Our Lady’s Maronite Church - Austin, Texas

The Maronite Servants of Christ the Light visited the parish of Our Lady’s Maronite Church in Austin, Texas on Thursday, October 30^th, 2014. Monsignor Don Sawyer, pastor and several ladies of the parish, welcomed us cordially. On our arrival, Abouna Don gave us a beautiful tour and history of Our Lady’s, which is detailed, with several authentic furnishings of the Maronite worship tradition.  

On Friday, October 31^st, we were able to visit and spend time with a number of the children of Our Lady’s Parish who utilize the Church Hall for their home schooling program.

Following our visit with the children, we were able to pray with a number of parishioners during their communal Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction, followed by Divine Liturgy. During Divine Liturgy, Mother Marla Marie addressed the parishioners and told them about the history and mission of the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light.

Many thanks to Abouna Don and the parishioners for making us feel so welcome!

350th Anniversary of Dartmouth – Giving Thanks!

By Natalie Salameh

The Maronite Servants attended the closing prayer service for the 350^th Anniversary of the Town of Dartmouth at St. Julie Billiart Roman Catholic Church on Sunday afternoon, October 26^th.

This was an ecumenical and inter-faith prayer service, which boasted of the various faith communities of Dartmouth coming together to give thanks to God for their 350 years as a town and community. In attendance were various pastors and faithful from a number of Christian denominations; the Cantor and spokesman from the Tifereth Israeli Congregation and members of the Baha’i faith.

Mother Marla Marie spoke to the community about the history of the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light in Dartmouth, and the Mother of Light Convent. I was asked to pray a prayer of gratitude as a Maronite Catholic with the youth of other faiths and denominations.

At the conclusion of the prayer service, we were able to meet and greet the people during the refreshment hour in the hall of the Church. It was here that we were able to witness to the people to our Maronite Catholic tradition and spread the word about our mission.    

Serving Our Lady of Purgatory and St. Anthony of the Desert Parishes

By Natalie Salameh

The Maronite Servants of Christ the Light hosted the MYO and MFF meetings for the teens and children of Our Lady of Purgatory Parish, New Bedford on Friday and Saturday, October 24^th and 25^th, 2014, and for the children of St. Anthony of the Desert Parish, Fall River on Sunday, October 26^th.  The theme of the weekend’s catechesis was the centrality of Our Blessed Mother in our Maronite Tradition and the rosary.

In his Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope St. John Paul II states:

“Many signs indicate that still today the Blessed Virgin desires to exercise through the prayer of the rosary that maternal concern to which the dying Redeemer entrusted, in the person of the beloved disciple, all the sons and daughters of the Church: “Woman, behold your son!” (Jn19:26). Well-known are the occasions in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries on which the Mother of Christ made her presence felt and her voice heard….”

One such occasion that we discussed with the teens and children was the apparitions of Our Lady in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. So central is the rosary to the Fatima message that Our Lady chose to identify herself as "The Lady of the Rosary." In each of the six apparitions she asked for the daily rosary, especially as an instrument of world peace. The Blessed Mother concluded the final apparition by showing the children three separate tableaux symbolizing the entire message of the Rosary. The first was a vision of the Holy family - representing the joyful mysteries; the second a vision of Our Lady of Sorrows - representing the sorrowful mysteries; and the third a vision of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - representing the glorious mysteries.

The teens and children were shown by the sisters how to pray the rosary, and were then able to make their own rosaries, which they were encouraged to pray daily with their families.

Sister Therese Maria - Vocation Story