11.07.2014

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 3rd, 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 2nd 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.