Ladies Retreat Weekend in April

Thirsting For More… and need some time to get away, rest and pray? We invite young adult ladies (ages 18-35) to join us for a retreat weekend of rejuvenation, inspiring talks, nature walks, prayer and fellowship during the weekend of April 24-26, 2020. The suggested donation is $100 to help with meals and accommodation. Register by April 13, 2020. To register for the weekend or to find out more information please contact Sr. Therese Maria at srtherese2010@gmail.com. The retreat will be hosted by the Maronite Servant Sisters at their Mother of the Light Convent, 856 Tucker Rd Dartmouth MA 02747. Visit their website www.maroniteservants.org 

Maronite Young Adults at the March for Life- Washington DC

by Hana Chemaly, MYA from Cincinnati OH 

This year marked yet another fruitful March for Life. Running consecutively for 47 years, this year’s peaceful protest was record breaking. The crowd roared in support when President Donald Trump took the stage as the first President of the United States to deliver a speech at the March for Life in person. Accompanied by his family, he inspired the crowd reminding them, “When we see the image of a baby in the womb, we glimpse the majesty of God’s creation. When we hold a newborn in our arms, we know the endless love that each child brings to a family.” It was televised and heard across the record breaking crowd of 500,000 people. Families, students, religiously affiliated groups and friends came to march together. Surveys show that the youth made up half of the crowd. Proving yet again that they are the Pro-Life Generation. 

Pro-Life state of Lousiana representative, Katrina Jackson, also spoke, bridging the political gap. Her passion shone through her words, “We know as believers that God does not conform to man’s law,” she continued, “At the end of the day, it is up to each of us to pray and stand in the gap in prayer for those who need our help and see things change for the better.” “In addition to being pro-life, let us also be pro-love,” she challenged.“  As Christians, we are not called to judge one another but help the least among us.” 

Being Pro-Life is not to shame those who have gone through or been affected by an abortion. It is to prevent that choice from being made in the first place. Powerful messages on signs resonated with us, such as, “I regret my abortion”. A sizable group of Maronites marched with the crowd, including Bishop Gregory Mansour, the Maronite Seminarians, the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light, members from the Maronite Young Adults and the Maronite Youth Organization. 

We broke our own personal record as MYA, having had seven National Maronite Young Adult Board members attend. They included, Director Sr. Therese Maria, President Sami Shaia, Vice President Hana Chemaly, and honorary board members, Maya Khoury, Mira Aoun, Sandy Risha, Julie Lattouf, and Antony Harb. Overall MYA members from eight states attended: NC, FL, OH, VA, MI, NJ, NY. 

A session with Bishop Gregory was held following dinner sponsored by the Maronite Seminary. It was an interactive discussion on the difference between Palliative Care and Euthanasia, including professional insights and experiences from several attendees. This discussion ended with a short and informative presentation on Natural Family Planning by Marise Frangie. 

It’s always an act of courage to witness and partake in the March for Life. We pray for the souls of all the lives lost at the hands of abortion, and for healing and peace among all those who are affected. You are loved, forgiven, and surely not alone.

FOCUS Leadership Conference 2020 - Phoenix AZ

By Sister Therese Maria Touma, MSCL

Sr. Therese Maria along with a few  Maronites attended the SLS20 Leadership Conference in Phoenix Arizona, December 30 to January 3. There were more than 8,500 Catholics from across the world present at this conference hosted by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, (FOCUS). The SLS20 conference which brings out amazing speakers to talk on discipleship, mission and evangelization is geared to college students, FOCUS missionaries and catholic leaders from parishes. Training and small group sessions are provided throughout the conference to impart tools and formation in discipleship and accompaniment. 

Our Maronite group participated in the Making Missionary Disciples track. As I reflect over my notes my ten biggest take aways are: 

• Getting the fire and zeal to share the faith for the salvation of souls and the glory of God. 
• The importance of cultivating a daily relationship with God in prayer and in frequenting the sacraments. 
• Knowing your core identity as a beloved son and daughter of God and sharing your testimony with others. 
• We are all made for mission. To give of oneself like Jesus without holding anything back. 
• The importance of caring for others and intercessory prayer, and being present to the moment in discipleship. 
• Developing good and virtuous friendships that help one to live out their faith. 
• Not being afraid to go out and share Jesus‘s hope and mercy by getting involved in people’s lives in order to earn their trust.
• Praying in small groups the Scriptures and allowing the Word of God to transform and inspire your journey of faith. 
• In sharing the Gospel we need two vital convictions:
• The Gospel is my story and part of my life. 
• The Gospel is everyone’s story. We are made for life-giving relationship with the Trinity. We break that relationship in sin. Jesus comes to restore us through his life, death and resurrection, and invites us into a relationship with Him. He wants each one of us to participate in sharing this good news. 

