(Psalm118/26): "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of Yahweh! We have blessed You out of the house of Yahweh".

On the seventh Lantern Sunday, known as the "Palm Sunday", our Maronite Catholic Church celebrates the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The joyful and faithful people of this Holy City and their children welcomed Jesus with innocent spontaneity and declared Him a King. Through His glorious and modest entry the essence of His Godly royalty that we share with Him in baptism and anointing of Chrism was revealed. Jesus' Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem, the "Palm Sunday", marks the Seventh Lantern Sunday, the last one before Easter Day, (The Resurrection).

During the past six Lantern weeks, we the believers are ought to have renewed and rekindled our faith and reverence through genuine fasting, contemplation, penance, prayers, repentance and acts of charity. By now we are expected to have fully understood the core of love, freedom, and justice that enables us to enter into a renewed world of worship that encompasses the family, the congregation, the community and the nation.

Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time to participate in the Jewish Passover Holiday. He was fully aware that the day of His suffering and death was approaching and unlike all times, He did not stop the people from declaring Him a king and accepted to enter the city while they were happily chanting : "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!”.(John 12/13). Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19/39-40). Jesus entered Jerusalem to willingly sacrifice Himself, die on the cross, redeem us and absolve our original sin.

On the Palm Sunday we take our children and grandchildren to celebrate the mass and the special procession while happily they are carrying candles decorated with lilies and roses. Men and women hold palm fronds with olive branches, and actively participate in the Palm Procession with modesty, love and joy crying out loudly: "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21/09).

On the Palm Sunday through the procession, prayers, and mass we renew our confidence and trust in Jesus. We beg Him for peace and commit ourselves to always tame all kinds of evil hostilities, forgive others and act as peace and love advocates and defend man's dignity and his basic human rights. "Ephesians 2:14": "For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us"

The Triumphal Entry of Jesus's story into Jerusalem appears in all four Gospel accounts (Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-40; John 12:12-19). The four accounts shows clearly that the Triumphal Entry was a significant event, not only to the people of Jesus’ day, but to Christians throughout history.

The Triumphal Entry as it appeared in Saint John's Gospel, (12/12-19), as follows : "On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet him, and cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!” Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written, “Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt. ”His disciples didn’t understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him, and that they had done these things to Him. The multitude therefore that was with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it. For this cause also the multitude went and met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.” Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast. These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus."

The multitude welcomed Jesus, His disciples and followers while chanting: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!”.(John 12/13). His entry was so humble, meek simple and spontaneous. He did not ride in a chariot pulled by horses as earthly kings and conquerors do, He did not have armed guards, nor officials escorting him. He did not come to Jerusalem to fight, rule, judge or settle scores with any one, but to offer Himself a sacrifice for our salvation.

Before entering Jerusalem, He stopped in the city of Bethany, where Lazarus (whom he raised from the tomb) with his two sisters Mary and Martha lived. In Hebrew Bethany means "The House of the Poor". His stop in Bethany before reaching Jerusalem was a sign of both His acceptance of poverty and His readiness to offer Himself as a sacrifice. He is the One who accepted poverty for our own benefit and came to live in poverty with the poor and escort them to heaven, the Kingdom of His Father.

After His short Stop in Bethany, Jesus entered Jerusalem to fulfill all the prophecies, purposes and the work of the Lord since the dawn of history. All the scripture accounts were fulfilled and completed with his suffering, torture, crucifixion, death and resurrection. On the Cross, He cried with a loud voice: “It is finished.” He bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.(John19/30)

The multitude welcomed Jesus when He entered Jerusalem so one of the Old Testament prophecies would be fulfilled. (Zechariah 9:9-10): "Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth".

The crowd welcomed Jesus for different reasons and numerous expectations. There were those who came to listen to His message and believed in Him, while others sought a miraculous cure for their ailments and they got what they came for, but many others envisaged in Him a mortal King that could liberate their country, Israel, and free them from the yoke of the Roman occupation. Those were disappointed when Jesus told them: "My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom" (John 18/36)

Christ came to Jerusalem to die on its soil and fulfill the scriptures. It was His choice where to die in Jerusalem as He has said previously: "should not be a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem" (Luke 13/33): "Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem".

He has also warned Jerusalem because in it all the prophets were killed: (Luke 13:34-35): "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! "ehold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord".

