By Sr. Therese Maria
Touma, MSCL
In response to God’s captivating invitation to lay
down my life, in love, and for love, I joyfully renewed the total gift of
myself in service to God and His people, on the Feast of the Immaculate
Conception (December 8th). My sole desire is to be “wholly consumed”
(holo-meaning “total”) by love, through faithfully living the evangelical
counsels of obedience, chastity and poverty, in order that I may reflect Mercy
Himself, Jesus, who was obedient, chaste and poor.
“Let us not be afraid. Let us allow ourselves to be embraced by the
mercy of God who is waiting for us, and who forgives everything. Nothing is
sweeter than his mercy. Let us allow ourselves to be caressed by God. The Lord
is so good, and he forgives everything. Through the intercession of Mary
Immaculate, may mercy take hold of our hearts and transform our entire life.”
--Pope Francis--
As I reflect over the past six years of my religious
formation journey, I cannot but give thanks to God for his merciful and
transforming love at work in my life (and those of my sisters!). I see his
gracious providence in all things, especially lately in the mission trips and
retreats our community has offered, to maternally reach out in sharing Jesus’
love and healing with young and old. Pope Francis’ insightful words on God’s
unconditional mercy and forgiveness resonates deep within my heart. Indeed,
nothing is sweeter than experiencing first-hand his life-giving mercy. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His
mercy endures forever (Psalm 136:1). I thank God each day for the gift of
his limitless mercy, which has strengthened me in my vocation of love and spiritual
motherhood.
In imitation
of Mary, our sisters are called as servants of the Lord to radiate the light of
Christ’s merciful love and hope by offering the gift of their spiritual
motherhood to nurture God’s life in the hearts of children, families, and
people of all ages through the works of mercy in service to the Maronite Church
(Maronite Servants’ Rule no. 3).
As part of our well-balanced formation program
directed by Mother Marla Marie, we are actively engaged in the corporal and
spiritual works of mercy. The corporal works include: feeding the hungry, giving
drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the
sick and the imprisoned and burying the dead. The spiritual works include: counseling
the doubtful, instructing the
ignorant, admonishing the sinner, comforting the sorrowful, bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving all injuries, and praying
for the living and the dead. At
present, we are also blessed in our mission to be serving on a weekly basis at
a local food pantry in our community where we teach, pray and support those who
are materially poor and lead them closer to Jesus in a weekly bible sharing
and/or prayer gathering.
If you are interested in reaching out in service
opportunities or would like us to come and offer a Mercy Recollection day or
Retreat day please contact Mother Marla Marie at 508-996-1753.