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Virgin Mary and Her Role in Salvation

The talk about Virgin Mary is a ‘Thorny Subject’ as there is no single concept regarding the role of Virgin Mary for all Christians. Any trial or speech for the definition of Virgin Mary’s personality is to be always preceded by mentioning of the Lord Jesus, in order to reach the correct concept and Biblical understanding. God sent His Son to us, but He prepared a body for Him. Since eternity, God selected a mother for His Son, a virgin from Israel, Town of Nazareth, engaged to a man called Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name is Mary. “Virgin Mary is truly honoured because she is the Mother of the Redeemed God, and she is truly a mother for all Christians; owing to her love participation in the birth of the Believers in the church, those who are members of the Head of the Church”. According to the Teachings of the Church, the role of Virgin Mary in the church is not separated from her unification in Lord Jesus and it is coming directly from this unification. The connection between Virgin Mary and her Son, within the Act of Salvation, starts from her virginal pregnancy until His death on the cross, therefore, we say that the church honours Virgin Mary with a great honour owing to her connection with Jesus and with the Salvation act which he had done. This does not mean we worship (adore) Virgin Mary, though there are some booklets stating prayers and adoration for Virgin Mary. The Church teaches us that adoration is just for God as stated in the First Commandment of God’s Ten Commandments, which order us to only adore God. The Church Instructions show us evidently the difference between honouring Virgin Mary and adoration. “This honouring which was generally considered a unique one, but substantially differ of adoration by which we adore the Word Incarnated, and the Almighty Father and The Holy Spirit” (with reference to Christian Teaching Book). The reason of the existence of the word ‘Worship’ or ‘Adoration’ in some Devotion and Prayer books for Virgin Mary is due to ‘feebleness in translation’, the Church explains for us the word ‘Worship’ through two idioms in Latin Language: the First idiom is ‘Latria’ which means Worship or Adoration which is only given for God in particular, and the second idiom is ‘Dolia’ which is given to a kind of Worship for honouring and reverential of Saints but in a way it does not mean an Adoration for these Saints. There is a phenomenon between Christians: Whether they are inside or outside the Church, they misunderstood the role of Virgin Mary; some of them, due to good intention or their misunderstanding, magnify Virgin Mary. These practices are wrong. The Holy Bible and Church Teaching refuse this idea. Virgin Mary is not our Goal but a mean by which we are able to be close to the Lord, Jesus. Therefore, a great

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number of clerics resemble our Mother Virgin Mary as a moon because the moon shines when the sun is facing it where the source of the light is the Sun. It is the same manner when we talk about Virgin Mary where the source of light is our Lord, Jesus, and without Him Virgin Mary has no role at all. On contrary, we notice groups of people lessen the importance of Virgin Mary’s role as she was described as a ‘Container’ through which a good thing was created, and the ‘Container’ itself was worthless. Lessening of the role of Virgin Mary is an insult for our Lord Jesus and an evident infringement to what was explained to us by the Almighty God about Virgin Mary in the Holy Bible, starting with the First Book of the Old Testament which was filled with symbols to what will come at the time of Jesus Christ. The Holy Bible had referred indirectly, i.e. symbolically, to Virgin Mary, exactly the same way by which it referred to the Redeemer, Lord Jesus Christ. For example, in the Book of Genesis, we read that after the fall of Adam and Eve in sin and they being punished, the Almighty God gave the Salvation Promise (Genesis 3:15). In the Book of Genesis (7), i.e. through the story of the Ark of Noah, and in the Book of Exodus, God resembled Virgin Mary with the Ark of the Covenant that was worshiped by the people of Israel as it meant God existence between them because it held inside it the stones having the Commandments of God, the stick of Moses, and a quantity of the ‘Mana’ given to them in the desert by God. Also, there were many symbols in the Book of Psalms, Prophet Isaiah ... etc. Virgin Mary was mentioned in the New Testament, her mention was qualitatively valuable in Spiritual meanings. In the Gospel of Saint Luke, Virgin Mary was described as ‘Full of Grace’. After giving birth to her Son, and when she will complete the Law and Statute, where she will be met with the First Prophecy regarding her sufferance through a righteous man called Simon, until the Lord reached His starting point in His life of evangelism, at the age of thirty, at the wedding at Cana in Galilee where He converted water into wine according to His mother’s request. Here, we notice the place of Virgin Mary with the Lord. In another chapter, while Virgin Mary is under the cross, we noticed our Lord entrusted her to His beloved disciple, John. We see Virgin Mary, during the Annunciation by the archangel Gabriel, completing God’s Wish, and we also see her at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with the miracle at Cana of Galilee, and we also see her sitting under the cross inhibiting with the Almighty Father the mission of Salvation, also we see her with the church and the Apostles in Pentecost Day. All of these events indicate the importance of Virgin Mary as a Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ; a mother of the church; and a mother for all the peoples of the world.

