Al-Rahi Calls for a Shift from Passive Waiting to Active Work

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi presided over a mass at the Monastery of Our Lady of Deliverance for the Jesuit Fathers in Bekfaya, on the occasion of celebrating the 175th jubilee of the founding of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Deliverance for Men, coinciding with the start of the Marian Month.

After the Gospel reading, Patriarch al-Rahi delivered a sermon for the occasion, starting from the Lord's saying: "Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life," emphasizing that "faith is not reduced to meeting daily needs, but rather elevates humanity towards a deeper horizon, where the relationship with God becomes the source and meaning of life. For a person is not measured by what they possess, but by the enduring values rooted within them, even when everything else fades away."

In this context, al-Rahi affirmed "the role of spiritual communities as schools that build a person from within, not merely as organizational frameworks, but as spaces that transform prayer into commitment, and faith into an actual presence in society. Prayer is not a withdrawal from reality, but preparation to confront it with awareness and responsibility."

He paused at the duality of "the memory of gratitude and the journey of hope," considering that "recalling the past is not an end in itself, but an acknowledgment of grace that accompanied the journey through time, while hope constitutes a commitment to continue the path, not stopping at what was, but moving towards what will be."

In an approach to the general reality, al-Rahi touched upon the national dimension, noting that "people live between anxiety and waiting, between fear and anticipation, amidst unstable conditions and an unclear destiny," stressing that "the people are weary and experiencing a state of confusion and hesitation, as if trapped in an endless spiral."

He focused on "rejecting the logic of war, and the explicit call for peace," considering that "the only option capable of saving the nation is adherence to the culture of life, not the culture of death." He also called for "not building the nation on narrow calculations and circumstantial interests, but on what remains: on values, justice, and human dignity."

In this context, al-Rahi stressed "the need for men for the nation, men steadfast in truth, faithful in responsibility, who do not compromise on values, and are capable of transforming faith into an actual commitment in public life."

He affirmed that "Lebanon is not a waiting arena nor a conflict zone, but a nation of mission, needing those who believe in it and work for it, not those who leave it hostage to crises," calling for "a shift from a state of passive waiting to active work, from anxiety to hope, and from fear to initiative."