Dr. Mary Linda Sara: A Life Dedicated to Helping Others Heal
Based on interview
For Dr. Mary Linda Sara, service has never been a job. It has been a calling.
That calling began during her formative years with the Ursuline Sisters, whose simple but powerful motto—”I will serve”—became the guiding principle of her life. What started as a commitment to faith and education would eventually grow into a decades-long mission to help people heal their relationships, restore hope, and rediscover their dignity.
In 1971, Mary Linda broke barriers when she became the first married woman hired as a Director of Religious Education in the Archdiocese of New York. Even early in her career, she demonstrated a willingness to stand for truth and intellectual integrity. While teaching in Staten Island, she was abruptly dismissed after sharing historical information about the origins of individual confession—information taken directly from a seminary theology text. Her firing sparked an unexpected response. More than 150 volunteer teachers threatened to resign in protest, recognizing both her competence and her commitment to honest education. Within days, church leadership reversed course and asked her to return. The experience reinforced a lesson that would shape her future: meaningful service often requires courage.
Although she briefly worked in accounting, Mary Linda soon discovered another path through which she could help others. After watching a television program about sex therapy, she became aware of the profound pain many couples carried because of shame, misinformation, and unhealthy messages about intimacy, especially those from religious backgrounds. She felt called to help.
Pursuing that calling required determination. She sought out leaders in the emerging field of sex therapy, completed extensive graduate studies and clinical training, and studied with some of the pioneers of the profession, including programs associated with Masters and Johnson. She earned licensure as both a professional counselor and a marriage and family therapist developing an expertise in marriage, family, and sexual health counseling. Throughout her career, she also taught at the university level, published professionally, supervised other therapists, and became recognized as a respected leader in relationship therapy.
Together with her husband Brian, Mary Linda built a practice dedicated to helping couples navigate some of life’s most difficult and private struggles. Each year they worked with approximately one hundred couples seeking healing, reconciliation, and deeper connection. Following Brian’s passing, Mary Linda continued that work, expanding her efforts to include support groups and counseling for individuals struggling with sexual addiction and relationship challenges.
While statistics can never fully capture a life of service, Mary Linda estimates that she has directly helped nearly 6,000 people over the course of her career. Behind that number are thousands of stories: marriages restored, individuals freed from shame, families strengthened, and people who learned to see themselves and one another with greater compassion.
What makes Mary Linda’s story remarkable is not simply the number of people she served, but the spirit in which she served them. Throughout her life, she consistently chose to meet people where they were—without judgment, with empathy, and with an unwavering belief in their capacity for growth and healing.
Today, even as health challenges limit some of the activities she once enjoyed, Mary Linda continues to search for new ways to contribute. Her desire to serve remains unchanged. Whether through counseling, teaching, mentoring, volunteering, or simply sharing her wisdom, she continues to embody the Ursuline motto that first inspired her decades ago.
Many people spend their lives searching for purpose. Mary Linda Sara found hers early and devoted herself to it wholeheartedly. Her legacy is measured not only by professional accomplishments, but by the thousands of lives made healthier, stronger, and more hopeful because she answered a simple call: “I will serve.”