On Sunday, May 31, Trinity Sunday, the Italian Republic commemorated its National Holiday.
The solemn mass was presided over by Fr. Dobromir Jasztal, Custodial Vicar, and it was concelebrated by many priests, both Italian and non-Italian, at the Franciscan parish of the Holy Savior in Jerusalem at 9:30 a.m.
The Consul General of Italy in Jerusalem, His Excellency David Cecilia, accompanied by other consular representatives, attended the ceremony.
Among many faithful who participated, were many Italian men and women religious, who work with the Custody, and pilgrims visiting the Holy Land.
In his homily, the Secretary of the Holy Land, Br. Sergio Galdi, recalled how important it is to attach oneself to the biggest Mystery in Christendom, while being guided by both faith and reason. The Scriptures give us a definition of God in John’s letter: God is Love, and so, it is a relationship, a communion between the Father, the Creator and Lover, the Son, the Redeemer and Beloved. The reciprocity between the Father and the Son is a person, the sanctifying Spirit, Love.
Pseudo-Dionysius affirmed that Eros is the force that cannot be contained in the lover and that leads him to want to conquer the beloved. In light of this, we can appreciate the passage from the first chapter of Genesis, in which God created man in His image. So every man and woman, carrying in himself or herself the image of God, is a shrine of the Trinity, and the Lord generously gives His love to His creatures. As St. Paul stated in his letter to the Corinthians: "“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart,what God has prepared for those who love him.” The approach, therefore, to this mystery cannot be merely of a rational nature, but a hymn of love. In the words of St. Gregory of Nyssa: “Man is like a musical harmony, a wonderfully composed hymn for the creative omnipotence.” The passage from Matthew's Gospel having been proclaimed, he presents the Apostles reaching Jesus on the Mount, the ultimate meeting place with God, and although some are still in disbelief and doubt, Jesus continues to remain close to them, to encourage them and to support them. Each time God calls for a vocation, he always offers the tools for His project to be carried out. “Fear not, I will be with you until the end of days.” Jesus’ “do not be afraid” is echoed many times in the Scriptures: it is said to Jacob, who is moving toward a land unknown to him; to Moses, who is fearful of meeting the Pharaoh; to Israel, who has been deported to Babylon; to Paul, so that he may bear witness in Rome. Here the Most Holy Trinity, of which the Church is a mirror, a missionary by nature—as is supported in the Ad Gentes decree from Vatican II—takes its source from the mission of the Son and from the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill the plan of the Father. In an address given the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI, speaking of the Trinitarian love says: “God’s charity, through the heart of Jesus Christ, is poured out on the world by the Holy Spirit, as a love that renews everything.”
At the end of the mass, refreshments were offered in the monastery’s social hall.
It was a time to exchange a few opinions on the current situations both in Italy and in the Holy Land.
The solemn mass was presided over by Fr. Dobromir Jasztal, Custodial Vicar, and it was concelebrated by many priests, both Italian and non-Italian, at the Franciscan parish of the Holy Savior in Jerusalem at 9:30 a.m.
The Consul General of Italy in Jerusalem, His Excellency David Cecilia, accompanied by other consular representatives, attended the ceremony.
Among many faithful who participated, were many Italian men and women religious, who work with the Custody, and pilgrims visiting the Holy Land.
In his homily, the Secretary of the Holy Land, Br. Sergio Galdi, recalled how important it is to attach oneself to the biggest Mystery in Christendom, while being guided by both faith and reason. The Scriptures give us a definition of God in John’s letter: God is Love, and so, it is a relationship, a communion between the Father, the Creator and Lover, the Son, the Redeemer and Beloved. The reciprocity between the Father and the Son is a person, the sanctifying Spirit, Love.
Pseudo-Dionysius affirmed that Eros is the force that cannot be contained in the lover and that leads him to want to conquer the beloved. In light of this, we can appreciate the passage from the first chapter of Genesis, in which God created man in His image. So every man and woman, carrying in himself or herself the image of God, is a shrine of the Trinity, and the Lord generously gives His love to His creatures. As St. Paul stated in his letter to the Corinthians: "“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart,what God has prepared for those who love him.” The approach, therefore, to this mystery cannot be merely of a rational nature, but a hymn of love. In the words of St. Gregory of Nyssa: “Man is like a musical harmony, a wonderfully composed hymn for the creative omnipotence.” The passage from Matthew's Gospel having been proclaimed, he presents the Apostles reaching Jesus on the Mount, the ultimate meeting place with God, and although some are still in disbelief and doubt, Jesus continues to remain close to them, to encourage them and to support them. Each time God calls for a vocation, he always offers the tools for His project to be carried out. “Fear not, I will be with you until the end of days.” Jesus’ “do not be afraid” is echoed many times in the Scriptures: it is said to Jacob, who is moving toward a land unknown to him; to Moses, who is fearful of meeting the Pharaoh; to Israel, who has been deported to Babylon; to Paul, so that he may bear witness in Rome. Here the Most Holy Trinity, of which the Church is a mirror, a missionary by nature—as is supported in the Ad Gentes decree from Vatican II—takes its source from the mission of the Son and from the Holy Spirit in order to fulfill the plan of the Father. In an address given the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI, speaking of the Trinitarian love says: “God’s charity, through the heart of Jesus Christ, is poured out on the world by the Holy Spirit, as a love that renews everything.”
At the end of the mass, refreshments were offered in the monastery’s social hall.
It was a time to exchange a few opinions on the current situations both in Italy and in the Holy Land.