Mar Elias (Prophet Elijah)

20. July, 2023Past EventsNo comments

The story of Elijah is told in the Books of Kings. The vocation of the prophet is to be found in 1 Kings 17 and his ascension into heaven is told in 2 Kings 2. The prophet appeared in the days of King Ahab (9th century BC), who is described as doing “evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him” (1 Kings 16:30). As great as the sin of the king, so great was he prophet sent by God in order to point to his sin. Elijah had a hard life, full of conflicts and persecution. However, he also met the living God like his predecessor Moses and in the very same place – Mount Sinai/Horeb. In a certain manner of speaking, Elijah is the father of the prophets.

According to the Biblical narrative, Elijah did not die but rather was taken into heaven by “a chariot of fire and horses of fire” (2 Kings 2:11). In the Biblical tradition, this fact gave rise to the belief that Elijah would return in the End of Days in order to prepare the way for the coming of God who will judge the world. Thus it is written in Malachi 3:23-24: “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.” (see also Ben Sira 48:10). In the Jewish tradition, Elijah will come at the End of Days to announce the coming of the Messiah and he is a central character.

In the writings of the New Testament, Elijah is closely connected to the figure of John the Baptist. John comes to prepare the way before Jesus and in this sense he fulfills the role of Elijah. When Jesus goes up onto the high mountain and is transfigured in the presence of three of his disciples who see him in a new light – the light of eternal life – Moses and Elijah appear at his side. In his event, Moses represents the Law and Elijah the Prophets.

Elijah represents fidelity to the word of God and the victory of God over his enemies. Elijah’s zeal and his persecution at the hands of his oppressors make him one of the fascinating Biblical characters. Christians in the Middle East give honor to him in a special way and the name “Elias” (Elijah in Arabic) is often given to children. The feast of Saint Elijah (Mar Elias) is celebrated with great joy all over the Lebanon and across the Middle East.

MYC – Maronite Youth Convention – Toronto 2023

18. March, 2023Past EventsNo comments

Registration: $200 

Includes meals, transportation

and all events from Friday to Sunday night

New Year’s Booklet

19. January, 2023Past EventsNo comments

Click to view our New Year’s Booklet

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Blessing & Solemn Inauguration of Our Lady of Lebanon Statue

2. September, 2022Past EventsNo comments

Sunday 11th of September, 11:30AM
Holy Mass and Blessing
presided by
His Excellency Bishop Paul Marwan Tabet
and concelebrated by
Rev. Fr. Abbot Maroun Abou Jaoude, OAM

Festive Lunch at Parkview Manor at 4:00PM

BOOK YOUR TABLE/TICKETS NOW!
Adults: $100 / Under 12: $50
For Reservations, Call
Bassam Dagher: (416) 543-7123
Fadi Melhem: (416) 450-5630

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

21. June, 2022Past EventsNo comments

مواهب الروح القدس السبع هي

الحكمة، والفهم، والمشورة، والقوة

والعلم، والتقوى، ومخافة الله

إنها بكمالها تخص المسيح

وهي تُتمم فضائل مَن يتقبلوها وتقودها الى الكمال

وتجعل المؤمنين يخضعون بطواعية وسرعة للإلهامات الالهية

The 7 Gifts Of The Holy Spirit

1. Wisdom – “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” James 3:17

2. Understanding – “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.” – St. Augustine of Hippo

3. Knowledge – “The gift of knowledge puts us in tune with God’s gaze on things and on people…” – Pope Francis

4. Counsel – “Let us employ the gift of reason for actions of prudence. Let us learn now abstinence from what is wicked, that we may not be forced to learn in the future. Let us employ life as a training school for what is good; and let us be roused to the hatred of sin. Let us bear about a deep love for the Creator; let us cleave to Him with our whole heart; let us not wickedly waste the substance of reason, like the prodigal.” – St. Clement of Alexandria

5. Fortitude – “Though the path is plain and smooth for men of good will, he who walks it will not travel far, and will do so only with difficulty, if he does not have good feet: that is, courage and a persevering spirit.” – St. John of the Cross

