I was recently invited to speak at the Magnificat Prayer Breakfast in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was held at Saint Elias Maronite Catholic Church. My first experience with a Maronite Church was many years ago before my husband retired from the military. At the time, we lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I was early for a meeting at the mental health center and noticed a cute little church across from the meeting place. The sign read, Saint Michael’s Catholic Church. As I sat inside this beautiful little church, the priest began to set up the altar for Mass. However, he was dressed differently than other priests I knew. As I watched the priest prepare the altar for Mass, I picked up one of the prayer books at my pew and immediately noticed that one side of the book was written in a foreign alphabet. The left side of the prayer book was in English, however, on the right side of the book it was noted that the language was Syriac. I was confused and worried that I was in the wrong place. Yet, the sign outside clearly said Catholic Church. This was my first experience with a Maronite Catholic Church. I learned later that day that the Maronite Catholic Church is part of the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church. This was all new to me.

Many years later, I was introduced to the Coptic Catholics. I wrote about them in my book titled: Mary’s Life Journey and Her Amazing Yes! As I learned more about the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church, I had an opportunity to visit a Byzantine Church in New Port Richey, Florida. I wrote about this experience in my blog titled: Saint Anne Byzantine Catholic Church – An Interesting Discovery!

My world was expanding as I learned more and more about the breadth and depth of the Catholic Church. The Magnificat Prayer Breakfast held at Saint Elias Maronite Catholic Church in Birmingham, Alabama provided me the opportunity to explore this Rite further.

***Saint John Paul II*** referred to the Eastern and Western rites of the Catholic Church as two lungs within the Body of Christ. Both lungs, as pointed out by Saint John Paul II, “breathes the breath of the Holy Spirit.”

Saint Elias Maronite Catholic Church was established in 1910 to serve a growing population of people primarily from Lebanon and Middle Eastern countries who had immigrated to Birmingham. I only had a few minutes to visit the inside of St. Elias church before the prayer breakfast began. Here are some of the beautiful pictures of the inside of this church.

As a side bar – the Magnificat Prayer Breakfast was wonderful. It was great to meet all the beautiful women who hosted the event.

Once back home in Florida, I knew I wanted to attend Mass at a Maronite Catholic Church.

Saints Peter and Paul Maronite Catholic Church is a relatively new church. Prior to 2000, the Maronite Rite was celebrated at a local Coptic Church in Tampa, Florida. In January 2000, the Maronite Community of Tampa was established as part of the Eparchy (Diocese) of St. Maron of Brooklyn. The Maronite Mass was celebrated at Saint Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Tampa. In 2004, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Petersburg invited the Maronite community to Our Lady of the Rosary Parish Center in Land O’Lakes where it grew and prospered. Mission status was granted to the community in 2005 under the patronage of Saints Peter and Paul. Land was purchased in 2006 and construction began shortly after. The Saints Peter and Paul Maronite Catholic Church was consecrated in 2008.

I arrived at Saints Peter and Paul Church 15 minutes before the Mass was to start. I was greeted by one of the choir members who provided instructions on how to use the prayer book. The prayer book was quite thick and displayed English on the left side and Syriac and Aramaic on the right side of the book.

The Mass was beautiful with parts recited and sung in English, Syriac, and Aramaic. There were several differences in the Maronite Mass and the Roman Catholic Mass. The one that stood out to me was how the Eucharist was presented. In the Maronite Rite, the priest dips the host in the Blood of Christ before presenting the Eucharist.

There is a deep history in the Maronite Rite that begins with a fourth-century monk named Saint Maron who was a friend of Saint John Chrysostom. Saint Maron is considered the founder of the spiritual and monastic movement that evolved into what is now the Maronite Church. Maronite Christianity reached Lebanon when Saint Maron’s first disciple set out to convert the non-Christians by introducing them to Saint Maron.

After Mass, I met with the priest, Father John Lipscomb. Father Lipscomb is the Spiritual Director for the Bethany Center in Lutz, Florida and is also responsible for the formation of deacons.

As I prepared to write this blog, I did further research on Father Lipscomb and discovered that he is a convert, although he prefers to call it a ***“branch transfer.”*** In a video, he stated that “through our baptism, we are linked to all Christians.” Father Lipscomb grew up a Baptist and married an Episcopalian. In 1997, he succeeded as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida. There was no need for conversion. He was already a Christian. However, he did embark on a “branch transfer” when he joined the Roman Catholic Church and was ordained a priest in 2009.

The Catholic Church is deep and wide in its reach. It consists of 23 distinct Rites. The Roman Rite is by far the largest and most widely diffused in the world. However, the Eastern Catholics number about 16.3 million believers worldwide.

I truly enjoy digging into the history of our faith.

Believe it or not, I am working on Book #4 and learning new things every day.

My next three blogs will feature my adventure in beautiful Iceland. Stay Tuned!

Order your copy of my latest book at the link below. This book features the life story of Father Pedro Camilo Simoes, SAC. I had so much fun writing this book with Father Camilo. I know you will enjoy reading about his adventures.

Divine Threads: My Journey of Faith and Blessings

By Simoes SAC, Pedro Camilo, Mercado, Denise

Buy on Amazon