syriac Maronite Patriarch called upon the great people of Lebanon, in the historical moment the country is going through, to stand firm, confront, and resist for the sake of free existence, Lebanon’s values and principles, and national victory.