Your Servant in Christ, Rev. Fr. Fawzi Koro Parish Priest

Translated by: Legal Translator, Shawket Zaia Murad, Member of International Federation, and New Zealand Society of Translators & Interpreters.

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TheTheTheThe Holy Holy Holy Holy RosaryRosaryRosaryRosary ���� N. Iskandar

The word Rosary means "Crown of Roses". Our Mother Virgin Mary has revealed to several people that each time they say a Hail Mary they are giving her a beautiful rose and that each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses. It was only in the year 1214, however, that the Church received the Rosary in its present form and according to the method we use today. It was given to the Church by St. Dominic, who had received it from the Blessed Virgin as a means of converting the Albigensians and other sinners. Till 1460, it used to be called the Psalter of Jesus and Mary. This is because it has the same number of Hail Marys as there are psalms in the Book of the Psalms of David. Since simple and uneducated people are not able to say the Psalms of David, the Rosary is held to be just as fruitful for them as David's Psalter is for others.

The Holy Rosary is considered a perfect prayer because within it lies the awesome story of our salvation. With the Rosary in fact we meditate the mysteries of joy, of sorrow, of the light and the glory of Jesus and Mary (Note: On 16/10/2002, the Holy Father John Paul II added 5 new mysteries of the Rosary: The Mysteries of the Light). It's a simple prayer, humble so much like Mary. It's a prayer we can all say together with Her, the Mother of God. With the Hail Mary we invite Her to pray for us and we can obtain the great gift of bringing about a change of hearts and conversion. In every apparition, the heavenly Mother has invited us to say the Rosary as a powerful weapon against evil, to bring us to true peace (*).

The whole Holy Rosary is composed of 4 mysteries, each has five decades, and each decade consists of one bead (Our Father in Heaven ...) followed by 10 beads (Hail Mary ...) and ended with glorifying God (Glory be ...). Within each decade we meditate “bead by bead” with every Hail Mary on an event from Jesus’ or Mary’s Life and ask God to give us the grace that we need to learn from it. Mystery Event (Decade) Fruit of the Mystery Joyful The Annunciation of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Obedience to God; Humbleness; Humility

The Visitation

Love of relative and people in need

The Nativity of Our Lord Poverty of Spirit and denial of earthly riches; Humbleness; Humility; Love to the poor

The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple

Obedience to God’s Word (Law); Purity of mind and body

The Finding of Jesus in the Temple

Zeal for God; Seek Jesus in the Church; Joy in finding Him; Thirst for God’s Word

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Luminous The Baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan

Openness to the Holy Spirit; Repentance

The Wedding at Cana Fidelity; Reaching Jesus Christ through Mary; Glorify God by obedience to Jesus’ Word

The proclamation of the Kingdom of God

Desire for Holiness, i.e. become one body in Christ; Love, help and forgive each other; Trust God

Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor

Spiritual courage; Holiness: Obedience to Jesus (Lord & God)