6. Piety– “Be brave and try to detach your heart from worldly things. Do your utmost to banish darkness from your mind and come to understand what true, selfless piety is. Through confession, endeavor to purify your heart of anything which may still taint it. Enliven your faith, which is essential to understand and achieve piety.” – St. John Bosco

7. Fear of the Lord – “We must fear God out of love, not love Him out of fear.” – St. Francis de Sales

Stay-at-home order extended until at least June 2, 2021

13. May, 2021Past EventsNo comments

The provincial government announced that the current stay-at-home order will be extended until at least June 2, 2021. Current restrictions for places of worship remain in place:

• All Public Masses are cancelled until further notice.

• Mass will be broadcast Live every Sunday at 11:30AM on the parish Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/ololgta) and on YouTube.

• Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals are restricted to 10 persons, including the priest(s).

• However, the church is open for Private Prayer and/or Confessions, by appointment only.

• All in-person meetings, gatherings and activities are also suspended at this time.

For updates, please visit our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ololgta

Stay safe and God bless!

Annunciation to the Virgin Mary

23. March, 2021Past EventsNo comments

Feast: March 25

This great festival takes its name from the happy tidings brought by the angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary, concerning the incarnation of the Son of God. It commemorates the most important embassy that was ever known: an embassy sent by the King of kings, performed by one of the chief princes of his heavenly court; directed, not to the kings or emperors of the earth, but to a poor, unknown, retired virgin, who, being endowed with the most angelic purity of soul and body, being withal perfectly humble and devoted to God, was greater in his eyes than all the scepters in the world could make a universal monarch. Indeed God, by the choice which he is pleased to make of a poor virgin, for the accomplishment of the greatest of all mysteries and graces, clearly demonstrates that earthly diadems, dignities, and treasures are of no consideration with him; and that perfect humility and sanctity alone constitute true greatness. God, who is almighty, can do all things by himself, without making use of the concurrence of creatures. Nevertheless he vouchsafes. in his exterior works, most frequently to use their co-operation. If he reveals his will and speaks to men, it is by the intervention of his prophets, and these he often enlightens by the ministry of angels. Many of the ancient patriarchs were honored by him with the most sublime commissions. By Moses he delivered his people from the Egyptian slavery, by him he gave them his law, and he appointed him mediator in his alliance with them. When the Son of God became man, he could have taken upon him our nature without the co-operation of any creature; but was pleased to be born of a woman. In the choice of her whom he raised to this most sublime of all dignities to which any pure creature could be exalted, he pitched upon her who, by the riches of his grace and virtues, was of all others the most holy and the most perfect. The design of this embassy of the archangel is as extraordinary as the persons concerned in it. It is to give a Savior to the world, a victim of propitiation to the sinner, a model to the just, a son to this Virgin, remaining still a virgin, and a new nature to the Son of God, the nature of man, capable of suffering pain and anguish in order to the satisfaction of God’s justice for our transgressions. And the Son of God being to take a human body formed of her substance, the Holy Ghost, who, by a power all-divine, was to her in place of a spouse, was not content to render her body capable of giving life to a Man-God, but likewise enriched her soul with a fulness of grace, that there might be a sort of proportion between the cause and the effect, and she the better qualified to co-operate towards this mystery of sanctity.

The Immaculate Conception

7. December, 2020Past EventsNo comments

On December 8, we honor Mary, our Mother. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic feast celebrating Mary’s conception without sin. Even though this feast day occurs in the liturgical season of Advent, which prepares for the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother, St. Anne.

Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Blessed Pope Pius IX proclaimed on December 8, 1854: “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.” — Catechism of the Catholic Church

St. Barbara Feast Virtual Celebration

23. November, 2020Past EventsNo comments

OLOL St. Barbara Feast Virtual Celebration
– Costume Show: Dress up in traditional or historic costumes
– Baking Contest: Prepare traditional St. Barbara sweets
Then let’s share those pictures with everyone

Send your pics
to office@ourladyoflebanon.ca
by November 30th, 2020