"We are ambassadors of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:20). that is the phrase chosen by Bahjat Karakash, who was ordained to the priesthood in the Custody of the Holy Land on the 16th of August in Aleppo, Syria. The vocation of following Christ was born early in the young Syrian Franciscan. "As a little boy, I enjoyed leading family prayer at home." His family was the fertile soil in which was nurtured his discovery of Christ. They prayed together, and the fact that as a child Bahjat imitated the priest did not escape the attention of his mother who kept the signs of her son’s development in her heart. Nevertheless, Bahjat did not immediately think of the priesthood. Involved in various parish activities since childhood, he allowed himself to be molded by what he received from others - like from the visit of Emilien Tardif. “I wanted to pass on what I received and discovered." While others were saying that he’d “make a great priest", he rebelled against this idea because he believed that all Christians should be full of zeal for announcing the Word of God. "Time passed, I ended up realizing that it (my zeal) was not within the norm." It took him four more years to realize that "all his joy was in the Lord". Then he made the decision to enter religious life.
A decision that this August 16th led him to the altar of the Saint Francis of Aleppo parish, where he was ordained a priest in the Armenian rite. The Franciscan friars of the Oriental rites are ordained in the rite of their baptism. But, conscious of the pastoral ministry, Brother Bahjat asked that as far as possible the ceremony be conducted in Arabic so that everyone could understand. The beautiful and very prayerful celebration was an intense experience for Brother Bahjat. "I can not pretend that I completely understand all the implications of this event. But I feel that it is decisive, that I am going to experience a radical change in my life. Celebrating my First Mass the next day, I told myself that it would take my whole life to understand the mystery that is taking place. From one point of view I feel very sure of myself; from another; I feel utterly unworthy before the Lord of such a grace."
Several friars of the Custody were able to make the trip in the middle of the summer. Coming from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, they surrounded their young brother, radiant with serenity, with their prayer. The 800-seat church was full, and applause punctuated the high points of the ordination, like the vesting and placement of the priestly crown and the three blessings made by the new priest at the invitation of the bishop who, according to the Armenian rite, authorizes him to do so, and as he left the church.
"We are ambassadors of Christ" "I believe," explains Abouna (Father) Bahjat, that man needs to see the work that God accomplishes among men. Me too. I have the desire to touch, to see God. And I think that the priest is a very powerful sign of the presence of God among us. I think that this phrase from Saint Paul wonderfully translates this desire to speak, to evangelize in the name of Christ, to be for others a sign of the presence of Christ, who still lives and acts today in the world as in the past. God and mankind: without a doubt, the two most private concerns of Brother Bahjat. So much so, that after a vacation in his own country, he will return to Rome where, following his theological studies, he is specializing in Christian anthropology. "We must start with the reality of mankind in order to speak of God. We cannot speak of God in an abstract manner. God became man. That is the greatest mystery for me. To understand this mystery is to enter into the mystery of man himself, and that is something."
While he studies, Brother Bahjat is always concerned to teach and to transmit. That is why he created an Arabic-language Internet site: "One God". "The site was born of the desire to educate the believer’s mindset to thinking, to having an educated faith and not just a childish one. I think that a little theology can help ever believer. I think that iin the milieu into which I was born, in Syria where I grew up and where I received the faith. I think of our reality in the Arab world, in the midst of so many rites, in the midst of the Muslims. And so this site offers those who desire it a chance to deepen their faith in the texts that are central to our faith. It could be useful to those who are studying the faith in Arabic, as well as to non-Christians who would like to know more about Christianity. There are many Arabic Christian sites on the web, but I think that mine is a little innovative because I have tried to put scientific material, sources, the teaching of the Church, etc. while the others are more oriented to spirituality or are news sites." If, as Brother Bahjat says, his site is a bit dry at first glance, it is nonetheless consulted, and also by Muslims. An impact that is, in any case, hard to measure. "To tell the truth, the few Muslims who have written me, wrote to convert me." Doubtless, the same zeal that inspired Saint Paul, who is being celebrated this year in Syria and around the world, will give rise to fascinating debates that will inspire all his brothers with the love of Christ.
To the friars of the Custody
Bahjat, do you have a message for the friars of the Custody?
