Today's Wisdom

Those who do not pass from the experience of the cross to the truth of the resurrection condemn themselves to despair! For we cannot encounter God without first crucifying our narrow notions of a god who reflects only our own understanding of omnipotence and power
Pope Francis

Saturday, October 19, 2019

A Saint - John Henry Newman, and a Saintly Bishop - Paul Antaki

There have been so much happening events in the past week or two. First, let us read this event taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke whose feast is celebrated in the Roman Catholic calendar Friday October 18: "One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house, and took his place at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, she learned that he was at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.' And Jesus answering said to him, 'Simon, I have something to say to you.' And he answered, 'What is it, Teacher?' 'A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?' Simon answered, 'The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more.' And he said to him, 'You have judged rightly.' Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.' And he said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.' Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, 'Who is this, who even forgives sins?' And he said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you; go in peace.'" (Luke 7:36-50). Commenting on it, the Jesuit scholar Fr. Henri Boulad spoke about how sin could lead to heaven (in French here L'épreuve, occasion de croissance ...). Fr. Boulad took the example of the sinner forgiven by Jesus to show how the reaction of the pharisees of self-sufficiency is an obstacle for anyone who needs heaven. Humility is a grace that the Holy Spirit urges us to attain in repentance in order to be in heaven. The Parable of the Prodigal Son further shows that our merciful Father does not wait for us, but is always on the look for us to start our return to receive us in His home - Heaven...
Here is a more recent event: Pope Francis on Sunday October 12, 2019 declared five people saints, including Cardinal John Henry Newman, a leading 19th century Anglican who converted to Catholicism and became one of the most influential Christian figures of modern times (a little clip can be seen  here). By the mid 1830s, John Henry Newman was an Oxford University academic in the Anglican Communion. Newman became drawn to the high-church tradition of Anglicanism. He became known as a leader of, and an able polemicist for the Oxford Movement, an influential and controversial grouping of Anglicans who wished to return to the Church of England many Catholic beliefs and liturgical rituals from before King Henry VIII separated himself and his subjects in England from communion with the Catholic Church. In this, the movement had some success. In 1845 Newman, joined by some but not all of his followers, officially left the Church of England and his teaching post at Oxford University and was received into the Catholic Church. He was quickly ordained as a priest and continued as an influential religious leader, based in Birmingham. In 1879, he was created a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII for his services to the Church.
Newman influenced the Second Vatican Council (See Dei Verbum here, and Lumen Gentium here). According to Cardinal Newman, there is a development of doctrine based on tradition. One example: icons were not known in Christ's time, but were adopted in the Eastern & Western Churches since the 3rd-4th century; Statues were used in both Christian East & West until Islam in the 7th century attacked the East. Since then the Eastern Church has kept icons only. The Western Church continued the tradition of both icons and statues.The idea is simple: A picture does not change but human perception of the picture develops as humans come closer to the picture. No change in dogma - only development in understanding them. This is not limited to thought. It involves experience which develops as we grow in faith. It can be represented by artistic works such as music and paintings. As much as arts developed in the West, they were hindered in the East due to the presence of Islam.
Newman's much influential "Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine" can be viewed online here. In it, John Henry Newman shows, in much humility, the development of doctrines - Read here: "St. Paul appeals to a text of the Old Testament, which stands otherwise in our Hebrew copies; as the words, 'A body hast Thou prepared Me.' We receive such difficulties on faith, and leave them to take care of themselves. Much less do we consider mere fulness in the interpretation, or definiteness, or again strangeness, as a sufficient reason for depriving the text, or the action to which it is applied, of the advantage of such interpretation. We make it no objection that the words themselves come short of it, or that the sacred writer did not contemplate it, or that a previous fulfilment satisfies it. A reader who came to the inspired text by himself, beyond the influence of that traditional acceptation which happily encompasses it, would be surprised to be told that the Prophet's words, 'A virgin shall conceive,' or 'Let all the Angels of God worship Him,' refer to our Lord; but assuming the intimate connexion between Judaism and Christianity, and the inspiration of the New Testament, we do not scruple to believe it. We rightly feel that it is no prejudice to our receiving the prophecy of Balaam in its Christian meaning, that it is adequately fulfilled in David; or the history of Jonah, that it is poetical in character and has a moral in itself like an apologue; or the meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, that it is too brief and simple to mean any great thing, as St. Paul interprets it." Read also what John Henry Newman wrote about the Blessed Virgin Mary (declared Mother of God at the Council of Ephesus): "She had been called Ever-Virgin by others, as by St. Epiphanius, St. Jerome, and Didymus. By others, 'the Mother of all living,' as being the antitype of Eve; for, as St. Epiphanius observes, 'in truth,' not in shadow, 'from Mary was Life itself brought into the world, that Mary might bear things living, and might become Mother of living things.' St. Augustine says that all have sinned 'except the Holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom, for the honour of the Lord, I wish no question to be raised at all, when we are treating of sins.' 'She was alone and wrought the world's salvation,' says St. Ambrose, alluding to her conception of the Redeemer. She is signified by the Pillar of the cloud which guided the Israelites, according to the same Father; and she had 'so great grace, as not only to have virginity herself, but to impart it to those to whom she came;'—'the Rod out of the stem of Jesse,' says St. Jerome, and 'the Eastern gate through which the High Priest alone goes in and out, yet is ever shut;"—the wise woman, says St. Nilus, who 'hath clad all believers, from the fleece of the Lamb born of her, with the clothing of incorruption, and delivered them from their spiritual nakedness;'—'the Mother of Life, of beauty, of majesty, the Morning Star,' according to Antiochus;—'the mystical new heavens,' 'the heavens carrying the Divinity,' 'the fruitful vine by whom we are translated from death unto life,' according to St. Ephraim;—'the manna which is delicate, bright, sweet, and virgin, which, as though coming from heaven, has poured down on all the people of the Churches a food pleasanter than honey,' according to St. Maximus. He then goes on to show how the Fathers of the Church continued the interpretation from patristic theology, to the First Council of Nicea and the work of St. Athanasius of Alexandria in defending it and that of St. Basil the Great in clarifying it...to St. Cyril of Alexandria at the Council of Ephesus; all with support by the Roman Pontiff and with his approval. At the Council of Chalcedon, St. Leo the Great is called "Peter has spoken through the mouth of Leo" thus declaring the supremacy of the Pope of Rome over all Christians. Again St. Gregory the Great Pope of Rome is given the same supremacy over all Christians. The reader may wish to read the rest of his phenomenal Essay here.

