By Jessica Easthope and John Alexander

BAY RIDGE — When you walk into the newly remodeled Mid-East Bakery, you’re struck by a mural behind the counter depicting a cedar tree with a cross of light in its trunk, surrounded by the bounties of Lebanon: bread, olives, and wheat.  

The shop also boasts brand-new display cases featuring an assortment of Lebanese-Syrian delicacies. Yet, it feels the same as always, with warm familial faces behind the counter and some of the most sought-after Near Eastern cuisine in the borough. But for the family behind the counter, Lebanon isn’t only a source of flavor and faith — it’s also a place they speak about with worry.  

As Mid-East Bakery marks 50 years in Bay Ridge, the family’s story reaches far beyond the display cases — back to a homeland they still cherish, and increasingly worry about, amid persecution of Christians and the threat of a wider U.S.-Iran conflict that has made parts of Lebanon feel uncertain.  

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The bakery has not only fed customers the finest Middle Eastern foods since 1976, but its owners, Marie and Tony Aflak, and its founders Antoine and Frangie Tabet (Marie’s parents) have been staples in the community, including at their home parish, Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Cathedral.   

Marie and Tony credit their faith for guiding them through the years.   

“Our Lady of Lebanon is our home away from home,” Marie said. “Being part of that culture and raising my kids in that culture means the world to me. The Lebanese are such loving and caring people, and I want my kids to grow up with all that.”   

“Without our faith and believing in God and the Church, we would not be where we are today,” Tony added.   

Marie and Tony have run Mid-East Bakery since 2019. Each year, they’ve continued the bakery’s tradition of donating food to the cathedral’s Easter and Christmas vigil, which they will do again this year for the 50th time.   

“I find both Marie and Tony to be wonderful, faithful parishioners, and we love having them and their sons, and we are very grateful for all that they do for the Church and for the community,” said Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, and pastor of the cathedral.   

John Abi-Habib, a parishioner at Our Lady of Lebanon who serves as New Jersey’s honorary consul general of Lebanon, said that when he craves zaatar bread, spinach pies, or kibbeh balls, he immediately heads to the Mid-East Bakery.  

“And add to that the fact that they have been catering events and giving to the Church and the community for all these years is remarkable,” Abi-Habib noted. “In fact, they never stopped giving back.”    

Even as they’ve established roots in Bay Ridge, the Aflak’s remain connected to Lebanon. Tony grew up in the Middle Eastern country but left during the civil war when he was 14. He permanently settled in Brooklyn in 2012. 

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He still visits his homeland whenever he gets the chance. But Tony said that worry has grown in recent years, both over pressure on Christians in Lebanon and because the current U.S.-Israel war with Iran has made much of the country unsafe.   

“Hopefully, one day, we will be able to go back and visit not just my home and where I grew up, but to travel through the whole of Lebanon, without risking going to certain areas because you are Christian,” he said. “We pray for peace where there would be no division between anyone of any religion or culture.” 

For Marie, taking over the bakery was a way to preserve an integral part of her life.  

“From when I was in a stroller, I would be here, and they would give me bread to keep me occupied while my parents served the customers,” Marie recalled. “So, I really grew up here. This is part of me. And when they retired, I just couldn’t let it go.”  

Not only did she preserve it, but, with Tony, she made it better. They both committed to making the bakery even more successful than it was. Marie went to culinary school to grow her knowledge, which allowed them to expand the menu from pita bread and dry goods to include delicacies like kibbeh, grape leaves, hummus, tabbouleh, spinach pies, meat pies, and baba ghanoush. 

Tony credits his wife and her family for building a staple in the community. 

“We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for my wife’s family, who established this business and built a loyal customer base that still comes in today asking about them,” he said. 

Marie is determined to keep her family’s Lebanese legacy alive. 

“My mother brought a beautiful piece of her culture into this neighborhood, and I am proud to continue sharing the traditions of Lebanese culture,” she said. “We are deeply grateful for all the support and blessings we have received over the years. 

