Our Lady Of The Cedars-Woodmead-Maronite Catholic Church: South Africa

16/09/2026

Prayer of the day, 16 September 2026.

Marian Prayer for Encouragement

Blessed Virgin Mary, When I am discouraged or afraid, Longing for encouragement, Please hold me close within your heart, Wellspring of comfort through your faith.

Amen.

16/09/2026

Saint of the day, 16 September 2026.

St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage

The feast day for Saint Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, is celebrated on September 16 in the Maronite Church.

Commemoration of Saint Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage. Cyprian was born around the year 210 into a wealthy pagan family, most likely in the city of Carthage, in present-day Tunisia, in Africa. He received a high level of education and became a great philosopher and eloquent orator, holding a prominent position among the elite and dignitaries. He married and had children. The world smiled upon him, so he gave free rein to the desires and passions of the flesh, and he began to console himself with the glories and vanities of the world, but God wanted him for His service. Cyprian was converted to Christianity by the priest Secilius, who became his spiritual father and mentor. He and his family were baptized around the year 245. Immediately, he entrusted his wife and children to the priest's care, leaving them sufficient provisions. He sold the remainder and distributed the proceeds to the poor, dedicating himself entirely to the Lord Jesus. He studied the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers, delving deeply into them and nourishing his discerning mind and generous heart from their very essence. He wrote a book refuting the worship of idolatry. The Bishop of Carthage ordained him a priest, and he began to teach and guide with his sermons and virtuous writings. In the year 248, the Bishop of Carthage died, and the people chose him as his successor. He was a compassionate father to the people, a zealous shepherd to his flock, a generous benefactor to the needy, and a courageous defender of the faith and of the sheep of his flock. When persecution against the Christians was renewed by order of Caesar Decius (249-251), Cyprian exerted every effort to strengthen them in the faith. King Decius died, so the persecution subsided, and Cyprian remained on his throne and freed many from captivity. He visited the sick and those afflicted with the plague, comforting and consoling them. Then the persecution returned by order of the tyrant Valerian (253-260), who expelled the saint from the city in the year 257. So he hid with his clergy in a nearby garden, refusing to leave his flock, saying: “To die a martyr among you is a guarantee for the preservation of your faith.” He persevered in his struggle until the pagans denounced him and brought him before the governor, who sentenced him to beheading in his episcopal city. He was martyred in the year 258. He left the Church numerous valuable writings on theology and literature, and exquisite letters that were admired by the Fathers, especially Saint Augustine. Therefore, the Church calls him its teacher and its great master. Among his famous sayings is: "God is not a father to him who does not have the Church as a mother." For Cyprian, the symbol of ecclesiastical unity is the bishop, as he says: "You must understand that the Church is in the bishop, and the bishop is in the Church."He is one of the great fathers of the Latin Church, due to his valuable teachings on the Church and its unity, and is considered the second greatest Western theologian after Tertullian. May his prayers be with us. Amen

15/09/2026

Prayer of the day, 15 September 2026.

Dear Lord,

Quiet my heart and still my troubled thoughts. Help me rest in Your loving presence, trusting that You are with me in every moment. Like a gentle breeze through the trees, let Your peace flow through my soul. Teach me to release my worries and place them into Your hands.

May the tranquility of Your love fill my heart with hope, grace, and peace.

Amen.

15/09/2026

Saint of the day, 15 September 2026.

Sts. Sassine & Shaina

In the Maronite Catholic Church, the feast day for Saint Sassine (also known as St. Sasseen) and Saint Shaina is September 15th. The observance of this day marks the celebration of the martyrdom of these two saints, who were known for their steadfast faith and willingness to die for it.

Saint Abramius, also called Shaina (which means protection), was from Antioch, chief of a band of thieves. One day he wanted to rob a convent of nuns. He and his fellows dressed up as monks and entered the convent to rob it. The nuns received them in and one nun started washing his feet following the customs of the time and the place in receiving guests. One of the nuns was sick and paralyzed. She anointed herself with the dirty wash water and was healed. When Abramius saw this miracle along with the righteousness and holiness that reigned in this convent, he was so moved and immediately touched by grace that he decided to repent and give up his sinful way of life. At once he revealed his identity to the nuns and told them about his purpose for entering their convent. And to prove that, he showed them his hidden sword then put it in their hands to indicate granting them protection; therefore he was nicknamed Shayna meaning protection. He and his fellows became monks and ended their lives in works of repentance and asceticism. Shayna became their prior in the monastery. Through his guidance he converted a great number of pagans, then died in peace.

Saint Sassine was the bishop of the city of Cozikis. The governor of Cozikis arrested him. He bravely admitted his Christian faith. The governor got angry and ordered him to offer up to idols. He refused and began demonstrating that pagan worship and its superstitions are vain and that the Christian religion is the true religion. The governor raged and ordered him to be tortured. They tied him to untamed horses until his body got smashed. Then they whipped him hard but he held fast in his faith. They threw him in prison shackled with iron cuffs. When King Constantine the great rose to power, he defended the Church and liberated her from persecution; he released the holy bishop and restituted the bishopric seat to him. When the Arius heresy appeared, and the first Nicene Council convened in the year 325, Sassine began debating the followers of Arius and confuting them with his sound demonstrations. Then he returned to his seat spreading the teachings of the Nicene Council.

Galius was an enemy to Constantine and the Christians. He arrested bishop Sassine and inflicted upon him the worst tortures. He was beheaded and died around the year 328.

14/09/2026

Prayer of the day, 14 September 2026.

Lord, You Are My Help

Lord Jesus, You are my help, For anyone who comes to You Will not be turned away. Longing for Your gentleness, I turn to You today. Lord Jesus, You are my help, For You came to teach and heal, Giving hope through Your Word. In Your compassion now I pray With hope, for I am heard. Lord Jesus, You are my help, For giving Yourself upon the Cross Has opened heaven’s doors. May I be blessed in joining My suffering with Yours.

Amen.

14/09/2026

Saint of the day, 14 September 2026.

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is celebrated on September 14 and marks the beginning of the final liturgical season in the Maronite Church.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, also known as the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, commemorates three historical events: the discovery of the True Cross in 326, its initial exaltation for public veneration in 335, and the recovery of the Cross from the Persians in 628. Nowadays, this feast also celebrates the boundless impact of Christ’s Cross upon all of creation.

The Edict of Milan, issued in 313, granted religious freedom across the Roman Empire. This was a mutual agreement between Roman Emperors Constantine I in the West and Licinius in the East. Before this edict, Christians had endured various state-sponsored persecutions over the prior two-and-a-half centuries.

After the Edict was signed, from 314 to 324, Constantine and Licinius were in continual conflict. The tension escalated when Constantine accused Licinius of plotting against him. In 324, Constantine defeated Licinius in battle and subsequently executed him on charges of conspiracy. This made Constantine the sole ruler of the Roman Empire, including Jerusalem, which had previously been under Licinius’s control.

In 326, Constantine’s mother, Saint Helena, a devout Christian, embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Her mission was to identify significant sites from Christ’s life and establish churches at those locations. In Jerusalem, she aimed to find the True Cross and to build a church over the sites of Mount Calvary and Jesus’ tomb, known as the Holy Sepulchre. Upon identifying Mount Calvary and the empty tomb, she discovered three discarded and buried crosses. After an investigation, the local bishop confirmed they were the crosses used to crucify Jesus and the two thieves. Since Helena did not know which cross was Christ’s, she arranged for a sick woman to touch all three. The woman was immediately healed upon touching one of them, indicating that it was the True Cross.

Following the discovery of the True Cross, Mount Calvary, and Christ’s tomb, Emperor Constantine ordered the construction of a church to encompass these sites and house the True Cross. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was erected and dedicated on September 13, 335. As the legend goes, the following day, Christ’s Cross was brought outside the newly-built church for the faithful to venerate. Thus, the first showing, or Exaltation of the Holy Cross, might have occurred on September 14, 335. Over the next three centuries, because liturgical celebrations were not widely centralized, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was likely celebrated annually in Jerusalem and varied in other ecclesiastical jurisdictions.

