The “Feast of Mary, Mother of God” was celebrated on the morning of January 1, 2024, at the House of Virgin Mary located on Bülbül Mountain in İzmir Selçuk.
The Mass, led by Izmir Archbishop Monsignor Martin Kmetec, was performed in the chapel of the House of Virgin Mary by the Chancellor of the Diocese, Father Alessandro Amprino, the priests of the House of Virgin Mary, Father Robert Bondea, Father Jawahar Jerry Cuhindo and Father Royston Dsouza, and the priest of Bayraklı St. Anthony’s Church, Father Ezio Venturini and Father Dominic from the Selçuk House of Prayer for Contemplation and Peace.
The Mass, attended by some of the Kuşadası congregation as well as a few various visitors, was held in English.
At the beginning of the service the Archbishop asked everyone to pray for peace.
After reading Words from the Book of Numbers and Words from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, Father Jawahar read Words from the Gospel of Jesus Christ written by St. Luke.
Then Archbishop Martin included the following words in his sermon: “Mary’s example enables the Church to better appreciate the value of silence. Mary’s silence is not merely moderation in speech, but a particularly wise capacity to remember and embrace with a single look of faith the mystery of the Word that created man and the events of his earthly life. It is this silence as acknowledging of the Word, this ability to meditate on the mystery of Christ, that Mary conveys to the believers. In a noisy world filled with messages of all kinds, her testimony allows us to appreciate a spiritually rich silence and nourishes a contemplative spirit.”
He mentioned Monsignor Martin Fra Placido Cortese as an example. This Conventuel Franciscan priest died to avoid revealing the names of the people he saved.
(Nathalie Ritzmann, Sat-7 TÜRK/İzmir)
