Denver Catholic

BY ROXANNE KING The murder of American journalist James Foley, a Cath- olic Christian, by the militant Islamic State (ISIS) last month drew attention to the wors- ening plight of Christians in the Middle East. Next week, a groundbreaking summit in Washington, D.C., will aim to boost efforts to protect and preserve Mideast Christians. Local Maronite Catholic priest Father Andre-Sebastian Mahanna is an organizer of the Sept. 9-11 ecumenical and bipartisan conference. Spon- sored by the nonprofi t advoca- cy group In Defense of Chris- tians, the summit will be the fi rst to unite six Christian pa- triarchs from the Middle East in the United States in a show of solidarity. "The summit is historic for the Eastern church," said Father Mahanna, pastor of St. Rafka Maronite Catholic Church in Lakewood and di- rector of the Offi ce of Ecu- menism and Interfaith Rela- tions of the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon in the United States. The Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs, among them Ma- ronite Catholic Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Rahi of An- tioch, will be joined by Car- dinal Leonardo Sandri of the Vatican's Prefect of the Congre- gation for Oriental Churches, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, arch- bishop of Washington, and other American clergy from Catholic, Protestant and Evan- gelical churches. Participants will include congressmen and senators, policy makers and diplomats. "The title of the conference is 'Protecting and Preserving Christianity Where it All Be- gan,'" Father Mahanna said, adding that it will include talks, an ecumenical Christian prayer service and a march of religious leaders and lawmak- ers to the Capitol. The summit's mission is to mobilize support for Chris- tians in their ancestral home- lands, the Middle Eastern countries where they have been driving forces of stability and pluralism for more than 2,000 years but are now threat- ened with extinction. The number of displaced Chris- tians now trapped from Syria to Erbil, Iraq, number some 300,000, Father Mahanna said. Father Mahanna was also a key organizer with Archbish- op Samuel Aquila of the Aug. 11 interreligious prayer service for peace in the Middle East held at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Concep- tion in downtown Denver that was preceded by the signing of the PLACE (Peace, Love and Co-Existence) petition by the archbishop, Father Mahanna and 17 other religious lead- ers. The petition, which may be signed online (visit www. archden.org/prayer-peace), asks President Barack Obama to work through diplomatic channels to stop the murder and persecution of Christians in the Middle East as well as to oppose the persecution of Jews and Muslims there. "I urge every human being to sign the PLACE petition," Father Mahanna said. "To stand up for goodness and for the safety of the other." 2 I CATHOLIC LIFE SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER ARCHBISHOP'S COLUMN MOST REV. SAMUEL J. AQUILA For two days last week 500 people from around the country gathered in Denver's Tech Center for the inaugural Amazing Parish conference. I attended the summit to experience this new movement fi rsthand, and I came away struck by how the future of every parish depends upon Catholics becoming ma- ture, life-long disciples. The importance of parishioners going beyond looking for the next formation program and becoming active, creative evan- gelizers was a theme that could be heard from attendees and speakers alike, refl ecting the theme of the conference, "Go make disciples of all nations" (Matt 28:19). St. Augustine, whose feast we celebrated on Aug. 28, expe- rienced this crucial transformation while he was lamenting his weak will and inability to leave his sins. He famously said, "Grant me chastity, Lord, but not yet." In his book "Confessions," St. Augustine recounts that, in the torment of his refl ections, he went to a garden, where he suddenly heard a child chanting a rhyme: "Tolle, lege, tolle, lege," "Pick up and read, pick up and read." And so he took up the Scriptures and opened to St. Paul's letter to the Romans, which he had been reading recently. His eyes fell upon Romans 13:13-14, where St. Paul calls on people to abandon the works of the fl esh and be clothed with Christ. At that moment, he understood that these words were directly addressed to him by God, showing him what he was supposed to do. Refl ecting in 2008 on St. Augustine's conversion, Pope Bene- dict XVI said, "Thus, he felt the darkness of doubt clearing and he fi nally found himself free to give himself entirely to Christ: he described it as 'your converting me to yourself.'" Like us, St. Augustine's journey of conversion did not end with his initial decision. As the Holy Father noted, it "humbly contin- ued to the very end of his life." Our secular society offers all sorts of diversions from what will truly satisfy us, such as money, prestige, power and pleasure. But history shows us that these answers prove to be ultimately unsatisfying. The only authentic and truly satisfying answer to the ques- tion of our meaning and purpose as human beings is found in our identity as a beloved son or daughter of the Father, who is destined to live in eternal union with him. St. Augustine put it best when he said in his "Confessions," "For you have formed us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they fi nd rest in you." The future of our archdiocese and its parishes and missions, the future of our families, and most importantly, of our souls, depends upon this truth and our efforts to keep it at the center of our lives. Looking back at his life, St. Augustine saw that there were distinct phases to his journey of conversion, and this is true for each of us as well. Jeff Cavins, one of the speakers at the Amazing Parish confer- ence, described the danger of devout Catholics reducing their faith to "the study of the faith." This reduction can show up in the form of someone continually looking for the latest Catholic Wanted: committed, life-long disciples For more informa on and to register: www.HikeforHospice.org or call 303-561-5790 Join us for the 9th annual Hike for Hospice to benefit Porter Hospice and St. Anthony Hospice Sunday, September 14, 2014 Check in between 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m Olinger Mount Lindo, off Hwy. 285 South, Morrison, CO For more informa on and to register: www.HikeforHospice.org or call 303-561-5790 Sunday, September 14, 2014 Check in between 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m Olinger Mount Lindo, off Hwy. 285 South, Morrison, CO Join us for the 9th annual Hike for Hospice to benefit Porter Hospice and St. Anthony Hospice Sunday, September 14, 2014 Sunday, September 14, 2014 Check in between 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m Olinger Mount Lindo, off Hwy. 285 South, Morrison, CO Join us for the 9th annual Hike for Hospice to benefit The Catholic Register Proudly Supports Presen ng Sponsor: Right At Home Local priest to attend Washington summit to aid Mideast Christians PHOTO BY BERNARD GRANT/DCR INTERRELIGIOUS leaders joined with Archbishop Samuel Aq- uila, front center, and Maronite Catholic Father Andre Mahan- na, back row, third from right, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception to sign the PLACE petition for peace and for a prayer service Aug. 11. See Aquila, Page 4 FESTIVAL TO HONOR CROSS, BUILD SOLIDARITY To build solidarity with Middle East Christians, all faithful are invited to visit St. Rafka Maronite Catholic Church, 2301 Wadsworth Blvd. in Lakewood, for any or all of its Triumph of the Holy Cross observance, Sept. 14. The cele- bration will include 10:30 a.m. Mass with intentions for martyrs and for peace in the Middle East followed by an 11:45 a.m. blessing and candle procession, and end- ing with a noon-6 p.m. festival to include Lebanese food, drink, music and dance. Church tours will be given at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. "Christians believe that the cross of Christ is a source of peace, redemption, forgiveness and rec- onciliation for the world," Father Andre Mahanna said. "We will pray. … We will dance and eat." For more information, call 720-833-0354 or visit www. StRafkaDenver.org. PLACE PETITION Read and sign the petition at www.archden.org/prayer-peace exploded with it pro-lifers ALS Association, embryonic research. Soon was proposed: nonprofi Research The JP2MRI adult stem efforts eases mer's Disease Disease; rare diseases. Father ALS From Page CHRISTIANS in Syria, Egypt, the Holy Land, Iraq, Jordan and Leba- non are dwindling toward extinction.

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