God Bless your pastor for the courage to go to that seminar and to be able to persevere in asking those questions to the Muslim speaker. As a person who came from Lebanon, he would have first hand knowledge and experence in knowing the truth about Islam and the Koran. Truly Islam is not on a HERESY but also a CULT.
This priest is unappreciated by the Lebanese parishioners who make unrealistic demands on him. Two years ago, the grandson of a parishioner lay practically lifeless in Boston Children's Hospital. The parents had expended no expense in attempting to salvage the life of their first born child. After 15 hours of surgery the top physicians in the country told them that every know procedure in modern science had been used to save his life and it was now time to pull the life support.
They called the pastor. Now, imagine this. He had just returned from a 5 day mandatory conference and retreat. It was the one week each year when we celebrate our patron St. Ann. The Church had more Roman Catholics than Maronites attending this novena. It was his first night back. When the phone call came, he never hesitated. He apologized to those assembled for his absence due to the mandatory conference and asked their understanding for the sad situation with this family's 7 month old child. He got in his car and drove 3 1/2 hours to Boston to counsel and attend to the family in this great time of grief. He then returned to NY to make arrangements for the funeral - not at our small church (the family was quite large) - but with one of the larger RC Churches. He asked his non-salaried volunteer Secretary to have special missalettes made up for the funeral, with the baby's photo on the cover. He not only officiated at the funeral Mass but also asked our organist to provide special musical arrangements. To my dieing day, I will never forget this funeral! Following the distribution of Communion when there is that time for reflection, Doug (the organist), played Brahm's lullaby. To see that tiny white coffin in the aisle and the baby's enlarged photo on a stand in the sancturary, with physicians and medical professionals from both Albany Medical and Boston's Children's Hospital in attendance, left me in total awe of this priest!
Yet today, two years later, the same family demands more Arabic in the liturgy, a choir (we are only 35 families, most of which are aged), and other perks, has left me totally bewildered. When our Lord was crucified on Golgotha, the only disciple present was St. John. The others had all fled. This is the situation in our small parish. Here is an extraordinary priest who speaks 8 languages fluently and has worked industriously to build up this parish, yet some of the parishioners simply take him for granted. I spend countless hours praying for him; especially that he will not cave to these ungrateful people. I trust in my heart that our Lord sent me to this parish to assist him with his plans to grow it and render the parish akin to any of its RC cousins.
Please remember Fr. Elie in your prayers!