“The prophet Jeremiah had alerted the politicians of his era but they did not listen to him and the result was the destruction of Jerusalem.”
For the second year in a row, Spiteri celebrated a mass at the center, assisted by his First Advisor, Fr. Joseph Franconi, Fr. Marco Mastrioni, the Chaplain of the Lebanese Association Fr. Khalil Rahme, the director of the Chabrouh center, Fr. Raymond Bou Assi as well as the chaplains of the Irish and Spanish Associations.
The Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon, H.E.Msgr. Joseph Spiteri stressed that volunteers working together, gathering foreign and Lebanese youth to serve people with disabilities at the Chabrouh Center, contributes to building “true peace”.
Upon the invitation of the President of the Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta, Mr. Marwan Sahnaoui, the Mass was attended by the Ambassador of Spain to Lebanon H.E.Mr. Jose Maria Ferri and his wife, the Ambassador of Italy to Lebanon H.E.Mr. Massimo Marotti, Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Armenia, H.E.Mr. Jean-Michel Oughourlian, Ambassador Naji Abi Assi, Knights and Dames of the Order, former Ministers Mr. Raymond Audi, Mr. Jean-Louis Cordahi, and Mr. Rizk Rizk, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Lebanon, Mr. François Abi Saab, and the Mayor of Faraya Mr. Michel Salameh. The members of the association and the Responsible of the Chabrouh project Mr. Patrick Jabre, were also present.
Our differently-abled guests attended Mass alongside volunteers of various nationalities: German, Spanish, Lebanese and French undergoing summer camps in both Chabrouh and Kfardebian centers.
Spiteri gave a sermon in which he praised the efforts of foreign and Lebanese volunteers in the centers, where, throughout the year, camps for people with severe mental and motor disabilities are held for a duration of one week, during which they are served day and night by groups of young men and women, Lebanese and foreign, donating their time and holiday for this purpose – one of the Lebanese Association’s 30 projects in Lebanon.
Last year, 36 camps were set up for 770 guests with disabilities, with 960 volunteers from 20 different nationalities. “You have come to Lebanon to spend a different kind of holiday and to share your love with those who are struggling,” Spiteri told the camp volunteers. “You have chosen to come here to help others, to make new friends, to build human relationships, and this is what builds real peace and real joy.” He cited the story of the prophet Jeremiah, “who remained faithful to the Lord despite the resistance he received from the nobles, (politicians of his time), who were unable to see the difficulties and problems facing Jerusalem, as the prophet Jeremiah had warned them. But Jeremiah was a strange man, a servant and not a nobleman; the Lord always sends us many people to help us, but we must open our eyes to see and recognize them “Let us pray to the Lord to erase the malice and hatred so that only love remains, stressing that “the true peace is the one Jesus gave us”. He concluded by prying the Lord “to make the presence of the young volunteers an occasion to help our Lebanese friends to experience the Love of God that allows the building of Peace in Joy.”
