Holy Family Maronite Church

My Dear brother and neighbor, Msgr. Sharbel Maroun.
Dear Parishioners and friends of Holy Family Church,
Dear parishioners of our sister parish, St Maron’s ,
Dear guests,

There are a lot of wonderful benefits to turning 90 years old. Just ask Snookie Smith.
For example,
Kidnappers are not very interested in you.
No one expects you to run into a burning building.
You quit trying to hold your stomach in, even if the Pope who walks into the room.
Your health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.
Your joints can double as your own personal National Weather Service.
Your pacemaker can double as a garage door opener.
And finally, your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.

But for Holy Family Church, turning 90 has one single great benefit: It’s that after 90 years of uneasy times, we still have a warm place to call home, and a community to call our own. It’s that while, over the years, many institutions and powerful companies collapsed, our humble parish still stands firm and vibrates with life.
Since we purchased our first church building in 1918, Holy Family celebrated the sacraments and served the people of God uninterruptedly. Let us not take this for granted, my friends.
God’s watchful eyes have always been on our parish, and his Grace sustains us day after day. But the grace of God worked also through many people to build up Holy Family.

I cannot tonight but honor and thank the priests who have served our parish through the years, at least by taking a minute to name them:

Joseph Al-Ladakane
Paul Rizk
Emmanuel Al-Khoury
Joseph Yazbek
Gabriel Malkoun
Peter Ashkar
Francis Shea
Joseph Ziade
Michael Kail
John McGuire
Peter Mahfoud
Joseph Akiki
Anthony Weiler
Louis Baz
Bakhos Chidiac
Stephen Bonian
Please let us show them our appreciation a round of applause. And if you still hold a grudge against one or several of them, I suggest you consider letting go.

A lot of credit goes to your parents and grandparents, those holy women and men that instilled in you the faith in God and the love of food.

I like to thank in a special way those families who have stuck with Holy Family through thick and thin; those who attended and supported the parish, not because it was always the best or easiest place to be, but because you don’t leave home just because your mom burned the post roast on Christmas Eve.

I thank the individuals and families who have joined us through marriage, or simply decided to embrace the Maronite tradition. We appreciate you. You make us look less ethnic. You got us into a country club. You are the proof that the Maronite tradition is universal, and can appeal to peoples of all ethnicities.

But tonight is also time to consider our challenges. We are a small parish. It is only by uniting and supporting each other that we would survive. Don’t let small differences and petty considerations come between us. We also have more than just Lebanese food to offer. We have a wonderful theological and liturgical tradition. Let’s share it. Let’s open our doors as wide as the Lord called us to open them. Especially when we move to o new neighborhood eager to welcome us and learn more about us. When we celebrate our centennial anniversary in 2018, I want not 250, but 500 families on our roster. And With God’s help and our commitment, we can do it.

Finally, like Jesus, Joseph and Mary, we too are called to be a loving and Holy Family. After all, that’s what being a Christian is all about.

God bless you, God bless Holy Family, God bless the universal Church, and God bless America.