It is 7.00 p.m. and in the small church of St. Joseph in Nazareth, preparations are under way for the vespers service which starts the feast-day of the Patron Saint of the Church and Guardian of the Redeemer, the groom of the Virgin Mary and father of Jesus.
The Via Crucis, which preceded the Eucharist, a regular appointment for Lent, has just come to an end in the Basilica of the Annunciation.
The many children and young people of this parish community attending both the celebration which has just come to an end and this moment of prayer is surprising. Amongst the pews, a few children pop out from the kneeling-stools and with wide open eyes look around them with great curiosity.
The prayer is accompanied by the songs of the young people of the group for the animation of the liturgy of the Basilica and part of the Parish Choir.
These vespers are particularly important because they mark the start, for the Church of Jerusalem in particular, of a liturgical feast-day which begins tomorrow with the Solemn Entrance of the Custos of the Holy Land and the Supplication to St. Joseph in the name of the whole Church and will come to an end next week with the solemn celebration of the Annunciation with the Patriarch.
"The groom Joseph meets his bride Mary" and this encounter is related and experienced through a special liturgy that allows living what happened here where everything started.
Vespers start with the exposure of the Holy Sacrament and then the hymn to St. Joseph is sung, marking the intervals of the various phases of the prayer in Arabic, Italian, English and French. The recital of Vespers has just finished and the Holy Sacrament is carried in a procession for its adoration during the night at the “Chemin euf” Community, in the new “Mary of Nazareth Centre" house.
The procession files through the steep and winding alleys and then goes up the steps of the new house to reach the beautiful chapel on the roof, from where there is a breathtaking view of Nazareth and the Basilica of the Annunciation. The faithful dwell in adoration and then slowly leave the chapel to the silence of all those who will stay there all night to greet the new day, in a vigil in front of Jesus the Eucharist.
The night accompanies the meditation on the mystery of this Saint, a just man, but still a simple carpenter, about whom we know relatively little, but enough for his life to make us wonder why he said “yes” to a son conceived in an extraordinary way and to the faith that must have supported him in looking after, feeding, protecting and humanly bringing up the incarnate Word. Jesus must have experienced great human fatherly love if, as an adult, he called, and taught us to call, God "abbah" (father),putting into that name all the loving relationship that he taught us!
These are human thoughts that caress the soul on this Spring evening here in Nazareth, an evening full of expectation for tomorrow’s celebration.
Article and photos by Marco Gavasso
The Via Crucis, which preceded the Eucharist, a regular appointment for Lent, has just come to an end in the Basilica of the Annunciation.
The many children and young people of this parish community attending both the celebration which has just come to an end and this moment of prayer is surprising. Amongst the pews, a few children pop out from the kneeling-stools and with wide open eyes look around them with great curiosity.
The prayer is accompanied by the songs of the young people of the group for the animation of the liturgy of the Basilica and part of the Parish Choir.
These vespers are particularly important because they mark the start, for the Church of Jerusalem in particular, of a liturgical feast-day which begins tomorrow with the Solemn Entrance of the Custos of the Holy Land and the Supplication to St. Joseph in the name of the whole Church and will come to an end next week with the solemn celebration of the Annunciation with the Patriarch.
"The groom Joseph meets his bride Mary" and this encounter is related and experienced through a special liturgy that allows living what happened here where everything started.
Vespers start with the exposure of the Holy Sacrament and then the hymn to St. Joseph is sung, marking the intervals of the various phases of the prayer in Arabic, Italian, English and French. The recital of Vespers has just finished and the Holy Sacrament is carried in a procession for its adoration during the night at the “Chemin euf” Community, in the new “Mary of Nazareth Centre" house.
The procession files through the steep and winding alleys and then goes up the steps of the new house to reach the beautiful chapel on the roof, from where there is a breathtaking view of Nazareth and the Basilica of the Annunciation. The faithful dwell in adoration and then slowly leave the chapel to the silence of all those who will stay there all night to greet the new day, in a vigil in front of Jesus the Eucharist.
The night accompanies the meditation on the mystery of this Saint, a just man, but still a simple carpenter, about whom we know relatively little, but enough for his life to make us wonder why he said “yes” to a son conceived in an extraordinary way and to the faith that must have supported him in looking after, feeding, protecting and humanly bringing up the incarnate Word. Jesus must have experienced great human fatherly love if, as an adult, he called, and taught us to call, God "abbah" (father),putting into that name all the loving relationship that he taught us!
These are human thoughts that caress the soul on this Spring evening here in Nazareth, an evening full of expectation for tomorrow’s celebration.
Article and photos by Marco Gavasso