The Shepherd to Politicians: Do Not Live for Your Pockets and Interests

Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Raï has called on Lebanese people, both clergy and politicians, to take St. Sharbel as a model of heroism, based on a life value they should embody by elevating their actions to the spirit. In an interview with the newspaper "Al-Joumhouria," Raï noted, "We all need to thank our Lord that Pope Francis has accepted and blessed the mosaic of St. Sharbel that was placed in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, which will be located near the tomb of Saint Paul VI." Raï addressed the Lebanese and politicians, saying: "Whether clergy, laity, or politicians, strive to live by grace more than the reality you live in, and learn to enrich yourselves more from the Spirit of God and to live for God more than living for your pockets and interests, because this is how we preserve the image of Lebanon that has given us Sharbel, Rafka, Al-Hardini, Blessed Estephan, and Father Yacoub, as well as the martyred brothers and the Capuchin fathers."