 As I write this post, I also remember a saintly man whose soul departed to God on December 31, 2011: Bishop Paul Antaki. A humble man, as was John Henry Newman, he was described a saint by many who knew him including Fr. Boulad.  Here is what I wrote and comments by other faithful persons (here): We are saddened by the passing away of the holy archbishop, and dean of all Greek Melkite Catholic bishops, Paul Antaki in Cairo, Egypt. Our consolation is that he will now intercede before Christ in heaven for everyone and especially for the suffering ones on Earth and in Purgatory. Paul Antaki was a great example for me personally and for many other people of several generations especially in his deep commitment to the Church, living spirituality, commitment to the young adults, vocations to the priesthood, and extreme humility coupled with extraordinary capacity for self-sacrifice which he practiced unceasingly. I recall his letters to me since I arrived in Canada which he signed as Fr. Paul Antaki and his constant encouragement. I do not know much about the iron person Paul Antaki who managed to earn the respect and love of everyone I know he knew. But this is what little I know: After serving as a priest director of the Patriarchal College, he worked tirelessly in the parishes of Alexandria and Cairo. At the young age of 42, he was elevated to the ranks of bishops by the synod headed by Patriarch Maximus V in 1968 to be General Patriarchal Vicar on the See of Alexandria, Egypt and Sudan. Many pastoral visits to the parishes in all of Egypt and Sudan followed his installation. In 1971, I requested my first meeting with him in which it became apparent to me that this man was truly a man of ecumenical breadth and commitment to dialogue with the Orthodox Churches. He was enthusiastic about the youth and actively managed their activities in the Melkite parishes in Egypt and Sudan. I worked under his direction in the Catholic Apostolic movements and conferences held from 1972 which brought together some highly intellectual Catholics and the Catholic youth. In January 1978, he inaugurated the first youth meeting with the Patriarch and soon asked me to lead the new Supreme Council of Melkite Youth (university and older) in Egypt which I served for one year. Three times he called me to the priesthood and three times I declined, but he never gave up on the youth. In 1984 he accepted to be my guest for a few days when he visited Toronto, Canada. Archbishop Antaki visited Toronto again in 1990, celebrated Mass at our home, and at St. Luke Roman Catholic Church (used at the time by Melkite Catholics in Toronto.) As always, his presence meant a special occasion to my family and to the many other friends who knew him.
In 2002, Archbishop Paul Antaki resigned as Patriarchal Vicar in Cairo due to reaching the age of 75 but remained a spiritual director for many people and was followed by Archbishop Joseph Jules Zerey who is today the General Patriarchal Vicar on the See of Jerusalem. When the choir director Joseph Homsy passed away, I informed him of the sad news and he immediately contacted the Homsy families with condolences. Many other stories come to mind about how this man of God implanted a great spiritual plant in Egypt, but I will leave them to another post. To the Greek Melkite Catholic Church together with all its bishops, priests, orders and faithful all over the world, the passing away of Paul Antaki is a moment for celebration and not for sending condolences since I believe heaven is now celebrating the arrival of this humble servant. I am confident that Paul Antaki will be elevated to the ranks of the blessed as John Paul the Great. As he is a great Christian, I wish, therefore, to call him Paul Antaki the Great!

