The beauty of living out the faith in a multicultural country like Australia is that one gets to experience the great richness of traditions, nationality, language and diversity that makes up the Catholic Church.
Each parish is made up of communities from different parts of the world whose unique rituals and devotions add another colourful thread to the great tapestry of the Universal Church, bringing together all people as one in Christ.
In December, Moorebank parish’s growing Latin American community showcased the beauty and richness of its traditions with the celebration of a Quinceañera Mass for 15-year-old Lotus Martinez.
A Quinceañera is a coming-of-age ritual where the young girl is presented to her community as a young lady while offering thanks to God and her family for their guidance and protection over the first 15 years of her life.
The Quinceañera Mass is the pinnacle of the celebration, with a number of symbolic elements and rituals holding deep spiritual meaning for the 15-year-old and her family.
Escorted down the aisle by her father at the beginning of Mass, Lotus was met by 14 boys and 14 girls who were chosen to be part of her court of honour.
These young boys and girls have played a big part in Lotus’ life and recommit themselves to helping her grow in faith into the future.
Each boy gave a single white rose as they were greeted by the Quinceañera, a symbol of one blessed year of life, while each girl held out a lit candle which was blown out and symbolised the passing of that year.
As Lotus arrived at the foot of the sanctuary, she had gathered a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
In a humbling gesture, this bouquet would later be offered to Our Lady by the Quinceañera as she consecrated her life to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Mass readings, music and Prayers of Intercession all drew from themes of thanksgiving, the eternal love of God and Lotus’ life-long journey as a woman of strong faith.
Fr Chris De Sousa CRS, assistant priest of St Joseph’s Moorebank and St Christopher’s Holsworthy, centred his homily around the shaping and reinforcing of Christian values and how the community needs to be thankful for Lotus’ virtuous example as much as Lotus must be thankful for theirs.
“The beauty in seeing Lotus in a beautiful dress, accompanied by the beautiful maid and her men with her, shows the dignity that each one of us has as a human person, beloved children of God,” said the Somascan Religious.
“As a Quinceañera, Lotus will consolidate her commitment to her faith in this Holy House, an act of thanksgiving for her life, for her deep faith and the crowning of God’s blessings in her life.
“Every person that we encounter in this world, even a truly loving parent or an exceptionally devoted spouse or even a serving priest, are all flawed.
“And so we have our Quinceañera, showing us this witness of our Christian faith.
“We need reminders like this of bringing ourselves back to God and following more closely with the virtues that will help us lead a holy life and bring us to heaven.”
Fr Chris implored those present to pray to Our Lord for the grace to “never lose sight of why we must continuously commit ourselves to this great commandment of love” and to accompany Lotus in following the Lord Jesus Christ more closely in life.
Following the homily, Lotus made a public consecration to Our Lady and professed her ‘yes’ to God’s plans for her future.
“Thank you for creating me in your own image and likeness and for calling me to be your daughter through baptism,” said Lotus.
“Thank you for sending your son Jesus to save me and for your holy spirit to sanctify me.
“To that, which in your goodness and love, your Will for me I say yes.”
Through God’s grace, Lotus committed herself to serve her brothers and sisters while calling upon the intercession of Our Lady to guide her along the virtuous path towards heaven.
“Mary, mother of Jesus and our mother, I dedicate myself to you,” proclaimed the Quinceañera.
“Since you are my model of faith, help me to continue learning from what I need to be a christian woman.
“Help me to hear the word of God … so that as I walk with Jesus in this life, I may worship him with you for all eternity.”
Throughout the duration of the Quinceañera Mass, there were a number of symbols that remained on the sanctuary.
These included a tiara, representing how God sees the Quinceañera as a daughter and princess in his kingdom, the Bible and rosary, representing both foundations of her faith, and a ring that symbolises the unconditional love from God.
These symbols were blessed by Fr Chris with holy water and given to Lotus by her parents.
Following the Mass, the family of the Quinceañera hosted a formal reception in her honour for family and close friends.
The reception included three choreographed traditional dances which were performed by Lotus, her court and close family.
The first two involved the Quinceañera and her court which included an entrance waltz (El Vals) and a surprise dance (Baile de Sorpresa).
The third was the Father/Mother-Daughter Dance (Baile de Mama/Papa) and was one of the most emotional aspects of the celebration as it represents the Quinceañera’s first dance as a young woman with her father.
The Quinceañera is a celebration of the crucial role that a Christ-centered community has with assisting families in raising children to be virtuous adults.
Deeply rooted in faith, the Quinceañera is a prime example of how the traditions of our many migrant communities are bringing life back to our parishes, adding to the rich tapestry of our Catholic Church and in doing so revealing more of the image of God.