Passers-by on Moorebank’s busy Newbridge road were witness to the Catholic faith’s great devotion to Our Lady as hundreds of people took part in a candle-lit procession around St Joseph’s parish on 15 August.
The beauty of tradition was on full display as the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, adorned with bouquets of roses, was carried by the parish’s youth amidst a haze of incense and the sounds of the Holy Rosary being sung.
Celebrating the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Marian procession was preceded by a Mass celebrated by Somascan Fathers Mathew Velliyamkandathil CRS and Chris De Sousa CRS, parish priest and assistant priest of St Joseph’s Moorebank and St Christopher’s Holsworthy.
During his Homily, Fr Chris De Sousa CRS spoke on the Path that Our Blessed Mother took, the path that “we’re all called to walk from here to Heaven”.
“Make no mistake, Our Blessed Mother was no spared little flower,” said Fr Chris.
“When God’s Kingdom took flesh in her womb she had St Joseph to contend with, a dangerous flight into Egypt, thirty years of silence in Nazareth, suffering at the foot of the Cross while receiving from Him her greatest commission … to be the Mother of the apostles and of the whole Church.
“Her Assumption gives us sure hope of what awaits us if we accept suffering and trials with patience and faith, desiring to help Our Lord accomplish the work of redemption.”
Following the procession, Fr De Sousa invited everyone present to remain for fellowship and a shared meal provided generously by a group of parishioners with a special devotion to the Assumption Solemnity.