A relic of the wonder-worker St. Charbel was hosted at St. Joseph Maronite Catholic Church in Phoenix, AZ

Dr. Edith Breburda

Once again, a relic of St. Charbel, the saint from the land of the ancient Phoenicians, visited Phoenix.

 

The first Lebanese saint is well known for healing the sick and disabled since his death on Christmas Eve in 1889, at the age of 70. His incorrupt body—meaning it never decomposed ---lies in a tomb near his monastery in Lebanon. Since October of 2015, a relic of one of his bones has toured to parishes around the United States.

 

In 2016 St. Joseph Catholic Maronite Church in Phoenix hosted the saint’s relic. Since that time many wonderful things have been witnessed. Among them, Dafne Gutierrez, a blind mother of three children was completely cured after the intercession of St. Charbel. 

The eye doctors had given up all hope of a cure, however, Dafne's sister-in-law convinced her to visit the relic of the saint. On January 18th, 2016, Dafne’s eyesight completely returned within one day of her prayers to St. Charbel, and her receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation and a blessing with Holy Oil.  

It healing has baffled the doctors, who concluded that there was no medical explanation for the restoration of her vision. It is believed that St. Charbel's intercession accounted for this astounding healing.

The miracle attracted the attention of the media. Since then, more and more people are flocking to the little church on Virgin Road in Phoenix. The church was declared a pilgrimage site and hosts a permanent relic. 

The largest Shrine in North America dedicated to St. Charbel was built nearby. People of faith around the USA, Canada and Mexico come to see this Saint’s relic. Phoenix has a large Lebanese population and the fame of the Lebanese saint has increased greatly, with many believing St. Charbel has miracelous powers of intercession for the faithful. 

Fr. Wissam Akiki

On a daily basis, the parish priest, Fr. Wissam Akiki, receives reports of St. Charbel's wonderful help: cancer disappears, and eyesight is regained after praying to him. 

Fr. Akiki is busy every day, listening to people's problems, and in turn, blessing them with the relic and holy oil of St. Charbel. "Go to him!" the priest says. "He will help you!"

Fr. Akiki is deeply touched and humbled by the strength of faith of the many people visiting. “They are driven by their belief in God and love of St. Charbel to make their own pilgrimage and ask St. Charbel to grant his intercession. It is faith, hope, and love of God that sustains and comforts us and provides us the courage and strength to keep our faith strong and never give up on faith.”

From January 18-21, 2018, the original relic was brought back to the church to console the numerous petitioners who have no one to turn to. The often-forgotten people, like legal immigrants, the sick, the unemployed, and the uninsured pray especially for St. Charbel’s heavenly intervention. 

Most Reverend Bishop John S Pazak

For them, he is a saint who helps everybody, regardless of his status or belief. Muslims and Christian pilgrims are among the petitioners praying to him at his homestead in Lebanon and wherever his relics are hosted.

In the week when the Church is focused on unity among all religions, it is a unique and beautiful sight to see the many visitors join to invoke the saint who they know will help them in their travails. 

Devotional prayers, adoration, the veneration of the relic, and the Holy Liturgy in different rites was celebrated. For the many in attendance, it was an unforgettable experience of the beauty of unity.

Father, where shall we go when the North Korean missile strikes Honolulu?

Dr. Edith Breburda

The parish St Augustine by-the-sea on Waikiki beach in Honolulu is surrounded by hotels. As the many international tourists check in, the homeless linger near the church gates.

This was what it was like on Saturday morning, the13^th of January 2018.

Lights of the church have been enkindled, and the doors were opened for the daily communicants. 

Shortly before the 7am Mass a parishioner approached the microphone. With a bright “Aloha” she greeted the fellow Catholics. “For 163 years we worship here and are giving witness to the values of the Gospel. It is custom at the Diocese of Honolulu to keep standing after receiving the Eucharist until the ministers sit down. In this way, we represent our community with one another.”

In his homily, the parochial vicar highlighted the sentence of our “wise Pope”, which attracted attention, “Who am I to judge?” During the day, the words kept repeating over in my mind. Its importance has still been unknown to the listeners yet. However, as events unfolded, the meaning became ever more poignant.

As usual for the weekend, the Knights of Columbus have been busy cleaning up the Church grounds. Cheerfully they greeted the people leaving Mass.

