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I warmly welcome you to another edition of Faith Alive - ACN Malta’s digital Magazine which keeps you updated on the latest issues bothering on our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world and steps we are taking to respond in love.
In this edition, we bring you heartfelt stories from our brothers and sisters in Lebanon, the true situation of the Country and of the Christians there, and of course, what ACN is doing to help.
Once the Middle East’s only country with a Christian majority, Lebanon is now home to just over 2.5 million Christians, only about 35 percent of the total population — and more families leave every day. ACN’s projects throughout Lebanon is aimed at helping families to stay and thrive in their own land. Together, we can offer them hope for a brighter tomorrow.
I thank you for your interest and solidarity in our mission of bringing aid to persecuted Christians. Your concern and your love give us the strength and enablement to keep on.
If you have any questions about the work of Aid to the Church in Need, or would like to reprint any of the articles in this magazine, please do get in touch.
Yours in Christ
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Malta
Stephen Axisa National DirectorIn some of the poorest neighborhoods in Beirut, there is a sister who knows the faces and stories of many of its inhabitants. She sees Christ in each one of them and tries to rescue them from the unbearable misery they find themselves in.
Nabil is one of the beneficiaries of our help
Some are elderly and live alone. Others have families to feed. All have put aside any embarrassment in accepting a handout, in order to eat
Lebanon, a country that once knew plenty, is currently going through one of the deepest crises in its entire history. Faced with the economic and financial collapse of companies, families and the State itself, surviving is increasingly difficult. Times are very hard, very demanding. Christian families lack everything, starting with bread. Especially now, in the coldest months of the year, the overwhelming majority of families do not have the money to also buy fuel for heating or electricity.
There is a queue of people outside the house of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in the Maronite parish of São José. They are people of all ages, mostly women, and almost all come from the neighborhoods of Bourj Hammoud and Nabaa, perhaps the poorest in the suburbs of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Some of these women, who patiently wait for a little food, still have the marks of the time on their faces when they would probably have lived with some ease. But all that has now disappeared.
There they are, outside the bars of the door, carrying plastic boxes, begging for something to eat. All these people have already lost practically everything they had. Money, hope, dignity. Now they are there empty-handed, with no alternative but to ask. Everything in their lives fell apart. They are all beggars in a country that has succumbed to misery, where almost everything is lacking, from electricity, fuel, gas, medicines… everything.
Sister Juliette knows their stories, she knows what they need most and every day she tries to respond to those needs.
There are those who have sold their furniture to buy medicine, there are those who have already lost their will to live and there are those who, every day, knock on the sisters’ door, begging for food. And Sister Juliette cries and asks us for help.
“Everyday, every minute, there are people knocking on our door”
Every day, these sisters try to distribute some essential aid to those most in need. It is a true miracle what these consecrated women are able to do. Sister Juliette is proof that love overcomes all obstacles. She looks at each of the men and women who knock on her door and she sees in them, in all of them, the face of Christ. He can have blue or black eyes, he can be tall or short, he can be young or old, man or woman, for her, it is always Christ who is there, on the other side of the door, with outstretched hands, begging for some food. “I need to see Christ in them”, says Sister, explaining that the help her community gives is much broader, it extends to every street, throughout the city, as long as there is someone in need. “People are waiting outside and that’s not dignified. Every day, every minute, there are people knocking on our door. They need medication, everything…”, she says.
All of them are Christ, all of them she serves, she helps, she offers all that she has. But Sister Juliette needs us to continue to help the poorest of the poor in Lebanon, especially those living in the suburbs of Beirut. She asks for our help as she has no one else to turn to.
The country fell into a deep crisis and dragged its entire population into poverty. The poorest were left in destitution. Sister Juliette tells us stories of people who achieved the impossible. “They were forced to sell the
refrigerator, to sell some of the furniture in their apartment in order to buy medicine… They no longer have the will to live, they want to die… My role is to love life in order to be able to give it to others.”
The mission of these sisters among the most needy in Lebanon is difficult. “How are people going to survive?”, Sister Juliette asks, in an emotional message sent to Aid to the Church in Need. “Many people no longer eat meat, no longer eat fruit, no longer eat dairy products… How many times do they call me and say: ‘Sister Juliette, the fridge is empty…’ Sister Juliette asks us for help so that she and her Sisters can help all these people and their families. She sees Christ in the faces of those who knock on her door asking for food, asking for money for medicine, asking for help with the light bill, or with the rent on the house. She asks for help on their behalf, and tears roll down her face.
