7/27/2001 Volume 22
From
Week To Week
The Cedars Newsletter
Prepared by Dory M. Asy |
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Prayer Wherever I go I
want you to be with me Whatever I do I
want you to help me Without you I
would not be me Without you all
the people would hate me I know that I
was not always with you And sometimes I
try to forget about you But I really
love you God …
please forgive me |
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Thought Love is a
feeling, an emotion, for which there
is no magic potion. Love develops as
a friendship grows, to what extent no
one knows, but I do know
that my love for you, is
growing fast, for in my heart
you’ll never be last, God gave me this love, Now I give it to you. |
From Lebanon
The Cedars news…
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Elections
2001 President: Dori M. Asy Executive Vice President:
Milad Wardan Secretary: Noelle Gohar Treasurer: Mike
J. Naber Educational Affairs Vice President: Myrna Yannieh Public Relations Vice President: Rola Ghafrey Board Members: John Behette, Tony Nassour, Emilio Keyrouz, The meeting ended with the blessings from Father Marini, and the
hope that the new Board will bring a new fresh beginning as well as continue
the great traditions. |
Congratulations: To Karen and Charles Boorady on the Christening of their child Nayla Maria. |
NAM Convention Wed. - Sunday, July 18 - 21, NAM
Convention. This year's the convention was in Austin, Texas. As every year a
lot of the Maronites and friends from all around the nation joined together
for prayer, lectures, forums, parties, and other fun events. I will send you soon all the pictures
and I send you a full report about everything happened there. I hope next year you all will be with
us. (the newsletter was prepared before the
NAM, so next volume you will receive more news about the Convention.) |
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Friday, August 3, Service for St. Sharbel |
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Friday, July
27, Service for the Blessed Sacrament |
Sunday, July 29, St. Sharbel's Lunch be sponsoring a special lunch for the new Hymns for St.
Rafka. It is to be fulfilled with good friends and Father Maroun Asmar 732-828-2055 |
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Sunday, July 29th, 40 Days Mass for
Jamieleh Naber, 11 AM |
The Cedars Organization is interested in renewing and
improving our website. For all those interested in helping and/or
contributing their time and efforts for this project, please e-mail to
[email protected] |
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For any announcements or
articles please e-mail information to [email protected] |
Game…Game…Game…Game…Game…Game…Game…Game…Game…
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The Cedars committee will consist of
exactly five representatives, one of whom will be its President. The
representatives will be selected from among a group of five guys Members—
Emilio, Tony, Ibrahim, Joe, and Jean, also group of four girls members—
Paula, Rima, Noel and Christian. The following conditions must be met: The committee must include at least
two representatives from each group. The president must be a representative
belonging to the group from which exactly two representatives are selected. If Emilio is selected, Rima must be selected. If Tony is selected, Joe K must be
selected. If either Ibrahim or Jean is selected, the other must also be
selected. Jean and Paula cannot both be selected. |
Which one of the following lists three representatives who could
be selected together for the committee? A)
Emilio,
Tony, Ibrahim B)
Emilio,
Tony, Jean C)
Emilio,
Ibrahim, Jean D)
Tony,
Ibrahim, Joe E)
Tony, Ibrahim, Jean ========================= The answer of last week's game was D. we received 12 answers but the only
right one was for the member Lauren Shaia (mabrouk Lauren you have win the newest Arabic songs cocktail
CD. |
Picture
from the Cedars (Do you
Remember?) The
Member of the week
Group of the Cedars in the NAM convention 2000.
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The member of the week for this week is:
Amanda
Dekki. Amanda
is a Cedars member and she was its secretary for the previous year. She has
done a lot for the Cedars and last thing she did was working so hard with
other members to finish the Cedars By-Law. Amandina is a law student in St.
