Following the words of Jesus and the example of Saint Anthony the Great,
we, the Antonine Sisters, leave everything behind to follow God, our sole treasure.
The life that we received from God we give back to Him through service and devotion.
Like Mary, the first consecrated woman, we live joyfully to proclaim the greatness of the Lord
who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

12/20/12

Farewell Sr. Celine & Sr. Nancy

After serving 12 years at the Antonine Sisters Adult Day Care, at St. Maron Church in Youngstown and at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, Sr. Celine was assigned to go back to Lebanon to continue her ministry at a clinic in Northern Lebanon.

Sr. Nancy also has just graduated from Ursuline College in Cleveland with a Master's degree in education administration and leaves to Lebanon to serve in one of the Antonine Sisters Schools near Beirut.

We wish Sr. Celine and Sr. Nancy all the best in their new ministries and thank God for their presence with us and we assure them of our love and prayers.


Christmas 2012



"You have united O Lord your divinity with our humanity and our humanity with your divinity..."

We rejoice as we celebrate your birth and pray through the intercession of your mother Mary and Joseph your Chosen One to give each one of us a heart ready to love like you. Give us peace in our hearts, in our families, in our communities and in our world.

11/9/12

Faith

We would like to share with our readers this concise yet deep reflection on faith, the kind of faith our world needs desperately:

"Real faith, faith which inspires all one's actions, faith in the supernatural which strips the world of its mask and reveals God in all things; which abolishes the notion of "impossible", and empties the words "anxiety", "danger" and "fear" of their meaning; which gives life calm, peace, deep joy, like a child holding its mother's hand; which detaches the soul so completely from earthly things by showing up their total lack of importance and their childishness; which bestows such confidence in prayer, the confidence of a child asking its father for something useful; the faith which shows that "apart from doing what is agreeable to God, evertyhing is vanity"... O, how rare that is!... My God, give me real real faith! My God, I believe, help the little faith I have!" 
~ Blessed Charles de Foucauld ~

10/20/12

Thank you!


A thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all those who supported our Alzheimer's Walk. Together we were able to raise over $800.00 for the Alzheimer's Association to promote Alzheimer's research and increase awareness and education regarding this devastating disease.Thank you!

10/1/12

2012 Walk to End Alzheimer's!

We are walking to help reclaim the future for millions. By participating in the 2012 Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's™, we are committed to raising awareness and funds for Alzheimer research, care and support. More than 5 million Americans currently have Alzheimer's and that number is expected to grow to as many as 16 million by 2050. Our future is at risk unless we can find a way to change the course of this disease. We need your support to do our part! Please make a donation to help the Alzheimer's Association advance research into prevention, treatments and a cure for Alzheimer's.
Thank you for joining our movement! The end of Alzheimer's disease starts with us! Click here to join our team.

9/18/12

Antonine Sisters On CTNY

Sister Madeleine and Sister Celine appeared on CTNY TV to discuss Vocations with Father Korda.

8/22/12

Annual Assumption Pilgrimage

It looked like a sea of people gathered around the Blessed Virgin statue on the Assumption Feast at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon. The wave of faith and prayer traveled throughout the crowd warming hearts and lifting spirits.                        We were happy to host our clergy and friends for lunch and welcome guests at our house as usual. We also thank God for the many spiritual graces that He showers on his faithful through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God.

7/30/12

Welcome Sister Jinane!

We are extremely happy to welcome in our midst Sister Jinane Farah who was recently assigned back to the USA. Sister Jinane is a nurse who lived and worked here in North Jackson in the 1990s. In the last 13 years, Sister Jinane had taught nursing and computer classes at our technical nursing school in the Northern part of Lebanon then was ministering to the elderly and disabled in a large nursing home with over 400-bed capacity. Her gifts and experience will be a wonderful asset to our ministry here and we happy and blessed to welcome her back to our home.

7/14/12

The Maronite Mission Deep in the Heart of Texas!

We like to thank Fr. Ghassan Mattar and the parishioners of Saint George Maronite Church for hosting the 49th Annual NAM convention in San Antonio, Texas, from July 4 until July 8, 2012.
The hospitality and generosity they displayed to us and all the attendees was phenomenal and we were blessed to have witnessed the love and faith of the Maronite community there.
We wish them continued joy and success in spreading the Maronite spirit all around.
 

6/11/12

New Evangelization

What is the New Evangelization?
"The New Evangelization calls each of us to deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel message and go forth to proclaim the Gospel. The focus of the New Evangelization calls all Catholics to be evangelized and then go forth to evangelize. In a special way, the New Evangelization is focused on 're-proposing' the Gospel to those who have experienced a crisis of faith.Pope Benedict XVI called for the re-proposing of the Gospel "to those regions awaiting the first evangelization and to those regions where the roots of Christianity are deep but who have experienced a serious crisis of faith due to secularization." The New Evangelization invites each Catholic to renew their relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church." (http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/index.cfm).

On June 9, our community met with Father Tony Massad of Cleveland, OH for a morning of prayer and reflection in which we discussed our role as priests and consecrated religious in contributing to the new evangelization of our beloved Catholic Church. For this purpose, we chose to meet at Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in Euclid, OH. Our morning included a tour of the beautiful Shrine, the prayer of the Divine Office, a group discussion, and concluded with the celebration of the Maronite Divine Liturgy at the outdoor Grotto Chapel. We asked for God's blessings upon our Church, its clergy, religious and faithful, and upon all those who have left the Church that they may find their way back and realize their role and importance in the upbuilding and strengthening of the Church.  


