A Reason to Rejoice
This Sunday in our Maronite Liturgy, we celebrate Trinity Sunday. A week after Pentecost, this Sunday celebrates the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, fully revealed. This is not to say that the Trinity was not fully revealed in previous times, but at the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is given to us. It is through the Spirit that we can now call God “Abba” and it is through the Spirit that we become brothers and sisters of Christ.
On Friday 25th May we held our annual Gala Fundraiser Night in celebration of the great milestone of the 40th Anniversary of the Consecration and Opening of Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Harris Park. The foundation stone for the parish was actually laid in 1970, almost 50 years ago, but the building structure itself was officially opened and blessed by Archbishop Abdo Khalife on Sunday 6th August 1978 and this year of 2018 marks its 40th anniversary.
With over 30,000 parishioners, Our Lady of Lebanon Parish has grown into the largest Maronite Parish in Australia, and we continue striving to be a sanctuary for thirsty souls from the beginning to the end of our earthly journey. Centred on the Eucharist and our Blessed Mother, the Divine Liturgy provides us with spiritual nourishment necessary to endure, empowering us with the Sacraments as we persevere in Faith, Hope and Love. Wherever we go, our Maronite spirit flows from our veins and embraces the world around us… whether we are here for 40 years or 400 years, our presence makes its mark.
The significance of celebrating this 40th Anniversary can be related to the many biblical events that we are most familiar with. The number 40 is mentioned 146 times in the Bible and is symbolic of a period of trials, struggles, and testing of faith. And so, today, united as one Parish family, we celebrate our own struggles and achievements over the past 40 years of continuous construction, in the physical and temporal sense. 40 years of building up our Church is monumental and should be celebrated with gratitude, glorifying Almighty God for His goodness to us. None of our past and ongoing projects would have been made possible without the support and tireless generosity of our all our sponsors, parishioners, countless volunteers and of course the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother and Patroness of our Maronite Church.
On Saturday 26th May, our Parish held a celebratory Mass in honour of His Excellency Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay and his 25th Anniversary to the Priesthood. We pray through the intercession of Our Lady and St Charbel, for strength and perseverance for His Excellency as he leads the flock of Christ towards Heaven.
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