The Institution of the Eucharist

Share God’s Table on earth and be united to Him; Purification; Adoration to our Savior; God’s Love and Mercy

Sorrowful The Agony in the Garden Repentance; Surrender to God’s Will; Prayer to others

The Scourging at the Pillar Mortification; Purity of the senses; Repentence and feel of pain of sin

The Crowning with Thorns Reign of Jesus Christ in our heart; Courage to deny ourselves; Humility

The Carrying of the Cross Perseverance; Acceptance of trials with patience (God’s Will)

The Crucifixion and Death Forgiveness, Offering oneself to God, God’s Love and Mercy

Glorious The Resurrection

Faith

The Ascension of Jesus Christ to Heaven

Hope in eternal life

The Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost

Love of God and others; Courage in proclaiming the Good News

The Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven

Holiness; Steadfast to our believes; Love Mary and imitate Her

The Coronation of Mary Trust in Jesus and Mary

At the end of the Rosary, people would pray: "O God, whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech you, that meditating upon these mysteries in the most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain, and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen." � Source: www.theholyrosary.org

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Is the Holy Pope Successor to Saint Peter? The Church and the Authority

���� Hanan Bassim Petros* The text of Chapter fifteen of the Ecclesiastical Law, is exposing to the subject of

Church Teaching Authority and its Mission, which is flown-out and established

on the Will of its Founder Jesus the Lord, who established it, in order to continue

through it, His Act of Savior, in which the Highness of the church is existed, the

Highness which will not be flown-out from its Human-being Worthiness, but it

will be flown-out from the Affluence of the Grace of its Founder, the Grace

which surpasses any negligence and Human-being weakness. Therefore, the

Church, according to Jesus’ Promise for the Head of Apostles, Saint Peter and for

all the Apostles which will remain Risen and Lofty to the very end of the age.

The Gates of Hell will not endure on; Jesus said to him: Simon son of Jonah, be

pleased! No body of the people had disclosed this Truth for you, only my Father

who is in Heaven. I say to you: You are the Rock and on this Rock I will build

my Church, and the Forces of Death are unable to endure on. I will give you the

Keys of Kingdom of Heavens, whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in

Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosen in Heaven (Matthew

16:17-19, John 21:15-19, as well).

Jesus had confirmed the Mission of Church and its Teaching

Sovereignty after His Resurrection, saying: {I had gained full

authority in Heaven and on Earth, go and make disciples of all

nations, baptizing them in the Name of Father and of the Son and

of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,

and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age}. (Matthew 28:18-20). It is necessary to refer here that, any authority in the Church is subsisted basically

not as a Predominant Privilege, but it is for the service of all, and for those who

are badly in need to, in particular. Jesus is an example for, He didn’t come to be

served but He came to serve others. After washing the feet of his disciples, He

said to them: You call me Teacher and Lord, you are rightly so, for that is what I

am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, I washed your feet, you also should wash

one another’s feet. I have given you what you have to be guided with; you have to

do what I have done for you. I tell you the Truth, no servant is greater than his

Master, nor is a Messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you

knew this Truth, you will be pleased if you do them (John 13:13-17). The Church which received from Jesus the Authority of Teaching, Missionary

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Authority of Teaching, Missionary Authority and Sanctification Authority, its

Principle Mission is considered Teaching, and through the teaching will live the

Missionary and Sanctification; Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing

them in the Name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit (Mark 10:5). It is a belief, a flow from Faith, it is that, Pope of Rome is a Successor to Saint

Peter who is the Head of the Apostles and Founder of the Church of Rome. � Source : www.coptcatholic.org

� Translated into English by courtesy of: Shawket Zaia.

World Youth Day (WYD) Sydney 2008 ���� Waseem Hermiz -WYD Group Leader

The St Addai Youth Group has been reactivated since the ALPHA course of 2007. By the time you read this article there would only be a couple of weeks or maybe days if you are a slow reader for WYD.

