In the distant 13th century, when the first Friars Minor arrived in the Holy Land, a form of prayer developed in the places where the story of Jesus took place.
The brothers of St. Francis, perhaps only a few of them and hidden during the most difficult periods under Muslim domination, would go to the Holy Places with the Gospel and would pray there with the simplicity that their founder had taught.
The desire and the devotion to pray in exactly the places where Jesus had been, as told in the Gospel, was even greater than fear of the night. This is how the “pilgrimages” came into being! Going to the place reported in the Gospel and praying in that place for oneself and for the Universal Church.
This ancient desire for communion with Jesus and to pray in the places described in the Gospel is as alive today as it was then. Despite the various Councils and the renewal of the Church of Rome, with which the friars have always had a bond and to which they are completely obedient, these traditional pilgrimages of prayer in the Holy Places have remained constant in time.
Today there is more attention to the different nationalities and the liturgical booklets have translations in the different languages, but the ritual has been the same for centuries. It is fascinating to know that what is done today is still the same thing that has been done for hundreds of years. A simple fidelity, but which in itself contains all the love for the Gospel and the Holy Places.
Today there was the pilgrimage to Dominus Flevit, the place where Jesus, entering Jerusalem before his Passion, stopped to cry “not for his fate”, as Brother Narciso Klimas, who presided the Eucharist, specified in his homily, “but for the fate of Jerusalem”. The singing of the Mass, rigorously in Latin, was guided by the many friars in attendance. There was also a good presence of local youngsters and families, as well as of many religious orders present in the Holy Land.
When the Mass was over, the friars offered refreshments to all those present to fraternally experience the solemnity of the event. Next Wednesday there is the pilgrimage at Gethsemane at 4.00 p.m.
Article and photos by Marco Gavasso
The brothers of St. Francis, perhaps only a few of them and hidden during the most difficult periods under Muslim domination, would go to the Holy Places with the Gospel and would pray there with the simplicity that their founder had taught.
The desire and the devotion to pray in exactly the places where Jesus had been, as told in the Gospel, was even greater than fear of the night. This is how the “pilgrimages” came into being! Going to the place reported in the Gospel and praying in that place for oneself and for the Universal Church.
This ancient desire for communion with Jesus and to pray in the places described in the Gospel is as alive today as it was then. Despite the various Councils and the renewal of the Church of Rome, with which the friars have always had a bond and to which they are completely obedient, these traditional pilgrimages of prayer in the Holy Places have remained constant in time.
Today there is more attention to the different nationalities and the liturgical booklets have translations in the different languages, but the ritual has been the same for centuries. It is fascinating to know that what is done today is still the same thing that has been done for hundreds of years. A simple fidelity, but which in itself contains all the love for the Gospel and the Holy Places.
Today there was the pilgrimage to Dominus Flevit, the place where Jesus, entering Jerusalem before his Passion, stopped to cry “not for his fate”, as Brother Narciso Klimas, who presided the Eucharist, specified in his homily, “but for the fate of Jerusalem”. The singing of the Mass, rigorously in Latin, was guided by the many friars in attendance. There was also a good presence of local youngsters and families, as well as of many religious orders present in the Holy Land.
When the Mass was over, the friars offered refreshments to all those present to fraternally experience the solemnity of the event. Next Wednesday there is the pilgrimage at Gethsemane at 4.00 p.m.
Article and photos by Marco Gavasso