Dear brothers and sisters,
Today, August 15, 2012 is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. For non-Catholic readers of this blog, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, is informally known as The Assumption. According to the Christian beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of Anglicanism, the Assumption was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. Protestants would use the term "Raptured".
The Roman Catholic Church teaches as dogma that the Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." This doctrine was dogmatically and infallibly defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. While Catholic dogma leaves open the question of Mary's death before rising to Heaven, the Eastern Orthodox tradition of the Dormition of the Theotokos teaches that Mary died and then rose to Heaven. In the churches which observe it, the Assumption is a major feast day, commonly celebrated on August 15. In many Catholic countries, the feast is also marked as a Holy Day of Obligation.
The Sacred Tradition behind this feast dates back to the very early church. St. John of Damascus, 7th century A.D., formulated the tradition of the Church of Jerusalem in his writings:
Thus, Mar Qardakh School, at the request of Archbishop Bashar Warda, has declared today to be a holiday for all teachers and students. Therefore, since we have the day off, Patrick, Mary, Kathy & I arose at our usual time and went to 6:30 Mass at Mar Giwargis Church (St. George). Mass attendance was high, but mainly older people, who you would consider as retirees, made up the congregation.
Also going on in Iraq and other countries with Muslim populations is Ramadan.
Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and the month in which Muslims believe the Qur'an was revealed. Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The month is spent by Muslims fasting during the daylight hours from dawn to sunset. Muslims believe that the Qur'an was sent down to the lowest heaven during this month, thus being prepared for gradual revelation by Jibraeel (Gabriel) to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Furthermore, Muhammad told his followers that the gates of Heaven would be open all the month and the gates of Hell (Jahannam) would be closed. The first three days of the next month, Shawwal, is spent in celebrations and is observed as the "Festival of Breaking Fast" or Eid ul-Fitr ( Eid ).
In Iraq, the Eid begins this Sunday, August 19, 2012. Last Sunday, August 12, the Kurdistan Autonomous Region announced a decision, that all of next week, beginning on Sunday, August 19, will be an official holiday on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
You may be asking yourself: why I am troubling you with all of this info? Well dear brothers and sisters, all this leads me to tell you that the last day of classes for the Mar Qardakh summer program will be tomorrow, August 16, 2012 instead of next Tuesday, August 21.
It is with sadness that I post this blog. I have come to know and greatly love the Iraqi people. Even now as I pen these words, tears are welling up in my eyes as I realize how much they have become a part of my heart, and how much I will miss them. Yesterday, Tuesday, there were so many kids of all ages, not just the 3rd & 4th graders that I teach, that said goodbye to me. Many gave me hugs, others shook my hand or wanted a high 5.
Very soon Kathy and I will be leaving Ankawa, Iraq and returning to the USA.
We are scheduled to leave Erbil August 25, 2012 and fly to JFK. However, we will not return to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area until mid-September. We have made plans to spend some time with Kathy's family in New York.
View of Buffalo, New York skyline. Buffalo City Hall in center of photo.
Our decision to return home was not an easy one for reasons that I have already mentioned. However, some of the final questions we had were answered in such a way that we knew that the Lord was calling us back to Texas. However, Kathy and I both believe that He has something else in store for us. Life for us will never be the same. We know and understand that when the Lord calls one out of one's perceived "comfort zone", that He has innumerable blessings to shower down on those who are not afraid to say yes to His call. Kathy and I have been immeasurably blessed. Furthermore, we look forward with great anticipation to what the Lord has planned for the remainder of our lives. We hope and prayer that when He calls, that he also give us the grace to respond with a quick "Yes".
We have also become aware of the greater joy and happiness we experienced in living a much simpler life style. Simplicity consisted of better food, very little TV, few trips to go out shopping, no meetings to attend in the evening, relying on public transportaion or walking to get where we needed to go, reading more, and writing more to family, friends, and loved ones. Both of us are in agreement that we will be looking for ways to live more simply once we return to our home in Garland.
One of the positives of returning home will be to once again understand the spoken word at Mass. Also, we very much look forward to reuniting with our family and friends, and the Christian Community of God's Delight. We have greatly missed the General Sunday gatherings of our beloved Community.
I hope to have photos of the kids I taught and the teachers I worked with in my next post. Until then, may our Heavenly Father abundantly bless each of you and all of your loved ones.
jw.
Today, August 15, 2012 is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. For non-Catholic readers of this blog, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, is informally known as The Assumption. According to the Christian beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of Anglicanism, the Assumption was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. Protestants would use the term "Raptured".
The Roman Catholic Church teaches as dogma that the Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." This doctrine was dogmatically and infallibly defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. While Catholic dogma leaves open the question of Mary's death before rising to Heaven, the Eastern Orthodox tradition of the Dormition of the Theotokos teaches that Mary died and then rose to Heaven. In the churches which observe it, the Assumption is a major feast day, commonly celebrated on August 15. In many Catholic countries, the feast is also marked as a Holy Day of Obligation.