Our WYD group has 24 members with myself as the official Group Leader after taking the mantle from sub-deacon Bassam Hanna in January 2008.

To get you up to speed, our parish started registering pilgrims for WYD in Oct 2007 with an original group of 32 people. Later this dwindled down to the final figure of 24 pilgrims. The support we have had from the Church and the community has been phenomenal. The activities started in Dec 07 with a big gala at our parish with the proceeds going to WYD pilgrims. The youth were the major force in selling raffle tickets, helped setting up the hall and ground areas and cleaning up afterwards. The gala was bigger and better than before with a record raised of approximately $9200.

Summer was here and while the saying goes like this “make hay while the sun shines” we made BBQs while the sun shone selling sausages and soft drinks after our Sunday masses. Our next big push came before Easter when we had The Passion Play, a one hour long play of the events leading up to Easter from the time of the Last Supper of Our Lord. The play was written, directed and acted by youth group members with the help of many of our parishioners. We also made and sold vegetarian sandwiches of falafel and eggplant (makdoos). This effort raised just over $1000. The play was done in Papatoetoe High School hall on 19 March with the attendance of approximately 165 persons.

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In March, the parish council had an ingenious idea of selling boiled Easter eggs to raise funds for the church. However, I as a zealot member of that council, always looking out for the youth, took that idea forward by suggesting the youth buy, dye and sell those eggs and funds raised go for the WYD. After the first Easter Mass, eggs were going for $1 by the end of the second Mass, at 1:00am, they went like wildfire at $2 each. Ah what a night that was, my only regret was if we only had more to sell. Unfortunately, for the North Shore Holy Mass, there was none to sell, but no worries your turn will come next Easter.

On Sunday the 13th of April, we started our first English language mixed Chaldean/Latin Rite Holy Mass. The youth participated, organised and led the Holy Mass. This was also the start of our countdown clock which is on the front window of the church. It started with 93 Days To Go Sydney WYD 08. On Anzac Day while NZ remembered its Anzacs we had our first bingo/party night. This was a great fun night with lots of food (kebab & tikka), mezza, alcohol, music and dance. A bingo game was played and proceeds from that night brought in another $700 with the attendance of approximately 100 person.

Now over the May-June period, our spiritual program is preparing our youth for the WYD pilgrimage was started using “Activ8 NZ - Preparing For Pilgrimage” program. This was a six week program of talks and discussion about the pilgrimage to Sydney WYD, and the entire youth group participated as it relates to each person’s own pilgrimage through life. We also had a Sunday afternoon out at the Bombay Monastery participating in the Stations of the Cross.

I hope this journey, this pilgrimage, will bring a new found spirit in our youth to truly become the witnesses of Christ when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. On behalf of the entire youth group, I want firstly to thank God for sending us his Holy Spirit to kindle in us the faith of Christ. Also, I thank Fr. Fawzi Koro, our parish priest, Fr. Gerges Albutros of St Elias Melkite Church and the whole St. Addai Chaldean Church community for their support and generosity given to us. I only have one final request that is to PRAY FOR US for our pilgrimage to Sydney WYD 08 and beyond to be Christ’s witnesses everywhere. Thank you, and may the Holy Spirit pour upon you the graces, blessings and gifts of God the Father through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Thank God for Little Things Thank you, God, for little things that often come our way,

The things we take for granted but don't mention when we pray,

The unexpected courtesy, the thoughtful, kindly deed,

A hand reached out to help us in the time of sudden need,

Oh, make us more aware, dear God, of little daily graces that come to us with "sweet

surprises" from never-dreamed-of places.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loaded us with benefits.

