Greater than Language

4% of the population of Montreal are Arabs! The insanity of politics and the fear for their fate and their children has driven most of them to emigrate out of their countries. When my friend Samir Abi-Ghanem bade me farewell before I travelled, he told me that, here, in this city whose inland seaports open it to the world, near and far, I will not be in need of another language. I have told you about the Liturgy in Toronto. The service was mostly in English. This Sunday, at St Mary's Church in Montreal, had it not been for a few words spoken in French, I would have said that we are in Beirut or in Damascus… I would be repeating myself if I mentioned that what I am saying is not limited to language only, but extends to friendship as well. Here, the faces are familiar. On Sunday, I was blessed by Sayyedna Alexander Mufarrij and the Fathers Michel Fawaz and Elias Ferzli and brethren who have come to the city from far and wide. I promised some of them that we would meet. This would give me some relief from the longing. This is greater than every language.