The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated on the day of August 15, as every year, in the House of Virgin Mary on Mount Bülbül, İzmir.
This year, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which coincided with a Sunday, was more crowded than last year.
The ceremony, which was performed in Turkish and Italian, was led by Monsignor Cesar Essayan, the Apostolic Vicar of Beirut, while the Latin Catholic Archbishop of Izmir Monsignor Martin Kmetec, the Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Izmir – Private Secretary – Father Alessandro Amprino, the Deacon Guglielmo from Venice and the Deacon Nikola of the Diocese of Izmir Accompanied.
Groups from different churches in Izmir, priests and visitors from that day attended this important holiday. In addition, Noel Micaleff, President of the Virgin Mary House Association, also took part in the celebration. The choir of volunteers from the Izmir community added color to the ceremony by singing hymns.
Before the majestic Holy Eucharist ritual began, the procession left the chapel and went across to the cistern. There the first fruits – grapes, bread, figs, etc. – were consecrated by Monsignor Martin Kmetec.
“A Feast of Love”
After reading the words from Revelation and the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians in the sacrament, the Words of Christ, written by St. Luke, were read first in Turkish by Nicholas the Deacon, and then in Italian by Guglielmo the Deacon.
Monsignor Cesar Essayan said in his sermon: “Today’s feast, called the Asleep of Mary by the Orthodox and the Assumption of the Virgin by the Catholics, is the feast of faithful love between God and our Sister Mary, who is a human being like us. So what we celebrate today is a feast of love, a feast of unfailing love between God and Mary. The Asleep or Ascension, the final moment of the Virgin Mary’s earthly life, is the culmination of God’s loving relationship and mutual gift, who sent the Angel Gabriel to announce that the Holy Spirit would descend upon Mary. Indeed, Mary answered: “I am the Lord’s servant; May your word to me be fulfilled.” (See Luke 1.35-38)…
…The Virgin Mary has always been the voice of wisdom, the voice of the Holy Spirit for those who seek peace and hope… Don’t hesitate to learn from Mary how to be a free gift, how to welcome the Word of God, how to pray for events, how to stay faithful in the trials of life, to learn how to be hopeful in the face of any kind of hope, how to love when everything evokes hatred. Let us ask Mary to teach us how to be compassionate towards the action of the Holy Spirit, as she was, and how to shape our whole being according to the commandments of the Father God.” said.
After the ceremony was over, the congregation was invited to the garden of the Virgin Mary House Association for a treat given by the association.
In the afternoon, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary was concluded with the magnificent rosary prayer. Monsignor Martin Kmetec, Monsignor Cesar Essayan and a few others prayed in the chapel, while the congregation prayed outside in the shade.
Together with the participants, different people said the prayers “The Lord’s Prayer” and “Hail Mary” in different languages - Italian, English and Turkish – respectively. At the beginning of each prayer, they read each of the five glorious mysteries of the rosary. At the end of the Rosary prayer, the hymn of Salve Regina (Thanks Queen) was sung in Latin, then in Italian by Father Igor, the High Priest of the Rosario church in Alsancak and everyone responded with prayer. (Nathalie Ritzmann, SAT-7 TÜRK/İzmir)