I have the desire to continue to seek the will of God at the heart of this fraternity, and I think that the most powerful sign that we can give our brothers of the Oriental rites in the Custody of the Holy Land - I say particularly "Oriental" because we have these problems of division by nationalities, rites, etc. - is to testify that this is how we form one body. We must tear down the walls of division, the spirit of the world; the ideas of the world get into the bottom line. I ask to be helped and I hope to have the chance also to help my brothers so that we can truly be united and give society a sign of being brothers, that is of being reconciled, that it is not a utopia, that we can live together whatever our origins and mentalities. It is not simple but we can be signs of unity and love because that is our choice."
A decision that this August 16th led him to the altar of the Saint Francis of Aleppo parish, where he was ordained a priest in the Armenian rite. The Franciscan friars of the Oriental rites are ordained in the rite of their baptism. But, conscious of the pastoral ministry, Brother Bahjat asked that as far as possible the ceremony be conducted in Arabic so that everyone could understand. The beautiful and very prayerful celebration was an intense experience for Brother Bahjat. "I can not pretend that I completely understand all the implications of this event. But I feel that it is decisive, that I am going to experience a radical change in my life. Celebrating my First Mass the next day, I told myself that it would take my whole life to understand the mystery that is taking place. From one point of view I feel very sure of myself; from another; I feel utterly unworthy before the Lord of such a grace."
Several friars of the Custody were able to make the trip in the middle of the summer. Coming from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, they surrounded their young brother, radiant with serenity, with their prayer. The 800-seat church was full, and applause punctuated the high points of the ordination, like the vesting and placement of the priestly crown and the three blessings made by the new priest at the invitation of the bishop who, according to the Armenian rite, authorizes him to do so, and as he left the church.
"We are ambassadors of Christ" "I believe," explains Abouna (Father) Bahjat, that man needs to see the work that God accomplishes among men. Me too. I have the desire to touch, to see God. And I think that the priest is a very powerful sign of the presence of God among us. I think that this phrase from Saint Paul wonderfully translates this desire to speak, to evangelize in the name of Christ, to be for others a sign of the presence of Christ, who still lives and acts today in the world as in the past. God and mankind: without a doubt, the two most private concerns of Brother Bahjat. So much so, that after a vacation in his own country, he will return to Rome where, following his theological studies, he is specializing in Christian anthropology. "We must start with the reality of mankind in order to speak of God. We cannot speak of God in an abstract manner. God became man. That is the greatest mystery for me. To understand this mystery is to enter into the mystery of man himself, and that is something."
While he studies, Brother Bahjat is always concerned to teach and to transmit. That is why he created an Arabic-language Internet site: "One God". "The site was born of the desire to educate the believer’s mindset to thinking, to having an educated faith and not just a childish one. I think that a little theology can help ever believer. I think that iin the milieu into which I was born, in Syria where I grew up and where I received the faith. I think of our reality in the Arab world, in the midst of so many rites, in the midst of the Muslims. And so this site offers those who desire it a chance to deepen their faith in the texts that are central to our faith. It could be useful to those who are studying the faith in Arabic, as well as to non-Christians who would like to know more about Christianity. There are many Arabic Christian sites on the web, but I think that mine is a little innovative because I have tried to put scientific material, sources, the teaching of the Church, etc. while the others are more oriented to spirituality or are news sites." If, as Brother Bahjat says, his site is a bit dry at first glance, it is nonetheless consulted, and also by Muslims. An impact that is, in any case, hard to measure. "To tell the truth, the few Muslims who have written me, wrote to convert me." Doubtless, the same zeal that inspired Saint Paul, who is being celebrated this year in Syria and around the world, will give rise to fascinating debates that will inspire all his brothers with the love of Christ.
To the friars of the Custody
Bahjat, do you have a message for the friars of the Custody?
I have the desire to continue to seek the will of God at the heart of this fraternity, and I think that the most powerful sign that we can give our brothers of the Oriental rites in the Custody of the Holy Land - I say particularly "Oriental" because we have these problems of division by nationalities, rites, etc. - is to testify that this is how we form one body. We must tear down the walls of division, the spirit of the world; the ideas of the world get into the bottom line. I ask to be helped and I hope to have the chance also to help my brothers so that we can truly be united and give society a sign of being brothers, that is of being reconciled, that it is not a utopia, that we can live together whatever our origins and mentalities. It is not simple but we can be signs of unity and love because that is our choice."