5/29/12

Visit to Carey, OH

In the Maronite Church, the month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. On Sunday May 20, we decided to go visit the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. It was certainly a beautiful day as we attended liturgy, savored a good lunch then enjoyed walking out in the shrine's park, meditating on the stations of the cross. On the way back we prayed the rosary together asking the Mother of God for her intercession for us and for all those who are in need of prayers.                                   Click here for the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.




5/19/12

Congratulations!

On Friday May 18, our community celebrated Sister Nancy's graduation. Sister Nancy received her BA from Ursuline College, Cleveland. Her family traveled all the way from lebanon to join in the celebration. Even Jude, her nine-months-old nephew, was clapping for sister Nancy and smiling proudly for her achievement!

4/26/12

Canonical Visit

Mother Felicite Daou, General Superior of the Antonine Sisters, and two of her council members, sister Nazha El-Khoury and sister Bassima Khoury, visited us from Lebanon last week. We had several meetings together in which we shared our experiences nourished by the Word of God. Mother Felicite spoke about the importance of continuous formation in religious life which enables us to grow in wisdom and grace and become more Christ-like. The time we spent together increased our motivation and affirmed in us the joy of living our vocation and sharing the sisterhood that we do in our Antonine Order.

4/16/12

Guild of Saint Anthony Appreciation Dinner

Friends and benefactors joined us on Saturday April 14 for the annual appreciation dinner for the members of Saint Anthony's Guild. Our community is thankful to God for His many blessings and is very appreciative of the love and support of the people who assist us in our mission and believe in the work that we do. We pledge our prayers to the clergy and laity who kindly donate their time and resources to help us. It is only through their generosity that we are able to reach out to others.

3/27/12

On March 25, we hosted the NAM lenten retreat participants at our adult day care facility for the Ramsho (evening prayer) and dinner. It was an enjoyable evening in which we got a chance to pray and visit with many clergy and friends.

3/6/12

Visit to Our Lady of Victory Maronite Church

Invited by Father Rodolphe Wakim, pastor of Our Lady of Victory Maronite Church, we joined the Maronite community of Pittsburgh, PA for their Saturday evening celebration of Divine Liturgy, then attended their annual dinner in honor of Saint Maron's feastday, which was on February 9. It was a blessing to pray with our Maronite brothers and sisters there and to see many of our dear friends. In his homily focused on the gospel passage of Luke 8:40-56, Father Rodolphe explained that many illnesses we have may be invisible such as the hemorrhaging women's illness. Unlike the man with leprosy (Mark 1:35-43) whose healing we meditated on last week, the woman's pain was mostly concealed to the human eye. She must have been weak and exhausted, desperate for an end to her pain. She spent twelve years in agony and humiliation, rejected by those who knew her ailment considered shameful at the time. She had drained all her resources in hope for a cure but found none. Then she decided to go to Jesus. Instead of Him being her first resort, He was her last, Father Rodolphe remarked. In many ways, we are like the hemorrhaging woman. We know Jesus is the Healer of our body and soul and yet we seek help elsewhere, away from Him the source of light and life. We have recourse to things that drain us from within and have a meager ability to cure us. Our faith in Jesus is our only hope and cure, Father Rodolphe concluded. Fervently he asked God to shower His love and mercy on us so that we can reach out to Him in time of need and touch Him and delight in His peace. 

2/25/12

2012 Maronite Regional Youth Workshop

The 2012 Maronite Regional Youth Workshop took place the weekend of February 18 & 19. The 200 youths and advisors participating in the workshop visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon on Saturday February 18 to spend some time praying and reflecting on the love of God for each of them. Our sisters joined the youths at the shrine for prayer, liturgy and lunch. Everyone enjoyed the delicious soup and salad donated by the sisters and prepared by sister Kawsar. Following lunch, the youths had a reconciliation service planned then they returned to Our Lady of the Cedars Maronite Church in Fairlawn, OH for the rest of evening. The workshop concluded with Sunday Divine Liturgy at Saint Maron Church in Cleveland, OH.

2/14/12

News from Saint Maron Church

On Saturday, February 4 and Sunday, February 5, 2012 the Maronite Christian Formation (MCF) students of Saint Maron Church in Youngstown, Ohio, held their first sleepover. Seventeen students, grades 1 thru 6, gathered for an afternoon and evening filled with prayer, games, and fellowship... and of course, pizza! Saturday evening completed with a movie, popcorn and ice cream before it was time for lights out. The weekend was capped off by the children taking part in the 8:30 a.m. liturgy by serving, reading and singing. Finally came the awards ceremony. Gifts and certificates were presented by Sister Celine Nohra, Director of Religious Education, to different students and classes based on regular attendance and participation. After all recognitions were given, the children were "let loose" to their parents and families.

The idea came into the works back in the early fall by St. Maron's MCF Committee, now in its second year. The committee, comprised of two Antonine Sisters, two MCF teachers and another parishioner planned the event with the approval of our pastor, Chorbishop Michael Kail. The first sleepover was a huge success; and both the children and chaperones are looking forward to the next one!

Submitted by Kalyn Sharrow, MCF teacher.

1/17/12

Saint Anthony

Today is the feast of Saint Anthony of the desert, also known as Anthony The Great. He is the patron Saint of the Antonine Sisters and monks. We wish all the Antonine religious communities throughout the world a very happy and blessed feastday. For more information on Saint Anthony and the Antonine religious order please refer to our website.

In the picture, His Beatitude Bechara Peter El-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, celebrates Saint Anthony's feastday with the Antonine Sisters in Lebanon.