On the hill of Jal el Dib, in the middle of a pine forest looking on to the sea, and in front of a panoramic view of the city of Beirut, where you can listen to the silence of nature, there resounded the voice of the prayer which since ancient times man has recited before God: the Psalms. Here, from 25th to 31st January 2009, the eleventh Biblical congress of the Biblical Federation of the Middle East, was held, hosted by the convent restored on the occasion of the beatification of the Lebanese Capuchin friar, Father Yaacoub of Ghazir, the founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Cross. The convent complex is now a house for retreats and congresses, well equipped and served by the nuns.
Delegations came from all over the Middle East: the Holy Land, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Sudan and Lebanon. Fr. Peter Madros (national animator) and Fr. Najib Ibrahim OFM representing the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, which is an associate member of the Biblical Federation, attended from the Holy Land. The majority of the participants were priests and men and women of religion, with few lay people.
The official start of the congress, on Sunday 25th January at 4.00 p.m., was held in the Church of Our Lady of the Well, founded by the Blessed Father Yaacoub, a Capuchin, and restored on the occasion of his beatification: the office of St. Paul in the Maronite rite, to underline the Pauline year. At the end of the celebration, the Holy Bible was carried in a procession to the lecture theatre, where, on the dais, as well as a presentation of the theme of the Congress, thoughts were turned in particular to the bishop martyr of Iraq, Mons. Faraj Rahho, and to Father Michele Piccirillo, Franciscan, Biblical scholar and archaeologist.
Fr. Michele Piccirillo had taken part in the Biblical congress on “Historical Jesus” of the Biblical Federation in Lebanon and was known and esteemed by many Biblical scholars who studied at the Biblico in Rome. After the procession, in the assembly hall, Fr. Ayoub Chehwan, coordinator of the Federation in the Middle East, gave the inauguration speech. He was followed by the Secretary of the Biblical Association for Lebanon and Syria; the Minster-General of the Lebanese Maronite monks, Vice President of the Theological Commission of the Catholic Patriarchs and bishops in Lebanon, and Professor André Wénin who gave the first of his five evening conferences on the Psalms. Prof. Wénin spoke in French, whilst the other 23 lectures were in Arabic. The Proceedings of the congress will be published by the end of 2009. Our Fr. Najib Ibrahim spoke on : "Psalm 68 and the gift of Christ in the Letter to the Ephesians", and on the evening of Monday 26th January, after dinner, he introduced the screening of the film "Tessere di Pace", in memory of Fr. Michele. On the eve of the conclusion of the congress, Thursday 29th January, the newly-elected Patriarch of the Syrian Catholics, His Beatitude Ignatius Yunan, made a short visit to the Biblical scholars.
On Friday 30th January, at the end of the congress, a brief excursion to the centre of Beirut had been planned, but it was cancelled due to a heavy cloudburst. Fr. Najib, together with Fr. Michel Shawki who was present at the congress, thus had time to go to Harissa with Fr. Pierre Richa, to greet the friars and stay with them for lunch. Then, again in the pouring rain, they returned to the convent in Beirut, hoping that the seed of the Word of God, watered by the Holy Spirit, will be able to produce many fruits of comprehension and prayer in the Churches of the Middle East.
fr. Najib Ibrahim ofm
Delegations came from all over the Middle East: the Holy Land, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Sudan and Lebanon. Fr. Peter Madros (national animator) and Fr. Najib Ibrahim OFM representing the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, which is an associate member of the Biblical Federation, attended from the Holy Land. The majority of the participants were priests and men and women of religion, with few lay people.
The official start of the congress, on Sunday 25th January at 4.00 p.m., was held in the Church of Our Lady of the Well, founded by the Blessed Father Yaacoub, a Capuchin, and restored on the occasion of his beatification: the office of St. Paul in the Maronite rite, to underline the Pauline year. At the end of the celebration, the Holy Bible was carried in a procession to the lecture theatre, where, on the dais, as well as a presentation of the theme of the Congress, thoughts were turned in particular to the bishop martyr of Iraq, Mons. Faraj Rahho, and to Father Michele Piccirillo, Franciscan, Biblical scholar and archaeologist.
Fr. Michele Piccirillo had taken part in the Biblical congress on “Historical Jesus” of the Biblical Federation in Lebanon and was known and esteemed by many Biblical scholars who studied at the Biblico in Rome. After the procession, in the assembly hall, Fr. Ayoub Chehwan, coordinator of the Federation in the Middle East, gave the inauguration speech. He was followed by the Secretary of the Biblical Association for Lebanon and Syria; the Minster-General of the Lebanese Maronite monks, Vice President of the Theological Commission of the Catholic Patriarchs and bishops in Lebanon, and Professor André Wénin who gave the first of his five evening conferences on the Psalms. Prof. Wénin spoke in French, whilst the other 23 lectures were in Arabic. The Proceedings of the congress will be published by the end of 2009. Our Fr. Najib Ibrahim spoke on : "Psalm 68 and the gift of Christ in the Letter to the Ephesians", and on the evening of Monday 26th January, after dinner, he introduced the screening of the film "Tessere di Pace", in memory of Fr. Michele. On the eve of the conclusion of the congress, Thursday 29th January, the newly-elected Patriarch of the Syrian Catholics, His Beatitude Ignatius Yunan, made a short visit to the Biblical scholars.
On Friday 30th January, at the end of the congress, a brief excursion to the centre of Beirut had been planned, but it was cancelled due to a heavy cloudburst. Fr. Najib, together with Fr. Michel Shawki who was present at the congress, thus had time to go to Harissa with Fr. Pierre Richa, to greet the friars and stay with them for lunch. Then, again in the pouring rain, they returned to the convent in Beirut, hoping that the seed of the Word of God, watered by the Holy Spirit, will be able to produce many fruits of comprehension and prayer in the Churches of the Middle East.
fr. Najib Ibrahim ofm