Explanation of the Palm Sunday Procession Symbols

The crowd chanted, "Hosanna to the Son of David" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21/09), because Jesus was is a descendant of David. Hosanna in the highest is originated in the Psalm 118/25: "Please, LORD, please save us. Please, LORD, please give us success". It is a call for help and salvation as also meant by the Psalm 26/11: "But I lead a blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me". Hosanna also means: God enlightened us and will never abandon us, Jesus' is a salvation for the world"

Spreading cloth and trees' branches in front of Jesus to walk on them was an Old Testament tradition that refers to love, obedience, submission, triumph and loyalty. (2 Kings 09/13): "They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, "Jehu is king!". In the old days Spreading garments before a dignitary was a symbol of submission.

Zion is a hill in Jerusalem, and the "Daughter of Zion" is Jerusalem. The term is synonymous with "paradise" and the sky in its religious dimensions.

Carrying palm and olive branches and waving with them expresses joy, peace, longing for eternity and triumph. Palm branches are a sign of victory and praise, while Olive branches are a token of joy, peace and durability. The Lord was coming to Jerusalem to conquer death by death and secure eternity for the faithful. It is worth mentioning that the olive tree is a symbol for peace and its oil a means of holiness immortality with which Kings, Saints, children and the sick were anointed.

The name "King of Israel," symbolizes the kingship of the Jews who were waiting for Jehovah to liberate them from the Roman occupation.

O, Lord Jesus, strengthen our faith to feel closer to You and to Your mercy when in trouble;

O, Lord Jesus, empower us with the grace of patience and meekness to endure persecution, humiliation and rejection and always be Your followers.

O, Lord Let Your eternal peace and gracious love prevail all over the world.

A joyous Palm Sunday to all

John 09:39: �I came into this world for judgment, that those who don�t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.�

On the sixth Lenten Sunday, our Maronite Catholic Church cites and recalls with great piety Jesus' healing miracle of the blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus. This amazing miracle that took place in Jerusalem near the Pool of Siloam is documented in three gospels; Mark 10/46-52, John 9/1-41, Matthew 20/:29-34.

Maronites in Lebanon and all over the world strongly believe that Jesus is the holy and blessed light through which believers can see God's paths of righteousness. There is no doubt that without Jesus' light, evil darkness will prevails in peoples' hearts, souls and minds. Without Jesus' presence in our lives we definitely will preys to all kinds of evil temptations.

John 09:5: "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world".

In every community, there are individuals from all walks of life who are spiritually blind, lacking faith, have no hope, and live in dim darkness because they have distanced themselves from Almighty God and His Gospel, although their eyes are physically perfectly functional and healthy. Meanwhile the actual blindness is not in the eyes that can not see because of physical ailments, but in the hearts that are hardened, in the consciences that are numbed and in the spirits that are defiled with sin.

Ephesians 4:29: "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear"

The Miracle: Mark 10/46-52: " They came to Jericho. As he went out from Jericho, with his disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, �Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!� Many rebuked him, that he should be quiet, but he cried out much more, �You son of David, have mercy on me!� Jesus stood still, and said, �Call him. �They called the blind man, saying to him, �Cheer up! Get up. He is calling you!� He, casting away his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus asked him, �What do you want me to do for you?� The blind man said to him, �Rabboni, that I may see again.� Jesus said to him, �Go your way. Your faith has made you well.� Immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

The son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, the blind beggar who was born to two blind parents truly believed in Jesus. His heart, mind and spirit were all enlightened with faith and hope. Because of his strong faith he knew deep inside who actually Jesus was, and stubbornly headed towards him asking for a Godly cure. He rebelled against all those opportunist and hypocrites who out of curiosity and not faith came to see who is Jesus. He refused to listen to them when they rebuked him and tried hardly to keep him away from Jesus. He loudly witnessed for the truth and forced his way among the crowd and threw himself on Jesus' feet asking Him to open his blind eyes. Jesus was fascinated by his faith, hailed his perseverance and gave him what he asked for. He opened his eyes.

John's Gospel gives us more details about what has happened with Bartimaeus after the healing miracle of his blindness. We can see in the below verses that after his healing he and his parents were exposed to intimidation, fear, threats, and terror, but he refused to succumb or to lie, He held verbatim to all the course details of the miracle, bravely witnessed for the truth and loudly proclaimed his strong belief that Jesus who cured him was The Son Of God. His faith made him strong, fearless and courageous. The Holy Spirit came to his rescue and spoke through him.