Not even 30 minutes passed when suddenly their mood changed. Bob rushed to the parish priest, who just joined them. “Father read this” he said, showing him his phone. Unfortunately, the priest was not able to follow the instructions of the knight. He didn’t have his glasses. 

In unison the men informed him what the emergency alert display of their cellphones said.

“Ballistic Missile threat inbounds to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.”

“Father, where shall we go?” the distressed knights screamed.

Father Akiona seemed to be the only one not being irritated. “To the place where we all will go!”- Bob was too distressed to catch father’s wit. At least not right now, when he feared for his life. 

“Look, we are in front of the church. The church is the safest place to go when a Missile really strikes.” Bob was not convinced at all. The knight simply disagreed. “It is not!” he said, “there is too much glass in the Church.”

At this point, the priest did not answer anymore. He was rather concerned where the missile would strike. He pleaded aloud that in any case, and if it would be up to him, he would prefer that the Burger King in front of his church building is the more appropriate target. Just for the sake of his property. -The fast-food chain has bothered him for a long time and now would be a good opportunity to be able to see the Pacific again.

 

As soon as the threat was over a parishioner called Father. He was happy to hear, when the Lady told him, that she prayed for her parish priests survival.

“You know,” she said, “I needed to go to confession before I die.”

As you might imagine, hearing the reason behind her prayers dashed father’s enthusiasm a little bit. Nevertheless, it was refreshing, the Priest reasoned within himself, to hear someone earnestly desiring the sacrament. He's heard so often lately from people questioning why they should even bother confessing their sins to a Priest, when they can easily go directly to God. 

"Sure,” Father Akiona replies when he receives such “challenging” questions. “But from where do you know God will hear you and will grant you absolution? It is a most unusual way to seek forgiveness for our sins.

“The affairs I want to have straightened out and in which I directly approach God is in preparation for my death. If you have peace within, then you don’t care so much to die in 12 minutes or in 5 years. In addition we will not panic when we hear that a missile is heading towards Hawaii.” (1)

There was not much panic. People rather did not know how to react. In a suburb of Honolulu, some fishermen looked up in disbelieve at the sky, as if they wanted to see the Missile with their own eyes first.

But where should they seek shelter anyway? There is no way to escape an anatomic blast on an island in the middle of nowhere?

The best instructions and drills are useless.

At a McDonald’s, the conversation was kept to its limits. The guests mindfully enjoyed the present moment, sipping their Kona coffeee and hoped it would not be the last one they consume on this earthly paradise.

After 38 minutes it came across the radio broadcast that the danger was over.  

Just imagine – what if the threat had been immediately retaliated? We would have never found out that all was due to a mistake of a single man.

Some taxi drivers are still laughing. “It took not 38 minutes for us to discover this scam. The siren did not turn on. At all TV channels, the program continued. During an emergency, it is interrupted. At least that happened before the last Tsunami warning.” For the bus drivers, it was just a normal day, with business as usual. 

“The system was hacked. I need to work and can’t let fake news disrupt my day. I’m happy I was right from the very beginning,” says one Uber-car driver. He giggles. It is his way to cope with the threat.

(1) Homily of Fr. Akonia, 1.14.2018 www.staugustinebythesea.com

Dr. Edith Breburda DVM, Ph.D. just published the second volume of her Award-winning children’s book, about the adventures of the extraordinary, smart cat, Felix in English.

The enchanting stories honor Christian values of love, respect, family, and friendship. The books have been endorsed in its German version by his Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVl.

Wohin sollen wir gehen, wenn in 12 Minuten die Rakete von Nordkorea hier bei uns und in Hawaii einschlägt?

Dr. Edith Breburda

Christliches Forum,  15. Januar 2018

Die Pfarrei St. Augustin by-the-sea liegt direkt im Touristenviertel von Honolulu am Waikiki-Beach auf der Insel Oahu: www.staugustinebythesea.com

Die Kirche ist umgeben von Hotels; aber auch von Bettlern, die hier wie fast überall das Stadtbild in den USA prägen.

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Wie üblich betritt eine Frau vor der 7 Uhr Frühmesse das Ambo und erklärt: “Dies ist ein Ort des Gebetes, in dem seit 163 Jahren die Werte des Evangeliums verkündet werden.“ – Es ist in der Diözese von Honolulu die Regel, dass während des Kommuniongangs alle gemeinsam stehen bleiben, um ein „Zeichen der Gemeinschaft“ zu setzen.

