Maronite Bishop Gregory of New York recently wrote,
Since October 2019, Lebanon has been facing political turmoil, civil unrest, nationwide protests, unemployment, power outages, devaluation of national currency and extreme poverty. The pandemic exacerbated the financial crisis and as the nation continued to experience record unemployment and a poverty rate over 50%, its capital was hit with the devastating explosion in August of 2020.
On Thursday, July 1, 2021 the Holy Father will gather in Rome with Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical leaders of Lebanon for a day of discussion and prayer for the future of our beloved Lebanon. Please join in a sincere prayer to God for her good. At 10:00AM Eastern Time we invite you to pray with us at a prayer service sponsored by In Defense of Christians on their Website or Facebook page.
Many of our parish are Lebanese and have family in Lebanon. The Melkites are united in prayerful solidarity with other Christians to pray for a peaceful resolution to the conflicts.
Through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, St Maron, St Charbel and St Rafqa, pray for Lebanon, pray for us.