Romans 8:26: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans"

John 9/13-34: "They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees. It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, �He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see.� Some therefore of the Pharisees said, �This man is not from God, because he doesn�t keep the Sabbath.� Others said, �How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?� There was division among them. Therefore they asked the blind man again, �What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?� He said, �He is a prophet.� The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight, and asked them, �Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How then does he now see?� His parents answered them, �We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we don�t know; or who opened his eyes, we don�t know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for himself.� His parents said these things because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, �He is of age. Ask him.� So they called the man who was blind a second time, and said to him, �Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.� He therefore answered, �I don�t know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see.� They said to him again, �What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?�

He answered them, �I told you already, and you didn�t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don�t also want to become his disciples, do you?� They insulted him and said, �You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we don�t know where he comes from.�

The man answered them, �How amazing! You don�t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God doesn�t listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God, and does his will, he listens to him. Since the world began it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.� They answered him, �You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?� They threw him out.

Sadly our contemporary world hails atheism, brags about secularism and persecutes those who have faith in God and believe in Him. Where ever we live, there are opportunist and hypocrites like some of the conceited crowd that initially rebuked Bartimaeus, and tried with humiliation to keep him away from Jesus, but the moment Jesus called on him they changed their attitude and let him go through. Meanwhile believers all over the world suffer on the hands of ruthless oppressors, and rulers and men of authority like the Pharisees who refused to witness for the truth.

But despite of all the dim spiritual darkness, thanks God, there are still too many meek believers like Bartimaeus who hold to their faith no matters what the obstacles or hurdles are.

Colossians 3:12: "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience"

Lord, enlighten our minds and hearts with your light and open our eyes to realize that You are a loving and merciful father.

Lord Help us to take Bartimaeus as a faith role model in our life.

Lord help us to defeat all kinds of sins that take us away from Your light, and deliver us all from evil temptations.

Psalm 29:2: "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness"

An English teenager has been charged with attempted murder after a 14-year-old girl was stabbed in repeatedly outside her West Midlands high school on Friday.

Sam Tomlinson, 18, and Chloe West were reportedly in a secret relationship after meeting at a stable where Chloe kept her horse.

Tomlinson allegedly attacked Chloe at 8.40am Friday (local time) after driving up to the front of her Ridgewood High School in Stourbridge and shouting abuse at her, the Daily Mail reports.

He then lunged at her, slashing her upper body, neck and face nine times. She was released from hospital last night after having plastic surgery on her face and neck.

Police have praised the 16-year-old student who tackled the attacker to the ground, and the teacher and parent who subdued him while waiting for police.

Superintendant Stuart Johnson said their "incredibly brave" intervention may have saved the teen's life.

Ella Hill, a friend of Chloe West who was waiting to school with her when the attack happened, has spoken publicly of the incident, saying friends had warned Chloe of the dangers of dating an older boy.

"She first spoke about him in October," Ella said.

"She just mentioned that someone had started working at the stable where she kept her horse.

"We warned her about getting too close with an older guy. It was quite an age gap."

The attacker was said by students to have been angry with Chloe after she did not respond to his text messages.

Ella said the teenage boy stopped his car, got out and yelled: "Why haven't you been talking to me?"

"Chloe replied to him, 'What are you doing here? Why are you here?' Then he grabbed Chloe in a headlock and started hitting her in the face."

Ella said she jumped on his back in an attempt to stop him but he threw her off, pushed Chloe to the floor and started to stab her.

"He was stabbing her in the face and neck. There was blood all over her. I couldn't recognise her face."

Police confirmed Tomlinson and Chloe knew each other but were still trying to determine the nature of their relationship.

Students were ordered to get into classrooms and stay there after the attack. They have been offered counseling.

One wonders when the Arab countries, the Western Free World and, in particular, the Obama administration will wake up and start to recognize once and for all that Al Assad's Syrian Baathist regime is an oppressive, police dictatorship, and a stone age remnant that cannot be changed, modified or reformed whatever the circumstances or foreign or internal pressures.