John University, her parents were also Cedars members and her young brother
is going to be a Cedar very soon. Amandina, thank you for everything you have
done to the Cedars you are a great member and friend. Keep the good work. |
The 15th of July was
the celebration of Saint Sharbel
"From the top of the cedar, from the highest branch I will
take a shoot and plant it myself on a very high mountain...this branch will
bear fruit and become a noble cedar". (Ezekiel 17:22-26)
The Story of Sharbel
On May 8, 1828 in a mountain village of
Beka'kafra, the highest village in the Near-east, Charbel was born to a poor
Maronite family. From childhood his life revealed a calling to "bear
fruit as a noble Cedar of Lebanon". Charbel "grew in age and wisdom
before God and men". At 23 years old he entered the monastery of Our
Lady of Mayfouk (north of Byblos) where he became a novice. After two years
of novitiate, in 1853, he was sent to St. Maron monastery where he pronounced
the monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Charbel was then
transferred to the monastery of Kfeifan where he studied philosophy and
theology. His ordination to the priesthood took place in 1859, after which he
was sent back to St. Maron monastery. His teachers provided him with good
education and nurtured within him a deep love for monastic life. During his 19 years at St. Maron
monastery, Charbel performed his priestly ministry and his monastic duties in
an edifying way. He totally dedicated himself to Christ with undivided heart
to live in silence before Nameless One. In 1875 Sharbel was granted
permission to live as a hermit nearby the monastery at St. Peter and Paul
hermitage. His 23 years of solitary life were lived in a spirit of total
abandonment to God. Sharbel's companions in the hermitage were the Sons of
God, as encountered in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist, and the Blessed
Mother. The Eucharist became the center of his life. He consumed the Bread of
his Life and was consumed by it. Though this hermit did not have a place in
the world, the world had a great place in his heart. Through prayer and
penance he offered himself as a sacrifice so that the world would return to
God. It is in this light that one sees the importance of the following
Eucharistic prayer in his life: "Father of Truth, behold Your Son a
sacrifice pleasing to You, accept this offering of Him who died for
me..." On December 16, 1898 while reciting the
"Father of Truth" prayer at the Holy Liturgy Sharbel suffered a
stroke. He died on Christmas Eve at the age of 70. Through faith this hermit
received the Word of God and through love he continued the Ministry of
Incarnation. On the evening of his funeral, his superior wrote: "Because
of what he will do after his death, I need not talk about his behavior".
A few months after his death a bright light was seen surrounding his tomb.
The superiors opened it to find his body still intact. Since that day a
blood-like liquid flows from his body. Experts and doctors are unable to give
medical explanations for the incorruptibility and flexibility. In the years
1950 and 1952 his tomb was opened and his body still had the appearance of a
living one. The spirit of Sharbel still lives in many people. His miracles
include numerous healings of the body and of the spirit. Thomas Merton, the
American Hermit, wrote in his journal: "Sharbel lived as a hermit in
Lebanon---he was a Maronite. He died. Everyone forgot about him. Fifty years
later, his body was discovered incorrupt and in short time he worked over 600
miracles. He is my new companion. My road has taken a new turning. It seems
to me that I have been asleep for 9 years---and before that I was dead. At the closing of the Second Vatican
Council, on December 5, 1965 Sharbel was beatified by Pope Paul VI who said:
"...a hermit of the Lebanese mountain is inscribed in the number of the
blessed...a new eminent member of monastic sanctity is enriching, by his example
and his intercession, the entire Christian people... May he make us
understand, in a world largely fascinated by wealth and comfort, the
paramount value of poverty, penance, and asceticism, to liberate the soul in
its ascent to God..." On October 9, 1977 during the World
Synod of Bishops, Pope Paul VI canonized Blessed Sharbel among the ranks of
the Saints.
