The following is for the mourning families and friends in Littleton, Colorado.

With prayer and sympathy, I have copied and now send you these prayers. My

family, friends here in Virginia, in various states and abroad are united with

me in prayer for your loved ones and for you.

The "Lord's Prayer", the perfect prayer, is known and not included.

The first prayer, "Jesus, Lover of Humanity" which appears below, was

composed for the coming millennium marking the Incarnation. An especially

commissioned icon of our Lord, with the same title, was painted for the

occasion and is now on tour at Maronite Catholic churches throughout the

United States.

The second prayer, taken from our Liturgy or Holy Mass, has a special

significance for me and is immediately familiar to us Eastern Christians. It

is an ancient prayer originally, and even today, prayed aloud in Syro-Aramaic

--the language spoken by Christ. It begins with the congregation, or the

priest when celebrating the Liturgy alone, saying: "Father of Truth, behold

Your Son, a Sacrifice pleasing to You".

Those few words from the Liturgy were the inspiration for the third and final

prayer, "The Centennial Prayer", which memorializes Saint Sharbel's death on

Christmas Eve 1898. "O Father of Truth", the beginning of the prayer never

finished, were the last words the humble monk Sharbel spoke when stricken

during the Liturgy and then carried from the altar.

Perhaps these prayers will now acquire a new meaning for others of us who

remember all of your greatly loved ones. They are forever "Blessed" in God's

Loving Presence, and they praise Him so near and pray for us.

Sincerely,

Edward Brice

Deputy Chief Editor

Journal of Maronite Studies

<http://www.mari.org/jms/january99>

-- -- -- --

JESUS, LOVER OF HUMANITY

Jesus, Who loves mankind,

Whose divinity is veiled by Your humanity,

We approach You in wonder and awe.

You are the High Priest, Who understands our weakness;

The Divine Physician, Who heals our wounds;

The Good Shepherd,

Who looks for the lost sheep and rejoices in finding it.

O Compassionate One, Who wept with Martha and Mary,

You are the Merciful One, Who forgives;

You are the Suffering Servant,

Who tends to the needs of Your people and all creation.

O Gate of Salvation,

By Your pierced side, You restored Adam

And invited the human family to enter Paradise.

>From You flowed streams of living water,

Manifested as the Mysteries --the Sacraments.

You loved us so much that You gave us Your words,

Then gave Yourself as our food,

And Your Mother as our own at the foot of the Cross.

O Healer of life, You taught us that You are humble of heart,

That Your burden is light.

Supreme Good Samaritan, You call us saying:

“Come unto Me, all you who are weary and heavily laden,

And I will refresh you.”

In the famine of this world,

You became the plentiful bread which satisfies our hunger,

And the cluster of grapes which quenches our thirst.

You made us children of the Father,

And sisters and brothers in You.

You changed the Cross of Shame into the Tree of Life.

You gave us the power and presence of Your spirit

Abiding with us through the centuries,

As Your Church prepares for the millennium.

You are glorified now and forever. Amen.

(This is an unauthorized version of the prayer adapted by some of the

staff of the Journal of Maronite Studies (JMS) from the original prayer of the

Diocese of Saint Maron, USA. It is copyrighted by the Maronite Research

Institute (MARI) <http://www.mari.org>. Your school paper has permission to

reprint it if you mention the MARI copyright.)

-- -- -- --

THE PRAYER FROM THE DIVINE LITURGY-HOLY MASS

O Father of truth, behold Your Son,

a Sacrifice pleasing to you.

Accept this offering of Him who died for me.

Behold His blood shed on Golgotha for my salvation;

it pleads for me.

For His sake, accept my offering.

Many are my sins, but greater is Your mercy.

When placed on a scale, you mercy is greater in weight

Than the mountains known only to you.

The exceedingly great atonement outstrips the sin.

Your beloved Son bore the nails

and the lance because of my sins,

So in His sufferings, You are satisfied and I live.

Glory be to the Father, Who sent His Son for our sake;

Adoration to the Son, who by His Crucifixion, redeemed us.

Thanksgiving to the Holy Spirit,

Through Whom the mystery of our salvation

Was brought to fullness.

Blessed is God, Who in His love, gave us life.

To Him be glory.

Amen.

-- -- -- --

(In the Liturgy, the Lord's Prayer is recited, intoned here.)

-- -- -- --

THE CENTENNIAL PRAYER

(ON THE ONE HUNDREDTH

(ANNIVERSARY OF SAINT

(SHARBEL'S DEATH)

d.1898-1998 A.D.

O Heavenly Father,

"O Father of Truth",

The words of the Divine Liturgy were the last utterances of

Your chosen one, Saint Sharbel.

You brought Sharbel into Your Beatific Presence on Christmas Eve:

Let us sanctify and glorify Your name,

Let us work to realize Your Kingdom in and among us, and

Let us conduct our selves according to Your Holy Testament and Will.

O lord Jesus,

Redeemer and Savior,

You called Saint Sharbel to priesthood,

You filled him with Your grace and blessing so that

He imitated You in poverty, chastity and obedience as a Maronite Monk.

Enlighten us so that we live for You,

Enlighten us so that we live by Your Holy Word through love and peace.

O Holy Spirit,

Source of grace and holiness,

You wished the centennial of Saint Sharbel's death to coincide with this year

Dedicated to You as part of the upcoming millennium of the

Mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption.

Let us walk in Your light,

Let us imitate our patron Saint Sharbel,

Let us serve Your life-giving sacraments, and

Let us work to reveal the Kingdom of God and

Nurture the seeds of salvation in our daily lives.

O Virgin Mary,

Mother of the Redeemer,

"Cedar of Lebanon",

You were Sharbel's mother and protector,

You, he wished that we honor and praise.

O beautiful "Morning Star",

Lead us to your Son,

Guide us to "the Light",

Guide us to "the Way",

Guide us to "the truth",

So with you and Saint Sharbel

We may be worthy to

Thank,

Bless and

Glorify Him.

In the name of the Holy Trinity,

Father,

Son,

Holy Spirit,

Now and Forever.

Amen.

Anyone who reprints the three prayers sent in the earlier E-mail should state that they are copyrighted; that only "fair" use is proper.

Thanks. Edward Brice