Der Kaplan predigt über unseren Papst, der ein weiser Mann sei, was sich in seinen Worten “Wer bin ich, um zu richten?” widerspiegeln würde. Der Satz prägt sich unweigerlich ein an diesem Samstagmorgen, dem 13. Januar 2018, der viele Menschen in Hawaii in Angst versetzte.

Als die Gläubigen ihre Kirche verlassen, ahnen sie nicht, dass es kein normaler Tag werden wird. „Knights of Columbus“ (Kolumbusritter) reinigen wie jeden Samstag das Kirchengelände.

Nach einer knappen halben Stunde schrecken die Männer zusammen. Ungläubig hält Bob dem Pater sein Handy entgegen. Doch der Priester kann nichts lesen, er hat seine Brille nicht dabei.

Die Meldung lautet: Eine ballistische Rakete aus Nordkorea befindet sich im Anflug auf Hawaii. Es handelt sich nicht um eine Übung des Katastrophenschutzes, sondern um eine wirkliche Bedrohung. Man solle sofort Schutz suchen und sich im Badezimmer oder Keller auf den Boden legen. Der Einschlag werde in wenigen Minuten erwartet.

Die Männer rufen aufgeregt durcheinander: „Pater, wohin sollen wir gehen, wenn in 12 Minuten die Rakete von Nordkorea hier bei uns und in Hawaii einschlägt?“  –  Pfarrer Akiona behält die Ruhe: “Da, wo wir alle hingehen." Als er merkt, dass seine Rittern momentan keinen Sinn für seinen Humor haben, korrigiert er sich: "Wir haben doch hier unsere Kirche, der sicherste Ort, den man sich vorstellen kann bei einem Raketenangriff.”

“Nein, da ist zuviel Glas, das ist keineswegs sicher“, widerspricht ein Columbus-Ritter.  “Wenn die Rakete wirklich einschlägt, dann bitte in den Burger King vor unserer Kirche, der uns die Sicht auf den Pazifik nimmt“, antwortet der Geistliche. 

 Doch dann fragt er: “Wovor sollen wir Angst haben? Wenn es Zeit ist, müssen wir alle gehen. Wir müssen nur auf diesen Moment vorbereitet sein.”

Später rief eine Frau ihren Pfarrer an, sie habe gebetet, dass er überlebt. Als sie die Warnung hörte, erinnerte sie sich, noch vor ihrem Tod beichten zu wollen.

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Pater Akiona gab sich fast verwundert, denn allzuoft hört er von den Leuten, dass sie nicht beichten wollen, das würden sie lieber mit Gott persönlich ausmachen.

“Sicher“, sagt der Priester, “aber woher wissen wir denn, ob Gott einen auch erhört und uns über diese ungewöhnliche Art unsere Sünden vergibt? Wann immer er uns ruft, müssen wir bereit sein. Das kann in 12 Minuten sein oder in 5 Jahren. Eine Rakete ist dann kein Grund, in Panik zu geraten.“

Von Panik hat man nach dem Fehlalarm eigentlich nicht viel gespürt. Die Leute waren eher ratlos. Denn was kann man schon auf einer Insel großartig tun, um sich vor einem Atomschlag zu retten?

Einige Männer standen am Strand in einem der Vororte von Honolulu und schauten ungläubig gegen den Himmel. 

Bei McDonald saßen die Gäste und genossen ihren Kaffee. Sie hofften darauf, dass es nicht der letzte auf Hawaii  –  dem Paradies auf Erden  –  war.

Als nach 38 Minuten die Entwarnung kam,  atmete die Radioansagerin tief durch und lachte erleichtert auf. Man mag sich nicht vorstellen, was passiert wäre, wenn die USA einen Gegenschlag in diesen langen 38 Minuten eingeleitet hätten.

Dann hätten wir wohl nie erfahren, dass es sich anscheinend „nur“ um den Fehler eines Mannes handelte, welcher dann per Handy und Radio verbreitet wurde.

Allerdings vermuteten das wohl viele. Ein Taxifahrer lachte: “Ich habe keine 38 Minuten gebraucht, um das heraus zu finden. Es wurden keine Sirenen eingeschaltet und so war es für mich ein business as usual-Tag in Honolulu. Man kann ja nicht auf jede “Fake News” Rücksicht nehmen.”