by Maria C. Khoury, Ed.D.
Dear Friends of Saint George Taybeh,
I sincerely wish all of you a most blessed Holy Great Lenten journey with your beautiful families and church communities. It is amazing that this sacred and most holy time of year just sneaked upon us so fast with some awful very unholy things happening all around the world. May our Lord have mercy! Let us just pray, pray, pray.
The Palestinian flags are flying half mass today here in the Holy Land in response to a three-day mourning of the horrific slaughter of twenty-one Coptic Christians beheaded in Libya yesterday. While I was busy in my own little cocoon complaining that it was the last Sunday to serve meat for the family lunch according to the Orthodox tradition in preparing to cleanse our soul and focus on Christ, I heard the news late.
The first thing that popped in my mind is how tragic for the families that have to deal with this horrendous loss. As I am deeply shocked throughout this whole last year with the tragic loss of life in all corners of the world, we continuously try to live a normal life in a little Christian village in the heart of Palestine.
It seems from Paris to Copenhagen to America, evil is just spreading. And, on a personal note, I was completely shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Bob Simon, the Veteran CBS journalist who spend a memorable visit in Taybeh conducting interviews. He was a champion of truth and deeply loved humanity. Although the CBS producers cut out the Taybeh footage from two major broadcasts, Bob Simon, gave us a gift of a short overtime. May he rest in peace.
I hope we might have more courageous journalists who are willing to share the truth but in many cases pay with their very life. May this most holy time of year allow for a time of healing and forgiveness so the Light of Christ overpowers all evil,
forgive me a sinner,
maria