For many Lebanese Christian Students, The University Pastoral Service is a lifeline that keeps them in the Country, when everything around them seems to give them reasons to give up. ACN has been helping the organization fund its activities, which are more necessary now than ever.
The students during one of their pastoral programs
Around 20 young men and women were gathered at the Beirut headquarters of the University Pastoral Service – a church service that provides support and activities for Christian students in Lebanon – meeting a group of representatives from ACN and trying to describe what life is like in a country gripped by one of the worst financial crises in history, aggravated by political infighting, a massive explosion that levelled the Beirut Port district, and a pandemic.
Faced with this scenario, it is surprising that only half those present raise their hands when asked if, given the chance, they would leave Lebanon. Sitting among the students, Archbishop Georges Bakouny, who oversees the University Pastoral Service, says he understands their despair. “Fifteen years of my life were during the civil war, but the economic situation was never this bad. What can we do?” he asks.
It turns out, however, that the work of the Church is indeed making a difference. Every student present raises a hand when asked if the University Pastoral service makes their life more bearable, and examples came gushing forth.
“Everyone here helped me at some point in my life. If I arrive sad, they understand even before I say anything,” says Anthony, who studies engineering. Asked to describe the atmosphere, he simply opens his arms and says: “Too much love.”
Jennie admits that the group saved her from a difficult situation. “At the beginning of university, I was in a really
dark spot, and this place took me out of it. I am staying in Lebanon because of this group. They are like a family for me.”
Besides a place to socialize and be with friends, the University Pastoral Service provides students with many opportunities to learn practical skills, such as working in media, logistics, playing in the band, performing with the theatre team, or preparing spiritual activities.
To some, like Jennie, it teaches the difficult art of forgiveness, which in Lebanon is a survival skill. “Living with different communities is very difficult. It is easy to stir up memories of violence. Radicalization is on the rise, even among people who didn’t live through the war. Even Christians are clashing. Every one of us is in survival mode. This place helped me understand and forgive the murder of my grandfather during the civil war.”
Clearly, the work of the University Pastoral Service is more important now than ever. Unfortunately, however, the crisis in Lebanon has also threatened the survival of this service, and it is only able to continue to give hope to the students thanks to the help they receive from ACN.
As one can easily see, the situation in Lebanon is dire. The faithful are trying to resist leaving their country, while others have already left. ACN is funding projects that will encourage Christians to stay and keep the Faith and its traditions alive.
Break at St-Elies School in Taalabaya
One of the crucial projects to keep families deeply rooted in Lebanon is the support of Catholic schools and as ACN’s Secretary General Philip Ozores explains: “In Lebanon, religious education takes place mainly in Catholic schools, rather than in parishes. If Catholic schools and teachers begin to disappear due to lack of financial means, there will be disaster”.
ACN has recently launched a “Back to School” project that is helping over 200 Catholic schools stay open this academic year. With the help of ACN, these Catholic schools are able to pay teachers a decent salary and pay for the schools’ basic needs such as food and fuel.
Please “Help us support those in Need” thank you
With your kind support, ACN can continue to:
Support fragile families in the education of their children and strengthen their presence in their native Christian community.
Support parents in keeping up with their children’s needs for a modern education, i.e. communication, training, technology.
Contribute to sustainable development through the provision of food for children in Catholic schools and homes.
Help children with special needs and integrate marginalised families into society, securing the possibility for an appropriate university education.
Will you help bring hope, joy and peace to our brothers and sisters in Lebanon this Christmas? *Christmas is here!
A time to celebrate and make merry in the spirit of the season . Yet, our hearts go out to needy Christian families, children, elderly people, the sick in Lebanon who cannot afford to celebrate with such joy and hope at this time.
With crisis mounting on all fronts, our brothers and sisters in Lebanon are in great need of help and even the smallest of gifts can bring a spark of hope to their lives this season.
Whatever you are able to give will help us respond to the urgent needs of these families. Together we can extend a hand of hope and share the joy of our Saviour’s birth with those in great need.
Please give a gift of faith today. Show that you care.
www.giftsoffaith.help
Visit www.giftsoffaith.help to change lives by selecting one or more gifts today.