• Being spirit-filled evangelizers in sharing Jesus and not ourselves... this is our mission! 

We were so blessed to have participated in this awesome FOCUS conference. Next year’s SEEK conference will be from December 30- January 3 in St. Louis MO. For those who are interested you can see some of the live talks from this past conference at this link: https://sls20.org/
I pray that more of our Maronite Young adults and leaders from our parishes can experience this week of transformation and training. 

MYA National Workshop 2019 – San Antonio, Texas

By Sr. Natalie Sayde Salameh, MSCL

Sr. Therese Maria and myself returned this week from the National MYA Workshop, which was held in San Antonio, Texas from October 4-6, and gathered over 80 young adults from across the country. This year’s Workshop took place at an excellent retreat center, T Bar M, surrounded by the beauty and serenity of nature. 

We were blessed with the presence of both Bishops, Bishop Gregory Mansour from the Eparchy of St. Maron and Bishop Elias Zaidan from the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, Los Angeles. 

The theme for this year’s Workshop was “Leading by Example” and all the speakers touched upon the importance of having a servant-leadership heart following the example of Christ. 

We were honored to have a guest speaker, Mr. Joe Farris, a vibrant and authentic national Catholic speaker, from Cincinnati, Ohio. Joe’s message was a powerful one of how he encountered Christ in his life, and how we can encounter Christ in our lives. 

By the end of Joe’s first talk in the morning, he had me in tears, and many of the young adults were moved by his powerful personal testimony; his radical love for Christ; and how he was able to faithfully proclaim that Christ had never failed him in his life.

With the presence of both bishops among us for the whole weekend, including a number of clergy, we experienced the wonderful power of prayer and grace in the Divine Liturgies celebrated, in Eucharistic adoration and prayer, and in confession.

On a personal note, I have been to many MYA Workshops, but this one was the very best that I have attended. I truly felt that Jesus was so powerfully present among us, and that the young adults were serious about encountering the Lord, and they did. They came with open hearts and Christ did not disappoint.

During our small group sessions, the young adults opened up beautifully about their worries, doubts, fears, restlessness and yearnings. I was deeply moved by this. 

I heard great feedback from a number of young adults who said that they greatly appreciated the new format of the Workshop, that is, of having it in a retreat setting rather than a hotel as in times past. They said they appreciated the down time and getting away from the constant busyness of their everyday lives to be with the Lord and with one another. Great friendships were established and strong bonds were forged. Praise God!

A big thankyou to Fr. Tony Massad, Sr. Therese Maria and the entire MYA Board for putting together this truly wonderful event.        

MYO/MYA Regional Retreat – New Jersey

A MYO/MYA Regional Retreat  was held on March 16 at Our Lady Star of the East Church in Pleasantville, NJ.  The day was facilitated by the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light and a great team of volunteers who help the youth reflect on their call to holiness.

“Rejoice and Be Glad” was the theme, based on Pope Francis'  recent apostolic exhortation, reminding us all to seek holiness. We were blessed to have among us His Excellency, Bishop Gregory Mansour who was also one of the keynote speakers.

The retreat brought together 150 teens, young adults and chaperones from the following parishes: St. John Paul II, Sleepy Hollow, NY; Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, Brooklyn, NY; St. Sharbel, Somerset, NJ; Our Lady Star of the East, Pleasantville, NJ; and St. Maron, Philadelphia, PA.  We also had the good help of several pastors:  Fr. Kamil El-Choufeiti, Fr. Simon El-Hajj, and Fr. Vincent Farhat. 

Throughout the day the youth enjoyed several activities, prayerful communion with God, and much fun. We had two different presentations for the MYO and MYA. Bishop Gregory spoke to both groups at separate times on discernment and the gift and obstacles of holiness. Fr. Simon El-Hajj spoke to the MYA on needs, gods and power in relation to our call to holiness. Fr. Vincent Farhat spoke to the MYO on what holiness looks like in real life. He showed a moving video of a young Iraqi girl who had lost her home to ISIS, forgiving her enemies and praying for them. She was a beautiful example of holiness. The morning and afternoon sessions included small group discussions, which focused on hearing God’s voice amidst the many voices of today; on our relationship with God the Holy Spirit; and the process of discernment in sifting through negativity or toxicity in our lives.  