7 COMMENTS:

  1. I am writing this in the kitchen at 6am consuming my Klinnex box. Everyone is asleep and all is quiet. I never wrote a blog and used facebook but today I feel the urge to share this with someone, for all who feel like me the loss of Sayedna Antaki. My cherished uncle fountain pen would not help me today: not fast enough across the oceans. I need to be connected with my beloved friends and family in this occasion.

    Yes we should not weep like pagans in face of death but Sayedna Antaki's death marks the end of an era - a glorious era. He was the bishop of my childhood and youth. I had the honor to be married by him. He was always there like a pillar, just like the four granite pillar in the patriarchate in Cairo - the patriarchate which he loved so much and never wanted to leave as he grow older and needed attention. For him it was always the Batrakhana and for us children it was always Sayedna Antaki this ... Sayedna Antaki that...

    Now living at the end of the world literally, in New Zealand, my husband and I would often recall memories and his face would come up. As I continued my interest in Byzantine tradition, I would often shake my husband who is about to go to sleep and say in a childish excitment: "look, read this, I found this , wow, that is why Sayedna used to say ... or make us do ... or insisted on...."

    I came from a little parish in a blessed land, Zeituoun, where the famous apparitions of the Virgin, in most my childhood, we had transition priests, visitor priests, nothing was permanent, but Sayedna was. He would come to support and visit us regularly, un-anounced of course and sit at the end of the church. Never ever I heard anything in the phone when he used to ring my uncle and I would answer except: (I am abouna Antaki (Father)). He was so humble and ascetic in spirit that many people were puzzled by him, always bending a bit while walking yet so glorious in his vestment during the liturgy. He never said an unprepared sermon and his voice would resonate higher than all the muslim prayers that used to compete with him on the microphones around the church.
    On Holy friday, while he is processing with the bier, just the glimpse of his prayful face would shake your heart in repentance. His bright blue eyes pierced the common into the unseen. He had always a flesh of light in his eyes almost in a childish cheeky way. I still remember his radiant face and laughing eyes when my two years old son open the door and announced with greatest joy and the loudest voice "Abouna Kentucky is here!" a forgiveable typo of a child. Before you would kiss his hand, Saydena would flip yours so you end up kissing your own; always greeting you as if it is so good of you to be there. He would refuse banquets in his honor and never ate meat. By practising what he was preaching, he wanted to show us the face of ascetic struggle that we ought to embark on, one day or another, for the salvation of our souls.

    (to be continued...)
    Reply
  2. (continued ...)

    Sayedna Antaki was the one who shaped generations of youth, some of them are clergy now and some are parents; some of them are going to attend his funeral tomorrow; and some are going to pray in their heart from scattered dwellings. He was not bothered when everyone was pushing to redecorate the patriarchate, or changing to cope with the times or go with the flow. He knew nothing about political correctness. He was there for us all like a solid pillar unaffected by the weather. His sayings to us, his sermons, his remarks were often odd, strange and un-digestable, but as we grew we understood what he meant: he was stretching us, challenging and molding us to become the leaders of today. I cant say much about myself as a leader as I am here taking care of my family and washing dishes but still I feel like a leader because he made me one.He was always part of the youth, like a hawk he would observe everything in silence; attend the last few minutes of the youth council as if passing "par hazare" or fetching something from the lounge. He did everything for us, not necessarily what we wanted, but what we needed. He attended our drama plays, our retreats, took us to visit monasteries in the desert, conducted bible studies and even prepared us to be informed about children sexual education: twenty five years ago when these things were unheard of. I remember when he sent three of us, looking for some kids christian books in Daher publishing houses. We were so happy to get the money out of him and we went mad on a shopping spree.