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Reflection on “Our Big Fat Iraqi Christmas” Play � Tara M. Zaia

On the 22nd of December 2007, I had the privilege of attending a play created by our brothers and sisters in the North-shore called “Our Big Fat Iraqi Christmas”. As an Iraqi and a Chaldean-Catholic, I was deeply moved and unbelievably proud of what our youth has accomplished. As an audience, I couldn’t help but notice how professional everything looked. The script contained a certain humour that we can all relate to as Iraqis, as it showed the hilarious nature of our Iraqi families and their ways, which was brilliantly acted by our youth. However, the most touching and dramatic, which was the climax of the play, would be the “University of Auckland” scene, where the audience were truly moved by this new representation of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Overall, the play was done brilliantly and deserved every round of applause that was given to all the brilliant and talented actors and actresses, whether they were 5 or 25 years of age. All 70 of the cast members should be proud of this magnificent accomplishment. We all truly saw the spirit of God through every young man and woman and child.

Youth Passion Play 2008 � Tara M. Zaia

This year’s Easter saw a remarkable amount of energy that was conveyed by St. Addai’s youth. On Wednesday 19 March 2008, a play was performed by our amazing youth, depicting the suffering of Jesus who carried our sins on the cross.

It all started with an idea to do a play and use it as a fundraiser for WYD, which will be in July. Within only one week each and every member of the Youth, were gathered at church at around 7:30pm, every single day, practicing for the play, and didn’t go back home until about 10:00pm. The practices were intense, as we had so much to do with so little time. One of the main obstacles that we faced was finding a suitable person to play the mighty role of Jesus. This issue caused many of us to give up, and no longer want to do the play. However, God was with us and with the support of Fr. Fawzi and our families, we overcame the obstacle and found Bashar to play the role. On Monday before the day of the play, again we all gathered for one last practice, this time however it was in Papatoetoe High School Hall, which the play took place in (we thank the Papatoetoe High School Staff for letting us use the Hall). This practice was probably the most frustrating of them all as you might imagine, as it was the last one. It consisted of many screams, and anger, as well as frustration, from all members, from cast to crew. Having said that, we had many laughs and forgiveness was the key to our success. On the day of the play, nobody had a break. Many of us were out of the house at

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9:00 am. Whether preparing the costumes, or setting up the hall, or preparing the sound system. And as it wasn’t a holiday, our young ladies and gents were working hard at school, and came straight to the hall when school ended. Our wonderful families were also there every step of the way, from providing support to selling “falafel” or tickets at the door. As the time to perform neared, everyone was on edge, as they did not want to let each other down. The turnout was great, but we were hoping for more support from our large community for such an important cause. The curtains opened, the play started with a bang. Everyone did a great job, from the light-effects, to the acting, drawing of the curtains, and the directing. Our audience were awed by the amazing work of the youth, and left with the play on their mind, congratulating us on an awesome job well done. The play finished and we could not wait to start hugging each other, which was showing our great appreciation to each other, because if it weren’t for each and every one of us, working hard, and sacrificing the great deal of time and effort, then we wouldn’t have survived the day. From a personal level of thought, I would like to emphasize what a great bunch of people we have in our youth. They worked so hard throughout the week, and even though they had school, they still took the time to come and stay out late, and work together. Our community has a great youth, hard working and enthusiastic, if it weren’t for each and every one of them, it would not have been a great play. I would like to thank everyone that supported us, and all the families that allowed their children to stay out late with us. It was an experience that will not be forgotten, and we hope that we will always have the love and support of each other, with the help of the Almighty Father, to do it again and make it even greater, to show people that we truly have a loving God, who gave his only son for us. He died for us, we live for Him.

CHILDREN’S CORNER Word Find about MARY Circle each letter of the listed words you find. Arrange the leftover letters in the correct order to form the mystery answer about Mary. Angel, Annunciation, Bethlehem, Betrothed, Blessed, Caesar Augustus, Called, Canticle, Capernaum, Census, Christ, Cross, Elizabeth, Gabriel, Galilee, Glory, Herod, Holy Spirit, Humble, Joseph, Manger, Messiah, Miracle, Nazareth, Peace, Pondering, Prayers, Prophecy, Righteous, Shepherds, Virgin, Wife, Wise Men

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