More than a thousand parents, children and leaders from 60 towns gathered at the Monastery of Our Lady of Machmoucheh in Jezzine for the fourth Family Day, with a talk by Abbot Semaan Abou Abdo and a renewal of marriage vows.
On Sunday 2 July 2023, the fourth Family Day of the Maronite and Melkite dioceses of Sidon and Deir El-Qamar took place at the Monastery of Our Lady of Machmoucheh in Jezzine, under the theme "The Family: Dialogue and Communication."
Participants came from 60 towns across the two large dioceses, numbering more than a thousand parents, children and leaders. This annual family celebration is organized in turn by one of the two dioceses' family committees, in full coordination between them; this year it was the turn of the Family Committee of the Maronite Diocese of Sidon.
The day began with arrival at 9 am, registration and morning refreshments.
At 10 the gathering opened with prayer and hymns led by our brothers and sisters of the Charismatic Renewal group of Deir El-Qamar.
This was followed by heartfelt words full of joy, love and gratitude to the families present and the organizing committee from His Excellency Bishop Maroun Ammar, Bishop of the Maronite Diocese of Sidon, who also praised the joint work and full coordination between himself and His Excellency Bishop Elie Bechara Haddad, Archbishop of the Greek Melkite Catholic Diocese of Sidon and Deir El-Qamar.
Then Father Joseph Abi Aoun, head of the diocesan Family Committee, superior of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Hill in Deir El-Qamar and parish priest, spoke about the stages of preparation for the day, which lasted more than six months, thanking Bishops Maroun Ammar and Elie Bechara Haddad and all the friends who were behind the organization and success of the day.
At 10:30 came the highlight that marked, beautified and brightened the day: the spiritual talk by the Very Reverend Abbot Semaan Abou Abdo, former Superior General of the Maronite Mariamite Order, coordinator of the Office for the Pastoral Care of Marriage and Family at Bkerké, family counselor and mediator. With his personality, delivery, style, culture, way of connecting and long experience with families, he excelled in the art of communicating the Word: he moved those present, captured their attention and touched their lives, drawing them into his questions and bringing joy to their hearts. After the talk, at 11:30, there was a coffee break.
Dialogue circles followed at noon, in two categories:
First category: married couples, in 25 circles.
Second category: young men and women aged 18 to 30, in four circles.
At 1:30 pm came lunch, in a wonderful atmosphere of joy and celebration, expressed in dancing, dabke and festive cheers to Lebanese songs – it was the family's wedding and its feast.
Before moving to the final part, it should be noted that the children under three had their own program with specialized nursery teachers.
Children aged 3 to 16 also had their own program according to their age groups, in another part of the venue.
At 3 pm, the families gathered with their children and the leaders to celebrate Mass, presided over by His Excellency Bishop Maroun Ammar with His Excellency Bishop Elie Bechara Haddad and a number of priests. The homily was given by Abbot Semaan Abou Abdo, who concluded: "As long as the family is well and Jesus lives in it, Lebanon is well." After the homily, couples renewed their marriage vows, each husband taking his wife's hand. This left a deep impression and great joy in their hearts, which they expressed with applause and zalghouta cries of joy, as if it were their wedding day.
To close, Bishop Elie Bechara Haddad led a prayer of thanksgiving and Bishop Maroun Ammar gave the final blessing.
And so, at around 4:30 pm, our families returned to their towns, parishes and homes with hearts overflowing with joy, carrying precious provisions for the road: with Jesus, who takes the initiative in listening to us, dialoguing and communicating with us, we can live this listening, dialogue and communication in our families, communities and centers, and achieve the impossible.
Thank you to each and every person who helped organize this gathering.
Every day is a family day, and may we all be well – we look forward to meeting again next year for a new Family Day.
