Consecration of Our Lady of Lebanon as Co-Cathedral
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
St Cyprian once said that no one can have God as their Father who has not first had the Church as their Mother. The Church is our Mother because, through the waters of bap-tism with which she washes us, our souls are cleansed and prepared for eternal life in heaven. She is our Mother because she teaches her little ones the truths of the faith, nourishes them with the sacraments, and draws them upwards to God through the divine beauty of her liturgies and sacred art. Truly, the Church is the house founded by divine command on the rock of the Prince of the Apostles.
It gives me joy to find myself here with you, on this occasion when, with the approval of the Holy See, and in the presence of His Excellency Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Apostolic Nuncio to Australia, I announce the Church of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harris Park as Cathedral.
When I became your Bishop, just over a year now, I saw that I had to move the administration of the Eparchy here to Our Lady of Lebanon, Harris Park, perhaps the most populous and busiest single Catholic parish in all of Australia. It is not uncommon for 5,000 good souls to attend here for Sunday Mass, and for many others to pray at its weekday services or take part in the different parish groups.
Now, as a Cathedral, this shall be my seat, my pastoral home where I shall be in close proximity to you. I look forward to greeting you after morning prayers and seeing you and your families here during Mass.
The Cathedral with the Community Centre will continue to be a vibrant hub of Christian education and edification: a base for operations, and above all, a house of prayer.
Brothers and sisters, we thank the Lord for His abundant blessings upon us and upon this parish. We thank too the Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Paul Gallagher for his presence with us and I thank all of you who work so hard in this parish. With a full heart, I pay tribute to those who have done so much, and have already gone to their eternal reward. And of course I appreciate the work of the clergy and laity.
May the graces of God always fall upon you, and may his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Lebanon, always intercede for you with her Son.
His Excellency Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay
