Faculty members, staff and students gathered on April 12, 2017, in the Mar Abda Church, at noon to celebrate together the NDU-Shouf Campus Easter Mass presided over by Fr. Hanna Tayar, NDU-SC Director, Fr. Walid Nassif, University Chaplain and with the help of Fr. Elie Kserewani.
Fr. Tayar’s Easter sermon focused on the attributes of love, which can start with the simple act of acceptance to reach the higher levels of unconditional, non-judgmental, forgiving, and enduring love. That is the love of Jesus, Fr. Tayar said. The Jesus love is a proactive love – it is not limited to loving but it takes active steps in showing love; this is clearly manifest in Jesus forgiving his prosecutors- even without them requiring it; Jesus extended himself through life to give them the gift of peace of mind. Fr. Tayar said, “The Jesus love is a love that does not blame, does not defame and does not expect anything in return; it is simply love for love’s sake”.
He then prayed that we all may be endowed with such a love that sees the beauty, forgives the ugliness and works on elevating us to our full potential. Fr. Tayar emphasized on Applying Jesus’ dictates at the work place would render us more effective in our work, would help us work together in more harmony and render us as helpers, rather than criticizers, of each other. It is up to us to choose to deal with our everyday happenings through Jesus’ love.
The fathers wished the entire NDU-Shouf Campus community a Happy Easter and they all headed to the student lounge where they exchanged Easter wishes and sweets and of course – competed in the traditional Easter egg cracking contest.
But that was not all! This year, NDU-SC celebrated the upcoming weddings of Isabelle Bittar-Ghanem and Rona Boueiz by giving them a Bachelorettes’ lounge-walk with bouquets, wedding veils and much much wedding cheer! Wedding and Easter fun – all in one!