On Saturday June 7, 2014, and on the occasion of its Patronal Feast Day, the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) organized a ceremony in its main campus. The ceremony was attended by a number of dignitaries, including political, religious, military, and educational figures, in addition to USEK Faculty and staff members.
The ceremony started with a Mass celebrated by Reverend Abbot Tannous Nehme, Superior General of the Lebanese Maronite Order, and the USEK Choir conducted by Rev. Fr. Youssef Tannous. Following the Mass, a documentary film on USEK was projected, shedding light on its latest projects and achievements carried out throughout the 2013-2014 academic year. Then, Rev. Fr. Hady Mahfouz, USEK President, delivered his address entitled “The University of the Spirit and the Truth”.
Fr. Mahfouz began his speech by pointing out: “If the Holy Spirit University decided to go on ‘with the guidance of the Holy Spirit’, asking its members “What should we do?”, we will reach the truth to which the Holy Spirit leads us; we rejoice in its welcoming world, which has our world as a part of it and as a part of our concerns”.
He underlined the concept of truth by highlighting that “We enter the world of the truth through the door of our longing for knowledge, our yearning for honesty, our passion for the right and for its prevalence, and our thirst for obtaining our rights. Although we may not pay much attention to this matter, it is remarkable that the Arabic language uses the same root for both terms, the ‘right’ and the ‘truth’. The ‘right’ is naturally translated by the ‘truth’, which is related to Human Rights. Moreover, what is qualified as true respect, therefore, Human Rights, helps them grow without any discrimination, in all their dimensions. In fact, the University environment, always seeking the truth, is a judge feeding the ‘right’ in this environment”.
Shedding light on the notion of intellectual integrity, Fr. Mahfouz pointed out that “we can understand stressing on intellectual integrity in education and research. Therefore, we can understand the global practices of universities which have been adopted in the University, such as the assessment of teachers, officials and the academic positioning of the Institution. We can also understand making the University ‘tailored for the human being’, where every human being has his/her position. Here comes the importance of respecting the human being and all stakeholders, especially students, in all the activities of the University, from education, research, service delivery and communication with society”.
“We are well aware that the truth is the salt of human beings to be sprinkled on our daily life, so that we rejoice knowing that our society is always in need of this truth. This is what combines the journey of reflection our daily life along with all its difficulties. This is what draws a smile on faces, and this is what frees the human being from the chains of life’s burdens. This is how we make steady steps forward and this is how we embrace positivity, how we raise the name of our country Lebanon, which we love, and how we raise the banner of the creative and true person. This is how the University of the Spirit is the University of the Spirit and the truth”, Fr. Mahfouz concluded.
At the end of the ceremony, a traditional dinner was held in the outdoor esplanade of the campus, in the presence of H.E. Mr. Elias Bou Saab, Minister of Education and Higher Education, and Brigadier General Jean Kahwaji, Commander of the Lebanese Army, besides a crowd of deputies, guests and the USEK family.