Every year my family would tell me, “you haven’t celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady until you’ve celebrated it in the village.”
Any Australian with Lebanese roots and whose family originated from a village where the main church was dedicated to Our Lady would be able to relate to this.
My parents, siblings, cousins and anyone else would repeat those words, and it almost made it feel like, here in Australia, we didn’t celebrate the feast day of our parish well enough.
Well after 37 years, I was finally blessed with the opportunity to be in my village of origin in North Lebanon last August and I was lucky enough to experience the celebrations of this feast. It really was a beautiful experience.
However, having experienced those celebrations in my family’s village last year, I can honestly say, you haven’t celebrated feast of the assumption until you’ve celebrated it at Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral in Harris Park.
Putting aside my obvious love and bias for the parish that has been my spiritual home all my life, I believe the fact that the festivities that take place over two weeks in the lead up to the Feast of the Assumption, really immerses us into our spiritual and cultural heritage as Maronites.
Inspired by the “village” celebrations, the mix of social and liturgical celebrations allows for people of all ages to come together to share meals featuring traditional Middle Eastern foods, symbolising unity and hospitality.
Festivities such as the “souk” night and annual parish barbeque include great food, music, dance, and communal gatherings that reflect the vibrancy of Maronite culture.
This year’s feast week will be under the theme Mary, Channel of Mercy and Spring of Life, a quote coined by Patriarch Estephan Douaihy, who was recently beatified on Friday 2 August in Lebanon.
From a parish perspective, it is by far the most exhausting two weeks of the year for our committees, volunteers and clergy—yet the most spiritually rewarding.
The daily liturgies, rosary and novena prayers, as well as faith talks in both English and Arabic, provide a great opportunity for the community to really honour Our Lady’s life and to pray that we too might follow her example.
The crowning event of the celebrations is the Solemn Mass celebrated by Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay.
This tri-lingual Divine Liturgy (with prayers and hymns chanted in English, Arabic and Syriac) allows Maronites from all over Sydney to come together, to affirm their faith in Mary’s assumption but also strengthen their bonds as a community dedicated to living out the Gospel values exemplified by Mary, the mother of God.
The Feast of the Assumption holds a special place in the hearts of Maronite Catholics, blending deep spirituality with cultural heritage.
It is a time when the community gathers to honour Mary and seek her intercession in their spiritual journey.
Through prayer, liturgy, and cultural traditions, Maronites continue to uphold and celebrate this cherished feast, affirming their faith and identity within the broader Christian tradition.
Fr Charbel Dib is a priest at Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral and co-host of the Maronite Downunder podcast “Let’s talk about it” on Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok and Spotify