The Sacred Tradition behind this feast dates back to the very early church. St. John of Damascus, 7th century A.D., formulated the tradition of the Church of Jerusalem in his writings:
Pieter-Paul Rubens; Assumption of the Devine and Holy Virgin Mary; 17th centurySt. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven.
Thus, Mar Qardakh School, at the request of Archbishop Bashar Warda, has declared today to be a holiday for all teachers and students. Therefore, since we have the day off, Patrick, Mary, Kathy & I arose at our usual time and went to 6:30 Mass at Mar Giwargis Church (St. George). Mass attendance was high, but mainly older people, who you would consider as retirees, made up the congregation.
Also going on in Iraq and other countries with Muslim populations is Ramadan.
Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and the month in which Muslims believe the Qur'an was revealed. Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The month is spent by Muslims fasting during the daylight hours from dawn to sunset. Muslims believe that the Qur'an was sent down to the lowest heaven during this month, thus being prepared for gradual revelation by Jibraeel (Gabriel) to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Furthermore, Muhammad told his followers that the gates of Heaven would be open all the month and the gates of Hell (Jahannam) would be closed. The first three days of the next month, Shawwal, is spent in celebrations and is observed as the "Festival of Breaking Fast" or Eid ul-Fitr ( Eid ).
In Iraq, the Eid begins this Sunday, August 19, 2012. Last Sunday, August 12, the Kurdistan Autonomous Region announced a decision, that all of next week, beginning on Sunday, August 19, will be an official holiday on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
You may be asking yourself: why I am troubling you with all of this info? Well dear brothers and sisters, all this leads me to tell you that the last day of classes for the Mar Qardakh summer program will be tomorrow, August 16, 2012 instead of next Tuesday, August 21.
It is with sadness that I post this blog. I have come to know and greatly love the Iraqi people. Even now as I pen these words, tears are welling up in my eyes as I realize how much they have become a part of my heart, and how much I will miss them. Yesterday, Tuesday, there were so many kids of all ages, not just the 3rd & 4th graders that I teach, that said goodbye to me. Many gave me hugs, others shook my hand or wanted a high 5.
Very soon Kathy and I will be leaving Ankawa, Iraq and returning to the USA.
We are scheduled to leave Erbil August 25, 2012 and fly to JFK. However, we will not return to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area until mid-September. We have made plans to spend some time with Kathy's family in New York.
View of Buffalo, New York skyline. Buffalo City Hall in center of photo.
Our decision to return home was not an easy one for reasons that I have already mentioned. However, some of the final questions we had were answered in such a way that we knew that the Lord was calling us back to Texas. However, Kathy and I both believe that He has something else in store for us. Life for us will never be the same. We know and understand that when the Lord calls one out of one's perceived "comfort zone", that He has innumerable blessings to shower down on those who are not afraid to say yes to His call. Kathy and I have been immeasurably blessed. Furthermore, we look forward with great anticipation to what the Lord has planned for the remainder of our lives. We hope and prayer that when He calls, that he also give us the grace to respond with a quick "Yes".
We have also become aware of the greater joy and happiness we experienced in living a much simpler life style. Simplicity consisted of better food, very little TV, few trips to go out shopping, no meetings to attend in the evening, relying on public transportaion or walking to get where we needed to go, reading more, and writing more to family, friends, and loved ones. Both of us are in agreement that we will be looking for ways to live more simply once we return to our home in Garland.
One of the positives of returning home will be to once again understand the spoken word at Mass. Also, we very much look forward to reuniting with our family and friends, and the Christian Community of God's Delight. We have greatly missed the General Sunday gatherings of our beloved Community.
I hope to have photos of the kids I taught and the teachers I worked with in my next post. Until then, may our Heavenly Father abundantly bless each of you and all of your loved ones.
jw.
And we will be so glad to have you home!
ReplyDeleteOur prayers will continue until you safely arrive.
Kathy & Joe,
ReplyDeleteI ran across your blog once returning to the states. It is great!! I SO enjoy reading your depth of knowledge on each of the historical spots. Your pictures are excellent and such a fun review of our time in the seminary and at the school. I've a friend who publishes children's books and wants to put one together about the Markardarkh Summer Program. I refered her to you blog to help her better understand what I was doing this summer. :) She wanted to know if she could use some of your great pictures. I thought you'd probably say yes as long as she gives you and your blog credit for each picture. Is that okay with you? You can email me at Kafranklin3@gmail.com. I have your Iraqi phone number, but not your email address. :) Hope all is well with you both and you get this message. I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Kathryn