Light of Life (LoL) Summer Bible Day - Boston, MA

By Sr. Natalie Sayde Salameh, MSCL

The LOL Club (Light of Life) summer bible camp was offered on June 22nd, at Our Lady of the Cedars Church in Jamaica Plain,with a day of learning about St. Joseph in engaging videos, crafts, bible sharing, games, prayer, choir practice, and lots of food. 

Our theme, “In the Footsteps of St. Joseph”, was the day’s catechesis focused on St. Joseph’s deep trust in God, and how we see him exercise that trust in the Gospels.

Our Lady of the Cedars is blessed to have a shrine to St. Joseph within the Church. Our day with the children concluded by offering our special prayers and intentions to St. Joseph at his shrine. 

We would like to thank Pastor, Msgr. Georges El-Khalli, and all the dedicated volunteers for assisting us and helping with this day. 

Summer Newsletter

Please take a few minutes to read over our Summer Newsletter and let us know what you think? We appreciate your friendship and feedback.

Formation Studies at Magdala Apostolate

Among the many things that our sisters here at the Maronite Servants have been involved in, We wanted to let you know about one in particular, the Magdala Apostolate. You may not have heard of the Magdala Apostolate or realized the need that it addresses, but it is certainly a gift from God.

The Magdala Apostolate was founded in 2014 by the Institute of Catholic Culture (check them out online at www.instituteofcatholicculture.org) to offer sound doctrinal formation, both initial and ongoing, for women religious and novices in accord with the Church’s call for a new evangelization and at no charge to the sisters or communities they serve. 

While we are very dedicated to our community’s mission and life of prayer, intellectual formation for the sisters is not always easy to provide. Through the Magdala Apostolate, our sisters have access to the highest-level scholars who are faithful to the magisterium of the Church. We are able to take classes in theology, philosophy, history, scripture, catechetics, and spirituality through a webinar format that allows our sisters to stay dedicated to our mission and remain in our convent. 

Even though the Magdala Apostolate is offered to our sisters for free, there is a significant cost in providing this education. The Magdala Apostolate relies upon the charity of generous benefactors to continue their mission. We highly recommend the Magdala Apostolate for consideration in your charitable support. For more information, please visit www.magdalaapostolate.org. Please pray for our sisters are we continue to learn more about our Savior.

Come, Holy Spirit!

A reflection by Sr. Natalie Sayde Salameh, MSCL

The sisters were recently at a gathering of Maronite young adults and a discussion arose about the Holy Spirit. One young man very honestly said, “I don’t know the Holy Spirit. How do I meet the Holy Spirit?” I was touched by his candor and genuine thirst to know the Holy Spirit, the often forgotten Third Person of the Holy Trinity. 

This Sunday, June 9, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pentecost and we celebrate the coming down of the Holy Spirit upon Mary, and the disciples and apostles gathered in the upper room fifty days after the Resurrection. With the coming down of the Holy Spirit, we see once timid and fearful men set ablaze with the power of God and emboldened to proclaim the Gospel message and witness to all nations. What a perfect Feast for us to meet and get to know the Holy Spirit!

What is often not remembered is that the Holy Spirit is really, truly and personally present in our souls, by virtue of our Baptism. When we were Chrismated/Confirmed, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit and received in all fullness His seven Gifts – wisdom, understanding, knowledge, piety, fortitude, fear of the Lord and counsel. We have the fullness of God’s Spirit dwelling within us, so how is it that we don’t know Him?  Why is He not making Himself known to us? The simple answer is the Holy Spirit is not to blame, our sins are the real culprit. Sin seriously weakens and diminishes the action of the Holy Spirit within our souls and darkens our intellects. We can go to the Mystery of Penance and with a good confession turn our gaze back to God. 

So how do we get to know the Holy Spirit? Like we do with any new friend we make. We spend time with the person, talking to them, getting to know all about them. It’s the same with the Holy Spirit. We have to offer Him our daily prayers and open our hearts to him as candidly as we do with our friends. This is not a magic formula, it’s a relationship of love with Him who loves us best. Also, trying to live a morally good life is really the way to animate the Holy Spirit within us. The more we try to wipe out sin in our lives, this  will deepen our conversion and our response to the Holy Spirits’ inspiration.  

So let’s be bold this Sunday on the Feast of Pentecost and ask Him to descend upon us afresh with all His awesome Gifts and set us on fire with His great love! If you don’t know the Holy Spirit, then use this beautiful Feast to ask Him to give you the grace to really encounter Him in your life. He is longing for you to ask!

Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love! Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth!