Events this Week - November 14-17

St. Julie’s - Dartmouth

On Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15, Mother Marla Marie gave a short presentation on consecrated life and her own vocation story, at St. Julie Billiart Roman Catholic Church in Dartmouth.

She was invited by Father Richard Roy, pastor, to speak during Mass in honor of the Year of Consecrated Life called for by Pope Francis  (which concludes on February 2^nd, 2016).  After each Mass, we had the opportunity to meet and greet the parishioners.

Presentation to the Catholic Daughters - Brockton, MA

On Tuesday evening, November 17, Mother Marla Marie gave a presentation to the Catholic Daughters of Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Brockton. She spoke on the Eastern Catholic Churches and our Maronite Church pointing out the complementarity of the Latin and the Maronite Church. The presentation was well received and several of the ladies said that she did not know of the existence of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

November Prayer and Supper

We hosted our monthly Ramsho (evening prayer) and Supper event on Sunday, November 15, at the Mother of Light Convent. In attendance were a number of friends and parishioners from St. Julie Billiart Church and Our Lady of Purgatory Maronite Church.

 Our convent in Dartmouth, hosts a monthly prayer and supper evening at 5:00PM every second Sunday of the month (ordinarily).  The next Ramsho & Supper evening is Sunday December 13^th   at 5:00PM. If you would like to join us for Maronite prayer and supper please call or email us a week in advance. 

Maronites Outside of Lebanon

Taken from "Captivated by His Teachings" Father Anthony Salim

At the end of 19th century, the Lebanese were among the many people who emigrated from their homelands because of persecution or for economic advancement. Maronites emigrated from Lebanon and settled in all parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, North and South America, Canada, and Australia. In fact, they assimilated well, shaped by the cultures they encountered and shaping them in turn. For the Lebanese secular inculturation came easily in the first two generations in emigration. Yet, ironically this was coupled with a stubborn fondness for their Lebanese heritage. As with any immigrant population these bonds with Lebanon have weakened in succeeding generations.

Like some other Eastern Catholics, Maronites were at first under the governance of local Latin bishops. Even though they would not begin to have their own eparchs and eparchies until the middle of the 20th century, the Maronites brought their own religious and cultural heritage with them and enriched the societies in which they newly resided. Clergy were sent by the Patriarchs to serve Maronite parishes. These men, frequently the most educated in the community, were suited to help these new immigrants.
After the Council several native jurisdictions were established. These were sometimes called exarchates.  As they became stable, they were elevated to the status of eparchy.

The Maronites Today

Today, the worldwide Maronite People of God in Christ numbers well over 3 million members, and it is the third largest sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church. Eparchies, with their respective bishops, have been established outside of Lebanon and Syria, notably in Egypt (Cairo), Brazil (San Paulo), Canada (Montreal), Australia (Sydney), Argentina (Buenos Aires), and Mexico (Mexico City). There are Maronite Apostolic Visitators to South American countries and to Europe. Two eparchies make up the Maronite Community in the United States: the Eparchy of St. Maron, Brooklyn, New York, and the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles. 

Encounter 2012 - New Jersey

We attended the Eastern Catholic Churches Encounter 2012  last weekend October 11-14 at St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church in Hillsborough, New Jersey. The theme of the conference was “Together In Christ”. Clergy and the laity from the Armenian, Chaldean, Malankar, Malabar, Maronite, Melkite, Romanian, Russian, Ruthenian, Syriac and Ukrainian Churches were invited to attend and approximately 80 priest and 200 lay people were present.

Dynamic speakers included Bishop Nicholas Samra (Melkite Bishop of the U.S.), Fr. Damien Geiger (Melkite pastor, Florida), Bishop Peter Anthony Libasci (Bishop of Manchester, New Hampshire), Maureen Daddona, PH.D and Sr. Marla Marie, who spoke on the Blue print for Church Growth. Sister Marla Marie  emphasized the importance of deepening our prayer life and personal desire for holiness, in order to become effective witnesses of Jesus Christ especially in this Year of Faith.

His Excellency Bishop Gregory Mansour also attended the conference and beautifully led Safro (morning prayer) for the clergy and lay faithful. We also befriended a group of vibrant and active Melkite young adults pictured in the photo collage. It was a successful event and a great opportunity for us to deepen our ties with one another, witness to the beauty of our faith traditions and come together as one body in Christ.

Sisters of St. Basil

In July '09, I had a blessed visit and stay with the Sisters of Saint Basil at Mount Saint Macrina in Uniontown, PA. I spent a few days there with Sister Barbara Jean in consultation on religious formation. Read more about the Sisters of St. Basil the Great, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Province. "The Sisters of St. Basil the Great, a religious order of the Eastern Catholic Church, was founded in the 4th century by St. Basil and his sister St. Macrina. The Basilian Sisters came to the United States from Ukraine in 1941..."

Sister Barbara Jean Mihalchick, OSBM... Currently, she serves as vocation directress, directress of the community's Association Program, and the program director of the Mount Saint Macrina House of Prayer (formerly the Retreat Center) located in Uniontown, Pa. After teaching in parochial schools for nine years, Sister earned a Master's Degree in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University, and she then began her ministries in retreat work, spiritual direction and parishes. For twelve years, Sister Barbara Jean served as the Assistant General Superior of the Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great with residence in Rome and frequent ministry among the Sisters in Eastern Europe.
Since living at Mount Saint Macrina, Sister Barbara Jean has participated in each of the LifeQuest weekends held there. She has also worked with committees in preparing formation guidelines. Sister also serves as a Provincial Councilor.
(Bio taken from the OSBM website.)