In 614, the Persians invaded Jerusalem and took the True Cross as a trophy. The Persians, primarily followers of the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, were not Christians. Allowing the Holy Cross to remain in their possession was seen as sacrilegious. Eight years later, in 622, Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius initiated military campaigns to recapture Jerusalem and the True Cross. Finally, in 628, he triumphed, and the following year, Emperor Heraclius entered Jerusalem with the True Cross, restoring it to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After that, the Feast of the Holy Cross became a universal celebration within the Church, starting in Rome and subsequently spreading throughout the entire empire, and has been celebrated annually on September 14 ever since.

Although we commemorate these three historical events today, the core of our celebration is not the physical wood of the Cross or the holy sites where Jesus died and was buried. Our primary focus is the infinite love shown through the selfless and perfect Sacrifice of the Son of God and the boundless mercy that has poured forth upon the world as a result. The Cross itself is a cruel instrument of torture and death. The fact that it is now the symbol of God’s perfect love only further magnifies that love and showcases God’s infinite power to use the worst for the best: to use death to bring life and to transform the greatest act of cruelty ever known into the greatest act of mercy ever bestowed upon the world.

The Cross of Christ must permeate each one of us, transforming us and making us new. First and foremost, this happens when we open ourselves to the infinite mercy of God flowing from that selfless Sacrifice. It also occurs when we allow every one of our sufferings, the injustices we endure, the crosses, hardships, and most undesirable aspects of our lives to share in the redemptive power of Christ. We do this when we embrace Jesus’ commands to share in His sufferings, unite them with His own, and allow Him to bear an abundance of good fruit through us. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24–25).

As we commemorate the triumph of Christ’s Cross, call to mind the crosses you bear each day. More often than not, when faced with crosses, we seek a way out, succumb to self-pity, and are often tempted by anger and despair. Instead, try to allow Jesus to enter those crosses, transform them, and use them for His glory, your good, and the good of others. Crosses in life should not be avoided; they must be transformed. Although the suffering may remain, it must become redeemed suffering, thus bearing an abundance of good fruit in ways that only God can accomplish.

Most glorious and triumphant Lord, You gave Your life for the salvation of my soul, using the most horrific act of cruelty as the means of Your redeeming grace. I open myself to that grace today and pray that You bestow it in superabundance. I also pray that I will have the courage and wisdom to embrace my crosses every day of my life, uniting them to Your Cross, and trusting that You will use these sacrifices as a means of the further bestowal of Your love on the world. Saving Cross of Christ, have mercy on me. Jesus, I trust in You.

14/09/2026

Prayer of the day, 13 September 2026.

Dear Saint Christopher,
protect me today
in all my travels
along the road’s way.
Give your warning sign
if danger is near
so that I may stop
while the path is clear.
Be at my window
and direct me through
when the vision blurs
From out of the blue.
Carry me safely
to my destined place,
like you carried Christ
in your close embrace.

Amen.

14/09/2026

Saint of the day, 13 September 2026.

St. Christopher

In the Maronite Catholic Church, the feast day of Saint Christopher, Martyr is celebrated annually on September 13.

The Maronite liturgical calendar places the feast of Saint Christopher on September 13, directly serving as the vigil or pre-festive day to one of the major feasts of the East: the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14).

The "Christ-Bearer" Theme: Because "Christopher" translates from Greek to mean "Christ-bearer," his commemoration on the eve of the Holy Cross links his physical/spiritual act of bearing Christ with the faithful taking up their own cross.

In Eastern hagiography (lives of the saints), he is remembered as a 3rd-century martyr who was tortured and beheaded under the Roman Emperor Decius (around 250–251 AD) in Lycia (modern-day Turkey).

Consistent with global Christian traditions, he is venerated as the ultimate patron saint of travelers and motorists. Believers frequently seek his intercession for physical protection during journeys and spiritual protection against sudden danger.

Maronite and other Eastern churches frequently represent him carrying the infant Jesus on his shoulders. The traditional narrative details how he served a dangerous river crossing, helping travelers ford the waters. Upon lifting a heavy child, he discovered he was carrying Christ—and with Him, the weight of the entire world.

11/09/2026

11/09/2026

Prayer of the day, 11 September 2026.

Dear Lord,

Quiet my heart and still my troubled thoughts. Help me rest in Your loving presence, trusting that You are with me in every moment. Like a gentle breeze through the trees, let Your peace flow through my soul. Teach me to release my worries and place them into Your hands.

May the tranquility of Your love fill my heart with hope, grace, and peace.

Amen.