In the afternoon, we had an hour of Eucharistic Adoration and Confession. We had priests stationed around the Church hearing confessions. It was uplifting to see these young people approach Jesus and adore Him at the foot of the Altar during the Exposition of the Sacred Mysteries.

The day concluded with Divine Liturgy, dinner and a dabke party.  We would like to thank Fr. Kamil El-Choufeiti, Camellia Nammour and the parish and volunteers of Our Lady Star of the East Church for hosting this spiritual event and for their outstanding service and hospitality. 

World Youth Day Panama 2019: Fiat & Encounter

 by Sr. Therese Maria Touma, MSCL

“You, dear young people, are not the future 
but the now of God.”

— Pope Francis at WYD Closing Mass

On the flight back to Boston after a memorable week at World Youth Day (WYD) in Panama, I was recalling some of the special graces, encounters and transformations that took place in my heart and in the group of Maronite young adults I travelled with. WYD is a powerful reminder that we as “pilgrims” are all on a journey together to heaven. We each have a unique story to share. It was inspiring to see each person, with their diverse backgrounds and culture, celebrating their faith and being open to the other.

Our MYA group from the USA included young adults from across the country. 

The WYD theme centered on Mary’s fiat, “I am the Servant of the Lord let it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) As Mary said, “yes” to being the Mother of God, she was able to encounter and carry our Lord for nine months in her pure womb. In our personal “yes” to this WYD pilgrimage, we were making room in our lives to intimately encounter the goodness and beauty of Jesus in the Catholic Church: in each person, in the sacraments, catechesis, joyful fellowship, Liturgies, papal events, praise and worship, and in the bond of love we share. 

One of those precious “God moment” encounters for me was on our flight to Panama where I met a young pilgrim from Paris, Marie-Caroline, who was paralyzed and sitting in her electronic wheel chair as a result of her rare and debilitating disease. Despite her numerous health setbacks and dependency on others to eat, shower, work and travel to WYD, she exuded tremendous joy and a vibrant passion for the gift of life. Her calm presence and confidence in God’s love and providence in her life was a powerful testimony, which moved my heart to gratitude. In listening to her story of love, courage and struggle, I encountered the merciful face of Jesus. 

The graces of WYD are still being unpacked. During our pilgrimage there were so many opportunities to be connected with other pilgrims (and Maronites!) from across the world; to pray for and be in solidarity with those suffering especially during the Way of the Cross, to be nourished with the Word of God and the Eucharist; to be cleansed and renewed in the gift of confession; and to be spiritually fed especially in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and in unity with our Holy Father, Pope Francis, during the Vigil and Closing Mass. 

A view of the Opening Mass. 

There were a variety of awesome speakers and Bishops that came to Panama from across the globe to speak to the energetic youth. In the Catechesis sessions, two Bishops that spoke to my heart were Bishop Robert Barron and Bishop Edward Burns from the USA. In particular, I appreciated how Bishop Barron was encouraging us to allow Jesus into our “boats” (our hearts and lives) in order take us deeper, and not to just stay in the shallow. He invited us to dive into the deep like Mary, who trusted and said, “yes” to God’s will. 

The two ideas that I took from Bishop Burns were not to give up on Jesus because of Judas (this was in relation to the scandals the Church is facing), and the importance of silence and listening in trying to prayerfully understand and discern the Lord’s will. The proper disposition for a disciple should be “speak Lord, for your servant is listening” and not “listen Lord, for your servant is speaking.”

Joining with our Australian Maronites for Divine Liturgy.

It was a tremendous blessing for me to be part of this Panama WYD and to see our Maronite group from the USA bond so beautifully. My prayer is that we can keep this fire of love burning, and strive to be open to God’s will in each moment, by faithfully renewing our “yes” to him, in order for our lives to bear fruit like Mary. “I am the Servant of the Lord!” May our “yes” lead us to encounter and share the Hidden One with all those we meet along the way. 

The next WYD will be in Lisbon Portugal in January 2022. Who is in?