By Natalie Salameh, Postulant
On Sunday February 9, the Feast of St. Maron, the
Maronite Servants of Christ the Light hosted an afternoon of recollection at
the Mother of Light Convent for ladies from the New Bedford and Boston Maronite
parishes.
The focus was on the life, spirituality and
asceticism of the Saint Maron, founder of the Maronite Church. Mother Marla Marie explained the origins of
St. Maron and his legacy, who he was, where he came from, and how he came to
have such a large number of followers, today known as Maronites.
Mother Marla Marie explained that St. Maron
sought to offer God more than routine acts of piety. He withdrew to a mountain
at Kfar Nabo, Syria where he could more rigorously practice prayer, fasting and
asceticism. St. Maron would spend long nights standing in prayer, fasting for
weeks and lived out in the open, exposed to the elements.
This is the heritage and legacy that St. Maron
has passed on today to us as Maronites, one of sacrifice and prayer. Mother
Marla Marie encouraged the ladies to reflect on how they could apply the
spirituality of St. Maron to their everyday lives. All of these women as wives
and mothers understood that the life of St. Maron, the life of sacrifice, was
indeed a reflection of their own lives, as they live to support and provide for
their families.
But the beautiful thing is that these ladies
realized that no sacrifice is too small in God's eyes. He sees each and every
one of us, and what we offer to Him. The Lord is never outdone in generosity!
He sees the small sacrifices we offer Him and He makes them something great.
The afternoon concluded with an hour before the Holy
Mysteries in our Chapel of Saint Maron. A supper followed where our guests received a
taste of the Maronite Servants’ hospitality with lots of fellowship, sharing
and laughter.