Mass and Consecration of Our Lady of Lebanon Co Cathedral
Dear Parishioners,
I’m pleased with all the priests to confirm that the Mass and Ceremony to Consecrate Our Lady of Lebanon as a Co Cathedral will be held on Saturday 11 October 2014 at 6pm. The Mass is to be celebrated by His Excellency Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay in the presence of His Excellency, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Apostolic Nuncio to Australia, who will conduct the Consecration Ceremony at the end of the Mass. This is a wonderful honour placed on our Church and Parish and a call to ongoing zeal and focus on our Mission as a Parish in our Eparchy and the wider Community.
Following this event we look forward to welcoming His Beatitude and Eminence, Bechara Boutros Rai, our Maronite Patriarch to Australia with our whole Diocese for his first visit to Australia.
Our Parish Welcome and Mass will be held on Sunday 26 October 11am Mass followed by a time for Parishioners to meet the Patriarch. We look forward to this most significant Pastoral Visit of our Patriarch to Australia with its theme of “One Shepherd, One Flock.” And we continue to pray for the situation in Lebanon and the Middle East especially for all the Christian Communities and those suffering.
Also we farewell, on his trip back to Lebanon and his family, Fr Youwakim and we say thank you.
The Priests, Staff and all the parishioners who have come to know him have felt blessed by Fr Youwakim’s presence and ministry over this last 3 months here at Harris Pk, along with Auburn and Guildford . This is the fourth year he has come to Sydney during his annual leave helping out fulltime in the Parish over this busy period with our preparations and celebra-tion of Feast Week and while some of our Priests are on Annual Leave visiting their families in Lebanon. We thank him for his always faithful and uplifting and supportive spirit that he brings to the team of Priests and our Mission and wish him God’s blessings for his ministry in Lebanon and for a safe trip home.
Our Thanks to Lord Mayor of Parramatta City Council, John Chedid, who on behalf of the Council presented all the Priests with plaques acknowledging the work of the Priests for the Community. All of us are humbly grateful for this very thoughtful gesture.
Finally our Congratulations to the Maronite College of the Holy Family 2014 Year 12 Students on their Graduation. We congratulate the Sisters including Sr Margaret on her first Year as Principle the Teachers and the Parents and we pray for the Students as they prepare to sit for their final Exams and look forward to their ongoing involvement in their Parish.
