Our Lady of Philermos
The Knights of the Order venerated on Rhodes the icon of the Mother of God of Mount Philermos. They honored the Mother of God as Patroness of the Order, which has accompanied the Order to the island of Malta. On September 8th, the Order commemorates the Mother of God of Philermos during the Feast of the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary.
In Lebanon, we have the chance to live in a country enriched with different rites and religions, these several ways to talk to God (that Christian and Muslims commonly name Allah) converge thanks to the works of the Order of Malta and this point of convergence is no other than the Holy Virgin Mary, worshipped equally in Islam and Christianity.
To put our actions under her protection, regardless of our religious affiliations, is the central point of spiritual convergence, this major meeting point that makes us live under the same truth, the same ability to love and to care for those most in need.
St John the Baptist
The Hospital of the young brotherhood in Jerusalem was under the patronage of St. John the Baptist who became patron of the newly established Hospitaller Order. He is the greatest among the prophets (Mt 11:2-19), as he stepped aside and made way for the Lord. He urges us not to take pride in ourselves, but to look for His honor: He must increase, but I must decrease (Jn 3:30). The Order of Malta in Lebanon celebrates St John the Baptist with an official mass held on the 24th of June, of every year.
Blessed Gerard
In 1048, merchants from the ancient Marine Republic of Amalfi obtained from the Caliph of Egypt the authorization to build a church, convent and hospital in Jerusalem, to care for pilgrims of any religious faith or race. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the monastic community which ran the hospital, became independent under the guidance of its founder, Blessed Gerard. By virtue of the Papal Bull in 1113, the Hospital became a lay-religious order. All the knights were religious, bound by the three monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
From Blessed Gerard, we learn the profound spirituality of servitude to the poor and the sick, instructing us to perceive the Lord himself in them (Mt 25:40) and to serve them as if they were Christ the Lord Himself. This is the origin of the ancient reference Our Lords the poor and the sick.