“Everyone who walks through these doors is family.” 

By Currents News

Pope Leo XIV marked his first Easter Sunday as pontiff with the Urbi et Orbi blessing.

Below is the full text:

“Brothers and sisters,

Christ is risen! Happy Easter!

For centuries, the Church has joyfully sung of the event that is the origin and foundation of her faith:
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen.
Christ indeed from death is risen.
Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning.

Easter is the victory of life over death, of light over darkness, of love over hatred. It is a victory that came at a very high price: Christ, the Son of the living God, had to die and die on a cross

after suffering an unjust condemnation, being mocked and tortured, and shedding all his blood. As the true immolated Lamb, he took upon himself the sin of the world and thus freed us all and with us, all creation from the dominion of evil.

But how was Jesus able to be victorious? What is the strength with which he defeated once and for all the ancient adversary, the prince of this world?

What is the power with which he rose from the dead, not returning to his former life, but entering into eternal life and thus opening in his own flesh the passage from this world to the Father?

This strength, this power, is God himself for he is Love who creates and generates, Love who is faithful to the end and Love who forgives and redeems.

Christ, our victorious King, fought and won his battle through trusting abandonment to the Father’s will, to his plan of salvation.

Thus he walked the path of dialogue to the very end, not in words but in deeds: to find us who were lost, he became flesh; to free us who were slaves, he became a slave; to give life to us mortals, he allowed himself to be killed on the cross.

The power with which Christ rose is entirely nonviolent. It is like that of a grain of wheat which, having rotted in the earth, grows, breaks through the clods, sprouts, and becomes a golden ear of wheat. It is even more like that of a human heart which, wounded by an offense, rejects the instinct for revenge and, filled with compassion, prays for the one who has committed the offense.

Brothers and sisters, this is the true strength that brings peace to humanity, because it fosters respectful relationships at every level: among individuals, families, social groups, and nations. It does not seek private interests, but the common good; it does not seek to impose its own plan, but to help design and carry out a plan together with others.

Yes, Christ’s resurrection is the beginning of a new humanity; it is the entrance into the true promised land, where justice, freedom, and peace reign, where all recognize one another as brothers and sisters, children of the same Father who is Love, Life, and Light.

Brothers and sisters, through his resurrection, the Lord confronts us even more powerfully with the dramatic reality of our freedom. Before the empty tomb, we can be filled with hope and wonder, like the disciples, or with fear like the guards and the Pharisees, forced to resort to lies and subterfuge rather than acknowledge that the one who had been condemned is truly risen.

In the light of Easter, let us allow ourselves to be amazed by Christ! Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us! Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!

We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent. Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people. Indifferent to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow. Indifferent to the economic and social consequences they produce, which we all feel.

There is an ever-increasing globalization of indifference. To borrow an expression dear to Pope Francis, who one year ago from this loggia addressed his final words to the world, reminding us: ‘What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of the world’

The cross of Christ always reminds us of the suffering and pain that surround death and the agony it entails. We are all afraid of death, and out of fear we turn away, preferring not to look. We cannot continue to be indifferent! And we cannot resign ourselves to evil! Saint Augustine teaches: “If you fear death, love the resurrection!

Let us too love the resurrection, which reminds us that evil is not the last word, because it has been defeated by the Risen One. He passed through death to give us life and peace: ‘I leave you peace; I give you my peace. Not as the world gives it, I give it to you’

The peace that Jesus gives us is not merely the silence of weapons, but the peace that touches and transforms the heart of each one of us! Let us allow ourselves to be transformed by the peace of Christ! Let us make heard the cry for peace that springs from our hearts! For this reason, I invite everyone to join me in a prayer vigil for peace that we will celebrate here in Saint Peter’s Basilica Saturday, April 11.

On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that make us feel powerless in the face of evil.

To the Lord we entrust all hearts that suffer and await the true peace that only he can give. Let us entrust ourselves to him and open our hearts to him! He is the only one who makes all things new

Happy Easter!”