The priests of the diocese spent three days of retreat at the center, with talks by Father Francis Hobeika on the priest as apostle, witness and saint, and by Bishop Milad Jawish on the Psalms and the challenges of priestly ministry today.
Metanoia Listening Center hosted the annual three-day retreat of the priests of the Greek Melkite Catholic Diocese of Sidon and Deir El-Qamar, from 1 to 3 July 2024.
In the presence of His Excellency Bishop Elie Bechara Haddad, Archbishop of the diocese, the retreat opened at 10 am with words from His Excellency. The first session followed with Father Francis Hobeika, a priest of the Maronite vicariate of Sarba, with fifty years in mission – twenty-five in Lebanon and twenty-five in the forests of Africa – who now serves at the Monastery of Mar Mikhael in Sehaileh and is a member of the Prado. His talk centered on the apostles Peter and Paul: learning courage and wisdom from them, listening to the Holy Spirit and being renewed as communities and individuals, so that priests become apostles of prayer and action, following in the footsteps of the One who said, "I am the way, the truth and the life," and reading Holy Scripture, which fills us with joy because God meets us there.
At noon they celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Basilica of Our Lady of Mantara.
After lunch, Father Hobeika gave the second talk: who is the priest? He spoke at length about the priest's role: a watchman whom God has placed over His people, drawing his strength from Holy Scripture, the Eucharist and pastoral service; united with Christ in the Holy Eucharist for the sake of his people – he has no mission without the Eucharist.
After a break, the third talk focused on the principles a priest must embrace: prayer, poverty, chastity and obedience. These principles are an essential condition for setting out on his mission, for he no longer belongs to himself but to God, the never-failing spring that nourishes his spiritual life.
On the second day, Father Hobeika gave his fourth talk on the priest as witness: in a torn world invaded by secularism, artificial intelligence and social emptiness, the importance of the priest who is a witness, united with Christ in the Holy Eucharist, bearing witness to the truth and living his daily faith as a testimony to Christ, becomes clear.
After a break, he gave his fifth talk on the priest as saint, who through his presence must not only preach God's word but live it before everyone; he belongs to all people, but to God first, as Saint Paul says: "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" – how much more the priest, a witness to Christ's presence in his life.
His Excellency Bishop Elie Haddad celebrated the Divine Liturgy at noon at the Basilica of Our Lady of Mantara.
In the afternoon, the priests held their monthly meeting with the Archbishop.
The second day ended with Vespers, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and confessions.
The third and final day opened with a talk by His Excellency Bishop Milad Jawish, Melkite Greek Catholic Bishop of Canada, on the Psalms, which he described as "the school of the human person." He advised the priests to meditate on them daily, because every experience a person goes through is found in the Psalms: praise, intimate prayer, consolation, mercy and the plea for forgiveness. He explained Psalm 3 in detail, which speaks of loneliness and the pain it causes – even Jesus felt it in the Garden of Olives: "Could you not keep watch for one hour?"
Loneliness breeds despair; despite social media, the dryness at the heart of our surroundings drives the despairing person to rock bottom.
In the first verse – "O Lord, how many are my foes!" – the psalmist begins by calling on the Lord, in holy faith, placing himself on the path of salvation; no one who puts their hope in the Lord is disappointed.
Bishop Jawish then celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Basilica of Our Lady of Mantara.
After lunch he gave his second talk, "New wine into new wineskins," highlighting the many challenges priests face in their mission, including:
– The tension between the bread of earth and the bread of heaven
– The uncertain future of our people, especially in Lebanon, with its social and economic challenges
– The people we serve are well educated, and we must keep pace with them
– Emigration, which empties villages of their young people
– The financial hardship priests face in the economic situation
– Competition from Protestant churches
– The challenge of the world of images on social media
At the close of the retreat, Archbishop Elie Haddad thanked Bishop Jawish and all the priests.
