Intervention of Mons. Youssef Anis ABI-AAD, Archbishop of Alep of the Maronites (SYRIA)

“We cannot welcome those that God places on our path if we do not welcome God in person. The more we discover God, the more we discover the holiness of God”.
The privileged place for the welcome of our brothers, in the event of our Muslim brothers, is, without a doubt, prayer.
There is a prayer we call contemplative prayer.
To contemplate is above all to contemplate the Trine God. To contemplate is also to contemplate, in the Spirit, the life of men, and, starting from offering it unto God with his joys and suffering, his progress and his regressions... all in having the spirit that we do not see in all the life of others, which remains a mystery to us.
In contemplation; it can happen that we cross, in a fleeting moment, a reflection of God’s gaze on people. This is a moment of grace, a moment of joy, because this gaze is creator, savior and full of love.
The first need is to try to establish a presence with our Muslim brothers, and with the others that we live with: simple, humble, fraternal presence that could favor dialogue under all forms, and mutual understanding.

[00094-02.03] [IN059] [Original text: French]