John Akouri to Receive Lebanese Deputies MP Ziad al-Kadri & MP Okab Sakr

(BIRMINGHAM, MI/USA)...Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce President & CEO John Akouri will receive Lebanese Members of Parliament, Their Excellencies Deputy Ziad al-Kadri and Deputy Okab Sakr upon their arrivals to the United States of America next week. Akouri will host a private luncheon in honor of the visiting MP's, to be attended by leaders within the Lebanese American community.

MP Ziad Nazem al-Kadri, 31, is from the town of Al-Bireh, Lebanon. He grew up in a purely political environment and is the son of martyred Minister Nazem al-Kadri. On September 22, 1989, his father, Minister al-Kadri, 73 years old and a Sunni Muslim member of Lebanon's legislature for 38 years was murdered in broad daylight as three assassins gunned him down when he left a barber shop on Beirut's Verdun Street. He died instantly, while the assassins, who escaped, also killed his driver and injured two passers-by. Lebanese legislators at the time were preparing to negotiate an agreement, in Taif, Saudi Arabia, to end the Lebanese civil war and set a deadline for Syrian occupation to end. The senior al-Kadri had just been critical of the Syrian presence and his assassination, though never investigated, was Syria's signal to other legislators not to press for a Syrian withdrawal. MP al-Kadri received his primary and secondary education at the International College IC and Continued his university studies at USJ where he received Bachelor’s degree in law and political science. . In 2005, Mr. al-Kadri established a law firm after having been a member of the Bar Syndicate, where he received training at the Rafic Ghanem Law Firm and remains active in many of the syndicate’s committees in Beirut.

MP Okab Sakr, 35, is a Lebanese journalist and politician from the Zahle District, who also lost his father before he was born and during the beginning of the Lebanese civil war. He participated in independent political movements and contributed to several magazines while pursuing degrees in political science, philosophy and sociology. He worked as a teacher for two years at Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth Islamic and Christian Studies Institute, where he contributed to the establishment and management of the Permanent Dialogue Center. Following his works as an assistant managing editor for Al-Balad newspaper, Sakr co- founded the New Opinion Workshop, which created the www.nowlebanon.com website. He wrote political editorials which then led to his career in journalism. However, his focus was always on political issues. With time, he eventually decided to shift from reading and criticizing politics to actually trying to instigate change through legislation. He won a seat in the Lebanese parliament on June 7, 2009, with opposition to Nabih Berri’s reelection as speaker and as one of few Muslim Shiites that supports the 14 March movement.

Akouri Applauds Unveiling of Saint Maron Statue Inside the Vatican Walls, Congratulates Maronites Worldwide

(VATICAN) - Pope Benedict VI blesses faithfuls during the unveiling ceremony of the Saint Maron statue (R, back) at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican today, including His Beatitude and Eminence Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, and Lebanese President General Michel Suleiman. Saint Maron was a Lebanese mystic and hermit born in the fourth century, whose miracles and teachings attracted many supporters throughout the eastern Roman Empire. He is considered the father of Maronite Christianity, which has more than 10 million followers across the world.

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Celebrating Saint Maron

(MINNEAPOLIS, MN/USA) - Archbishop John Nienstedt and Msgr. Sharbel Maroun, pastor of St. Maron in Minneapolis, exchange greetings after a Divine Liturgy at the church celebrating the feast day of St. Maron and the 1,600th anniversary of the saint’s death. The anniversary celebration included a dance the night before. A pilgrimage to Rome is set for Feb. 17 to 24 for the unveiling of a statue of St. Maron in the Vatican. (Courtesy of The Catholic Spirit)

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Feast of St. Maron, Father of the Maronite Catholic Church

(MOUNT LEBANON)...The spiritual founder of our Maronite Church was a monk and priest who lived in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. This monk or hermit, Father Maron, spent years living in solitude at the top of a mountain. There, he transformed a former non-Christian temple into a Church for the one true God. Only a few facts are known about the life of this holy hermit. Maron lived in strict asceticism, living outdoors most of the time. Whatever food he ate was either donated to him by passing travelers or grown by him in his own garden.

Word about Maron’s holiness eventually spread throughout the region. He also gained a reputation for working miracles, especially curing all sorts of sickness and driving out demons. Eventually, people came to live near Maron to learn from him. Maron was a very simple man. When he taught his disciples about the spiritual life, he compared it to his own garden of vegetables. As Maron saw it, the point of the Christian life is to root out vices (weeds) and to nourish virtues (plants good for eating).

After Maron died in A.D. 410, his disciples continued together in his way, forming the nucleus of the Maronite Church. They raised in his honor another church and a monastery that would bear the name Bet Moroon, meaning “the house of Maron.” The monastery that was situated in the valley of the Orontes River soon flourished. It became a place of prayer and pilgrimage. Today Maronites throughout the world honor Saint Maron on February 9, his feast day.

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