The daily prayer meetings for Christian Unity continue. This year it was the parish of St. Saviour of the Friars Minor of the Custody of the Holy Land to host the meeting for the Latin Church on Wednesday 26th January. The Vicar of the Custody, Friar Artemio Vitores presided the ecumenical prayer in the church of St. Saviour. Father Artemio recalled how the Franciscan presence in the Holy Land was initially at the Cenacle and then history deemed that the fraternity had to move to St. Saviour which since then has become the “new cenacle”.
Like all ecumenical meetings, there was great participation, with a large presence of the faithful who came to the parish to welcome Christians of other confessions. At these meetings, the theme “United in the teaching of the apostles, in communion and in breaking the bread and in prayer” was very present, and had been proposed, as the Holy Father recalled during the celebration of the vespers on the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 25th January in the Vatican, by the Christian communities of Jerusalem themselves. A moment of reflection was proposed by the parish priest of St. Saviour, Father Feras Hejazin ofm.
Father Feras recalled how during the Celebration of the Eucharist, after the Paternoster, the celebrant beseeches our Lord, before the exchange of the sign of peace, not to look at our sins, but the faith of the Church and to give us unity and peace. Starting then from the fundamental experience of the faith of Israel of the Exodus and of the Ten Commandments, Father Feras remembered how Jesus overcame the laws of the Old Testament and incarnated in his life the Beatitudes, living them to the full and taking them to his death on the Calvary for love of communion.
Father Feras concluded his homily recalling that just as a lot of wheat is milled to become flour which is then kneaded to become one loaf, Christians are called to merge their diversity and become one loaf to be broken. Many people also came to the meeting at the Cenacle where the Benedictines from the neighbouring Basilica of the Dormition hosted the prayer. In the room where, according to tradition the Eucharist began, breaking bread assumes a particular significance which takes us back to the origins of Christianity, to that first act by Jesus that will then make him recognizable to the apostles of Emmaus and which makes every Christian who shares in the authenticity of the Gospel recognizable.
Father Johannes remembered this well in his homily which he started by saying “Dividing is not a cause of division and sharing is not a loss but a gain,” summarizing in a few words the experience of the present-day in Jerusalem. The close of his sermon, telling a story but profound, story of three children was also exemplary.
A brother and his sister began to quarrel. The third brother was very disappointed by this climate. He had a biscuit and he broke it into two pieces, giving one half to the quarrelsome brother who, pacified by the gift, broke his half into two and offered it to his sister, with whom he had quarrelled. The hands which before had hurt became hands of healing. It is a story which, in its simplicity, tells us that forgiving is free, it is a gift of pardon.
Let us continue in the prayer of these days so that this week does not come to an end on Sunday 30th December with the meeting at the Anglican Cathedral of St. George, but continues in everyday life, giving the gift of pardon to others, following the example of the Apostles… and the three children.
Marco Gavasso
Like all ecumenical meetings, there was great participation, with a large presence of the faithful who came to the parish to welcome Christians of other confessions. At these meetings, the theme “United in the teaching of the apostles, in communion and in breaking the bread and in prayer” was very present, and had been proposed, as the Holy Father recalled during the celebration of the vespers on the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 25th January in the Vatican, by the Christian communities of Jerusalem themselves. A moment of reflection was proposed by the parish priest of St. Saviour, Father Feras Hejazin ofm.
Father Feras recalled how during the Celebration of the Eucharist, after the Paternoster, the celebrant beseeches our Lord, before the exchange of the sign of peace, not to look at our sins, but the faith of the Church and to give us unity and peace. Starting then from the fundamental experience of the faith of Israel of the Exodus and of the Ten Commandments, Father Feras remembered how Jesus overcame the laws of the Old Testament and incarnated in his life the Beatitudes, living them to the full and taking them to his death on the Calvary for love of communion.
Father Feras concluded his homily recalling that just as a lot of wheat is milled to become flour which is then kneaded to become one loaf, Christians are called to merge their diversity and become one loaf to be broken. Many people also came to the meeting at the Cenacle where the Benedictines from the neighbouring Basilica of the Dormition hosted the prayer. In the room where, according to tradition the Eucharist began, breaking bread assumes a particular significance which takes us back to the origins of Christianity, to that first act by Jesus that will then make him recognizable to the apostles of Emmaus and which makes every Christian who shares in the authenticity of the Gospel recognizable.
Father Johannes remembered this well in his homily which he started by saying “Dividing is not a cause of division and sharing is not a loss but a gain,” summarizing in a few words the experience of the present-day in Jerusalem. The close of his sermon, telling a story but profound, story of three children was also exemplary.
A brother and his sister began to quarrel. The third brother was very disappointed by this climate. He had a biscuit and he broke it into two pieces, giving one half to the quarrelsome brother who, pacified by the gift, broke his half into two and offered it to his sister, with whom he had quarrelled. The hands which before had hurt became hands of healing. It is a story which, in its simplicity, tells us that forgiving is free, it is a gift of pardon.
Let us continue in the prayer of these days so that this week does not come to an end on Sunday 30th December with the meeting at the Anglican Cathedral of St. George, but continues in everyday life, giving the gift of pardon to others, following the example of the Apostles… and the three children.
Marco Gavasso