On the Feast day of the Presentation of Our Lord, Therese Touma and Tresa Van Heusen entered as the first postulants of the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light. Bishop Gregory J. Mansour offered the Divine Liturgy at the Mary, Mother of the Light Monastery in Weymouth Ma. Concelebrating were Chorbishop Joseph Lahoud, Abouna Jack Morrison, Abouna Anthony Salim and Father William Salmon. After the Liturgy, Bishop Gregory blessed the candidates and medals of Our Lady of Lebanon, and Sister Marla Marie presented them with the medal to be worn with their postulant uniform.
"This is a blessed day for our new foundation and I give thanks to God for these vocations," said Sister Marla Marie who is praying that many more women will respond to the call to serve as a Maronite Servant.
New Members for Maronite Servants
By Dawn Eden
Consecrated life in the Eparchy of Saint Maron marks a historic milestone this month as the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light, the first-ever U.S. congregation of Maronite religious women, receive their first postulants.Tresa Van Heusen of Atlanta and Therese Touma of Sydney, Australia, entered the Maronite Servants February 2, 2010 the Feast of the Presentation, at the congregation’s home, Mother of the Light Monastery in Weymouth, Mass., following Bishop Gregory Mansour’s celebration of the Divine Liturgy.
Founded by Sister Marla Marie Lucas in June 2008 at the request of Bishop Gregory, the Maronite Servants are “a real blessing for our Church,” Bishop Gregory told the Maronite Voice, adding that he is “amazed at how quickly the congregation has begun to take shape.
“My first and deepest thought” on the occasion of the postulants’ entrance “is gratitude to God and to the Virgin Mary,” Bishop Gregory said. “I could not imagined two better candidates than Therese and Tresa.
“My second thought is gratitude to Sister Marla Marie and all those who have supported and assisted her in this effort.” (Read more of this article on our website MaroniteServants.org)
Friends and family celebrate with a feast day dinner. On the right is Marie Van Heusen, Tresa's mother.