Intervention of Mons. Edgard MADI, Bishop of Nossa Senhora do Líbano em São Paulo of the Maronites (BRAZIL)

When we talk about monks, the Western world looks to the East. The Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” wrote an article last year on November 26th, 2009, about a Colombian brother Dario Escobar who has been living the Maronite monastic life for the past nine years in the convent of Our Lady of Houqa in the Canoubine Valley in Lebanon, which is connected to the local Lebanese congregation.
The world is in need of witness.
The Maronite Church is commemorating this year 1600 years since the death of Saint Maroun who was a monk and the patron of the Maronite Church. I suggest reviving the monastic life, the monastic and religious life in our Eastern Catholic Churches like the Orthodox Churches. This life renews the Church and forms a witness. It gives a trust for the Eastern Christians where they are partners in this East and provides vocations not only from the Middle East but also from the Diaspora.
The existence of religious persons and monks preserves Christians in their homelands and renews the Eastern Christian expansion throughout the world, it brings back its roots which are Eastern spiritual roots.I suggest forming a committee to go deeper into this issue and to make the Canoubine Valley in Lebanon not only a phase of ascetic history but also part of the present. This can be done through either founding a new Patriarchal congregation or by giving space in this Valley for all Catholic congregations to live “communion and witness”. Thus we will be like Mary who chose the better part.

[00095-02.03] [IN071] [Original text: Arabic]