My Joy with the Beloved

On Sunday October 23, I had the joy of participating with my beloved wife in two special events organized by Fr. Ibrahim El-Haddad and his team at Jesus the King Melkite Catholic parish.
First: In the noon Mass, Fr. Ibrahim prayed for the past parish council of which I was a member. We prayed with the parishioners for our beloved families and friends everywhere and received the Sacrament of penance or reconciliation followed by the great Sacrament of the Eucharistic body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Homsy choir performed some of the most majestic hymns in English, Greek, and Arabic and, for me, the choir leader who knew my preferred hymns made sure the choir sang the Lord's Prayer (Our Father) in the way that his dad of blessed memory devised it. At the end of the Mass too, the Great Kyrie-Eleison was performed with such triumphant tone that you would think that the angels in heaven were also singing with us.
Following the Mass, my wife and I were invited, along with other past parish council members and their spouses to Mazza restaurant where we were greeted by the elegant owner, who is also a member of the Melkite Catholic Church and an active member on the Board of Jesus the King Knights of Columbus Council. There we were joined by a group of choir members including the choir leader and his highly-active wife who participated in the preparation of the event and served everyone. Many other parishioners joined us as we enjoyed together this get-together day. Although most attendees of the dinner party had to register and pay, they did it with joy and generosity which, I believe, is characteristic of the people who lived in, or are originally from, the Middle East. In spite of loud speakers, I enjoyed  the folkloric dance "Dabke" in which many people, young and old including Fr. Ibrahim, participated. The fellow who performed musical tones along the recorded ones left a good impact on his listeners.
It was an early well-prepared dinner, that started with a prayer to God by the mouth of the parish pastor Fr. Ibrahim and continued with a voice message from Most Reverend Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim who is in charge of all Melkite Catholics in Canada. In his message, Bishop Ibrahim encouraged us and everyone in the community to continue the really-good work done over the past 20 years or so with Fr. Georges Farah principally who oversaw the purchase of the church and made significant contributions to our understanding of the meaning of life, and since the beginning of 2015 with Fr. Ibrahim El-Haddad, Fr. Michel Chalhoub, and Fr. Youhanna Hanna.
And I remembered the annual festival started by Fr. Georges Farah, the Catholicism Series which continue to be presented by Fr. Youhanna Hanna in addition to Fr. Youhanna's prayerful assistance to the sick which continues uninterrupted, and other talks by Fr. Michel Chalhoub, the weekly lectures in the hard questions of theology and philosophy that Fr. Georges Farah gave us, and the weekly lectures that I gave to the young adults and since 2008 to older generations too.
Following the voice message by Bishop Ibrahim, Fr. Ibrahim El-Haddad spoke of the good work and collaboration that he received from the past parish council members which continues today with his support. Fr. Ibrahim has also engaged teams of young adults to help the priests in teaching the children of the parish according to a program prepared by the Church authorities and, as far as I know, approved by Bishop Ibrahim. It is quite important that every bishop and priest provide the communication means to preserve our young adults and kids in the faith received from the Apostles.
Congratulations to the parish, the team who worked hard and the parish head for whom we thank God.
It was a day of joy with many of the beloved ones.