    Sayedna Anataki cherished St Paul, his Patron Saint, and like St John Chrysostom before him; quoted the Pauline wisdom wherever he can. It was his role model and he knew so much to explain it so fluently in simple words. But most of all he had a great love for the Mother of God. So many times when we were rehearsing for choir or plays and we would be so noisy as if in a market place, interrupting everybody siesta at the patriarchate, we would see him circulating like a hawk saying his rosary. when we were at camps he would gather us in the water if it is noon and say the midday-prayers. We just repeated it after him kicking and splashing behind his back. He would calmly start chanting the Paraclysis or the Vespers on our way walking to the Disco venue. He would insist that we should come to the Paraclysis in August if we have the time to go to the Maronites for Mois de Marie: that what I call liturgical "chantage" (haggling)... he was always there always watching. In every message he delivered one theme was clear: keep the faith, don't give in to the world, keep the Tradition. He made us feel special the heirs of a heirloom, of a great treasure: our tradition of 2000 year old christianity; at a time when the attractions to latin or protestant churches were stronger. He like a master jeweler was polishing ceasingly his diamond in front of our eyes to keep us "dazzled" with our Byzantine roots. Sayedna Antaki always repeated the same thing in youth gathering without loosing hope or getting tired. He often received laughter or sarcasm in the face but he continued to say it always: 1) keep the eastern faith 2) keep your family name (in time where it was easier just to use the father's name and drop the rest) 3) marry within the community. By the time we were at university, we almost repeated them after him in perfect lip-sinking. I think his prayers and his constant education to us were responsible to grant me HIS three wishes.

    (to be continued ...)
    Reply
  3. (continued ...)

    I had the pleasure to see him last christmas when we went back to egypt and to show him our kids. He got so old and so frail. It was almost a mystical experience for us. His strengh and his eyes were almost gone. We were in front of his naked spirit rather than his usual tall shadow. He was still capable of reading our souls with the same excitement and encouragement. He was so happy to see us repeating "thank you for remembering me" as if someone can actually forgot him. I took his photo from a priest without even asking permission and put it in a little frame on the window in front of the kitchen sink. How stupid is that? who would put a photo of a bishop on a sink... but that who he was, the shepherd who made us feel that Church is home and home is Church. His picture give me hope, linked me back to my roots and reminded me of my holy mission in my family even if it is washing dishes. In this picture there was inner strengh of unfinished words. Today in my mind, I can hear his tiny voice telling me "bravo bravo" if I had told him that I am writing a thesis on the spiritual psychology of the Church Fathers. Now he knows about it because he is with the saints and will stand over my shoulder while doing it.

    A soldier who captured St Basil once said that he was as if in the presence of a king. Well, I guess we were all lucky to have been in the presence of a king, a very humble one: "Abouna Antaki".

    Memory eternal Sayedna. I wish I was there to hear all your children singing you away to the gates of heaven but forgive me, I am not.

    Dalia Tinawi
    Reply
  4. Thanks Dalia for your beautiful comments.
    Please send me your email address. Mine is
    george.farahat@gmail.com
    George
    Reply
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.
    Reply
  6. Dalia .. Great words .. Made me cry and re-live those wonderful days .. Seems Sayedna Antaki not only gathered us in "El Batrakhana" and in "Ras El Bar" during his life, but he is also gathering us virtually from heaven .. If you do not mind will share your wonderful words further, they tell so many feelings we all have kept sound in our hearts .. Christine Arida
I hope that his beatification and canonization will not be delayed especially that on May 5, 2019 in a splendid Byzantine Divine Liturgy in Blaj, Bulgaria, Pope Francis beatified 7 Romanian martyrs.

 May the Lord have mercy on us all. Pray for me.
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