Fr Michael Khoury pursued his love for serving God and His Church for decades to become the first man ordained as a Maronite priest in Queensland. Source: The Catholic Leader.
Maronite Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay ordained Fr Khoury, 63, at St Maroun’s Maronite Church, Greenslopes, on Saturday.
“It was overwhelming,” Fr Khoury said.
He said his wife Gabriella, his five children and two grandchildren were all there supporting him on the day alongside his wider family.
He said there were many “spirit-filled” moments throughout the day.
“Christ gave the authority to these disciples to go and baptise and ordain and so on and I really felt that was Christ passing it on to his disciples all the way down through to our bishop,” he said.
“When he laid his hands on me and ordained me, from the order of deacons to the order of priests … it was awesome.”
He said he was still in that moment at heart and it would take a while for him to come down.
In his homily, Bishop Tarabay told Fr Khoury there would be “beautiful moments” in his priesthood like baptising children, preaching “hope to the broken-hearted”, absolving sins and holding the Body and Blood of Christ “in your hands”.
“But there will also be moments of sacrifice and hidden suffering,” he said. “And in those moments, return to this Gospel.
“Hear again the voice of Christ asking: ‘Do you love me?’ Because if your love for Christ remains true, He will never fail to carry you.
“The deepest truth of priesthood is not that a priest is perfect.
“It is that Christ is willing to love His people through him.”
Brisbane Maronite parish priest Fr Fadi Salame told the community he stood at the ordination with “great joy to pray, witness and sponsor” the ordination of Fr Khoury.
“As a community, we thank God for the gift of Michael’s vocation and pray that his priesthood may be filled with faith, humility, wisdom and love for God’s people,” he said.
Fr Khoury said his family life and priesthood were the two great honours of his life.
“Being a father to my children, a husband to my wife and now a priest within the Church is a great joy,” he said.
FULL STORY
Historic ordination for Maronite Catholics in Brisbane (By Joe Higgins, The Catholic Leader)