"The just will flourish like the palm tree, like the Cedar of
Lebanon shall he grow." (Psalm
92:13) |
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What
to Eat and Drink: Garlic The pungent odor of garlic, which is offensive to some people,
is noticeable on your breath and even your skin after you eat it. Despite
this, herbalists worldwide consider garlic one of the most important herbal
medicines. It has been used as both food and medicine in many cultures for
thousands of years. Chances
are if you were to see an ad for a "wonder drug" that claimed to
unclog arteries, reduce high blood pressure, kill intestinal parasites,
strengthen muscles, boost hormone secretion, and which was loaded with
vitamins and minerals, you'd be pretty skeptical. If this super-product also
purported to prevent blood clots, cleanse the kidneys, control epilepsy and
ward off cancer, you'd probably call the Office of Consumer Protection to
report blatant advertising fraud. Yet such a product is available, and it's
legal, cheap, requires no prescription, and has been proven safe and effective
for thousands of years. It's garlic. 4000 Years of Folklore Garlic -- the
pungent, magical "stink bulb" -- was used as a healing herb in
ancient civilizations from China and Japan to northern Europe. The Greeks
used it as a laxative, diuretic, and poison antidote. Roman soldiers relied
on the potent root for muscular conditioning. And gypsies wore it around
their necks to ward off the plague. In Russia, its antibiotic properties
earned it the label, "Russian penicillin." A study in India among 432 coronary
patients who had already suffered one heart attack reported that those who
took garlic supplements suffered fewer additional attacks and had lower blood
pressure and serum cholesterol levels. After three years, nearly twice as
many patients had died in the group not taking garlic. Remarkably, garlic
reduces only the harmful LDL cholesterol and leaves the protective HDL
cholesterol. After studies in China and Italy
demonstrated the venerable kitchen spice's ability to prevent stomach cancer,
the National Cancer Institute recently begin its own investigation of
garlic's medicinal properties. Early indications are that this folk medicine
works as claimed. The New York Times reported (1990)
that the odorous herb "has been shown in laboratory studies, and in some
cases in patients, to suppress the formation and growth of cancer cells and
to counter blood conditions that foster athero sclerosis, heart attacks and
strokes.” And experiments with laboratory animals at Penn State University
and at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston show that "garlic
compounds can block action of carcinogens that can cause cancers of the
breast, esophagus, colon and rectum.” There is also evidence that garlic
prevents cell damage caused by heavy metal pollutants, radiation and aging.
Active Ingredients Garlic is a perennial member of the lily family, and its
cousins, the onions and scallions, are also known for their
longevity-promoting properties. Scientists have only recently concluded that
garlic's enhanced powers derive from its unusually high concentration (25
percent) of the volatile oil, allicin. It seems that allicin just may qualify
as nature's strongest antibiotic. In the digestive tract, garlic has
the uncanny ability to destroy only the undesirable bacteria, and not attack
the system's normal, beneficial intestinal flora. It is also an excellent
source of vitamins B-1 and C, plus calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium,
phosphorus, zinc, and the vital anti-cancer trace mineral, selenium. Aside from its common form as a
culinary condiment, garlic has been extracted in capsules as a vitamin
supplement; used as a tonic for killing intestinal parasites; as a gargle for
sore throats; as a sterilizing wound dressing; as an insecticide spray (it
repels cabbage moths, aphids and Japanese beetles); as a poultice for insect
bites; and in suppository form for vaginal yeast infections. Garlic's active ingredients can be
absorbed through the skin, making it an effective chest rub (combined with
olive oil and lanolin) for colds and flu. Even its fumes are effective. Our
family uses garlic as a steam inhalant for bronchial infections. One caution -- raw or concentrated
garlic can burn. Avoid direct contact with mucus membranes and all sensitive
areas, such as eyes, sinuses, and vaginal tissue. As with any strong food,
you can overdo garlic. Watch for gas, indigestion and "heartburn."
Just as you would after a round of prescribed antibiotics, you can
re-establish a balanced intestinal eco-system with cultured yogurt, kifir,
and miso (fermented soy paste). As always, moderation is advised. As for garlic's famous drawback --
bad breath -- nature in her wisdom has provided the antidote in another
readily available garden herb, parsley, which has chlorophyll and enzymes
that neutralize garlic's strong odor. Chew a few leaves after lunch or
dinner. Or avoid the problem altogether with deodorized garlic extract
capsules from the health food store. |