All European, Arabic and American self-deceptive hopes that President Bachar Al Assad and his ruling family will adopt and implement acceptable democratic, social, financial, judicial and human rights' reforms are merely delusional, or in the best scenario a sort of day dreaming.

Al Assad can't implement any positive changes even if he genuinely endeavors to do so, because if he takes this fatal risk his regime will collapse as was the situation with the Soviet Union during its last years in power before it crumbled and fell totally from within.

It is worth mentioning that President Bachar Al Assad had inherited the Syrian presidency post after his father's (Hafez Assad) death on June 10, 2000. Hafez Al Assad ruled Syria with an iron and bloody fist from March 12, 1971 till his death on June 10, 2000.

Al Assad's Syrian regime was erected via a serious of bloody military coups and has from day one been governing under the state of emergency law, breeding terrorist groups, brutally eliminating all forms of opposition, suffocating the Syrian people, holding them hostages, and like a vampire, surviving on their blood.

The Al Assad family with its handpicked, subservient officials in the military, judiciary, civil government, private institutions and educational bodies rule Syria through the Baathist Party which in reality is a mere camouflaging cover, while the parliament (Majlis As-Shaab), as well as the cabinet are directly or indirectly appointed by Al Assad personally.

In this context of unrestrained dictatorship, the Syrian parliament and cabinet have no actual power, influence or a say in any matters. Both bodies are completely toothless, helpless and marginal, and follow verbatim all Al Assad's orders and directions without question. This sad reality simply means that changing the government or the parliament in Syria would have no tangible effect whatsoever as long as Al Assad's regime remains intact.

On Wednesday March 30/2011, President Al Assad made his long-awaited speech to supposedly address the massive civil protests and demonstrations that broke out all over the country on March 16/2011, and which subsequently have been increasing on a daily basis. The Syrian military relentlessly and ruthlessly attacked the demonstrators killing over 200, badly injuring more than 1000 and arbitrarily detaining thousands.

Sadly, Al Assad's theatrical and deceitful speech offered mere vague and false promises to introduce reform, fight corruption and secure more freedoms. He did not lift or abolish the state of emergency law, as was anticipated, although this military tool of oppression and humiliation has been in place since his father became a president in 1971. He instead spoke of a new committee that will be designated to look into alternative anti-terrorism laws with no time frame or specific guidelines.

He electively and deviously ignored his peoples' dire hardships, poverty, loud demands for freedom, democracy and jobs, and did not focus on ways or means to devise effective solutions and remedies. In a deceptive, emotional tone he strongly accused foreign powers and countries of being behind the demonstrations, and threatened to punish them, claiming that his wise and patriotic policies have been defeating all those foreign enemies who were trying to attack Syria and put an end to its resistance against Israel and the imperialistic schemes.

What unfortunately helps Al Assad's regime against all odds to remain in power despite all its horrible ongoing atrocities inside and outside Syria rests in the paradox that most of the Arab countries, Europe, Israel and the USA fear the Islamic alternatives and the prospects of chaos in Syria and her neighboring countries. Although these same countries know very well that this regime is the number one in the whole world in breeding, training, using, hosting, and exporting all kinds of terrorist and Islamic groups, including Hamas, Al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Fateh Al Eslam, Jund Al Islam, Fateh al entefada and many others.

The imagined fears, hesitations, wrong calculations and anxieties that these countries envisage and anticipate in case Al Assad's regime falls are not realistic or even substantiated because in reality there would not be a worse, more terrorist and anti-peace regime than this existing one. Definitely, there isn't one country or a free Syrian citizen that has been fooled by Al Assad's sacking of his government or believed any of his rhetorical promises of reform, judiciary inquiries and freedom.

In conclusion, Al Assad's regime cannot change itself and, on the contrary, it will only worsen as time goes on. We call on the Western and Arabic countries not to help Al Assad hold on to power against the will of the Syrian people, but instead they must cease all their appeasing and cajoling maneuvers towards his regime and start to seriously support the Syrians to freely choose their own regime and rulers.

Meanwhile, the Free World countries ethically and morally ought to pressure Al Assad to mind his own business, stop his country's blatant interferences in Lebanon's internal affairs, bring an end to all shipments of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist organizations, free all Lebanese detainees, engage seriously in the Arabic-Israeli peace process, halt developing Syria's clandestine nuclear capability, and stop all Syria's atrocities and terrorist activities in all her neighboring countries.