Vocation Presentation - Bishop Stang High School, Dartmouth

We visited Bishop Stang, the  Catholic High School here in Dartmouth on November 6, 2014 and addressed 350 girls on how to discern their vocation in life, particularly a call to consecrated religious life.  Mother Marla Marie dispelled some of the myths and misconceptions surrounding religious life, and gave the girls some key points to help them in their discernment journey, such as maintaining a prayer life and staying close to the sacraments.  Natalie Salameh also shared her journey of faith to the girls, particularly how she discerned the call of God in her life.

The teens received us well and were very enthusiastic to participate in our “Myth or Fact” prize segment, and pleasantly surprised when we snapped some “selfies” with them.

Institute on Religious Life - Boston

On Saturday, November 8, 2014, the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light attended the IRL’s

Regional Meeting at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica, Boston.  This year’s IRL Meeting was in preparation for the Year of Consecrated Life in 2015, as declared by our Holy Father, Pope Francis.

There were three excellent speakers: Dr. Alveda King, Fr. Brian Mullady, O.P., and Fr. Shawn Monahan O.M.V. sharing on the theme: "Rejoice Always! Preparing for the Year of Consecrated Life".

Mother Marla Marie reunited with Father Brian who had been her professor in graduate school and spiritual director.  

Maronite Young Adult Workshop - Houston, Texas

The Maronite Servants of Christ the Light were in Houston, Texas for the Sixth Annual Maronite Young Adult (MYA) Workshop on Friday, October 31st to Monday, November 3^rd, 2014. The workshop theme was GPS – God, People, Self: Searching for the Light, with approximately 180 young adults in attendance from throughout the U.S.

One of the main speakers was Paul Thomas, who gave a personal testimony of his conversion story, after a long period of drug abuse. His story was inspirational as he described how Jesus’ divine grace and light pursued him in his darkest times and led him back to the arms of the Maronite Catholic Church.

Sr. Therese Maria assisted the MYA group during Morning Prayer with a moving reflection on Christ as the Light, with a particular emphasis on how to seek the light of Christ in our troubled world. Natalie Salameh also shared her journey of faith to the group, and was very much encouraged by a number of the young adults present.

The MYA group was given an opportunity during a Q & A session with their Excellencies Bishop Gregory Mansour, Bishop Elias Zaidan and other priests from our eparchies to open up about some of the issues the Catholic Church is now facing and that they are struggling with personally. In particular, the young adults were interested in the Church teaching on artificial contraception and same-sex attraction.

The MYA also had the opportunity in their program to go to confession during a beautiful hour of adoration, and to receive the Holy Mysteries during Divine Liturgy celebrated by their Excellencies and other eparchial clergy.

On Sunday, November 2^nd at 11:00AM the MYA group attended Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of the Cedars Church, and a farewell brunch.   God bless the efforts of the MYA Houston group, Fr. Tony Massaad, chaplain of the MYO group and Fr. Milad Yaghi, Pastor of Our Lady of the Cedars in Houston and Fr. Pierre El Khoury, Associate Pastor, for bringing this year’s Workshop to fruition. 

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!