A "Way of the Cross" for peace in the streets of Bethlehem is not a banal event. It took place on Saturday, March 1st, as part of the "A Bridge for Peace" campaign that was started in Italy. It is all part of the resounding call that went out in December 2006 from the Elisabethine Sisters of the Caritas Baby Hospital of Bethlehem.
The hospital is located on Custody-owned land, not far from the check point. On March 1, 2004, the sisters saw the construction of the first six cement blocks, eight meters high, that have since hermetically cut off Bethlehem from Jerusalem. From their pediatric hospital, the only one of its kind in the Transjordan, they have seen the situation, particularly in the health and social areas, inexorably deteriorate. Every Friday the sisters say the rosary along the wall. Their voice was heard throughout Italy and since 2006 has been relayed by numerous parishes, dioceses and various associations and movements.
The campaign is named "A Bridge for Peace" and the first of March was dedicated to construction of a wall of dialog and prayer, constituting a headline event in Italian parishes.
This year the parishes of Beit Sahur, Beit Jala and Bethlehem organized a Way of the Cross in the streets of the City of the Nativity. A large crowd of Palestinian Christians from the area participated. Of note was the youth of the procession. In fact, it was the young people who animated the prayer along the fourteen stations, aided by the seminarians of the Latin Patriarchate, who themselves live in Beit Jala.
A group of some forty Italians joined the local Christians. All were welcomed in the Saint Catherine’s parish church by Msgr. Fuad Twal, coadjutor of His Beatitude Msgr Michel Sabbah.
During the meditation of this station, the assembly could also pray while thinking of the dramatic events of that same day in Gaza, as well as praying for the liberation of Msgr Paulos Faraj Rahho, Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul in Iraq, who was kidnapped on February 29th.
After bestowing his blessing, Msgr. Twal thanked the Italian parishes and associations for their support of the Holy Land. "This is the proof that we are neither forgotten nor abandoned." Msgr. Twal then invited the assembly, first in Italian and then in Arabic, to turn toward Christ: "The dramatic situation that we live here sends us directly to the Gospel. It invites us to take the Gospel seriously, to take the words of Christ seriously. ’He who would walk in my path, let him renounce himself, take up his cross every day and follow me.’ It is not possible to live in the Holy Land, to love the Holy Land, to work in the Holy Land, without the cross. Christ is the first, before us - before you - Christ took up his cross. Christ was buried before us.
The first time, the second time, the third time, he rose. He taught us, too, to rise up, to renew our courage and hope, to have faith, to believe in peace. We thank you for your aide. These gestures are precious. They help us not to die; they help us survive. We want peace, that peace that the politicians of the international community have not yet been able, not wanted us to obtain. We want to say, "Enough violence, enough attacks, enough death. We are tired of this situation, of this way of living. We are tired of politics that tell how to manage conflict without resolving it.
“Christ was buried before us, he rose before us, he lived the way of the cross before us, the way that leads to resurrection. Let us take the Gospel seriously. As he said, ’Fear not!’ we are not afraid. We take seriously his words, ’I give you my peace’. And his peace is not that of the politicians. His peace is not that of the military. His peace is in serenity, in trust in the future, trust in mankind, trust in self. This is the peace we are hoping and waiting for.
“We who are on the cross, we who are behind the wall, we have the courage to desire this peace for the whole world. We who are on our knees, we have the courage to announce this peace. Peace unto you, peace unto this Land."
Msgr. Twal’s words were met with an ovation. "As for me, these words give me courage and such an experience of prayer," says a Bethlehem parishioner.
If the politicians don’t listen, at least the young people renew their courage.
MAB
The hospital is located on Custody-owned land, not far from the check point. On March 1, 2004, the sisters saw the construction of the first six cement blocks, eight meters high, that have since hermetically cut off Bethlehem from Jerusalem. From their pediatric hospital, the only one of its kind in the Transjordan, they have seen the situation, particularly in the health and social areas, inexorably deteriorate. Every Friday the sisters say the rosary along the wall. Their voice was heard throughout Italy and since 2006 has been relayed by numerous parishes, dioceses and various associations and movements.
The campaign is named "A Bridge for Peace" and the first of March was dedicated to construction of a wall of dialog and prayer, constituting a headline event in Italian parishes.
This year the parishes of Beit Sahur, Beit Jala and Bethlehem organized a Way of the Cross in the streets of the City of the Nativity. A large crowd of Palestinian Christians from the area participated. Of note was the youth of the procession. In fact, it was the young people who animated the prayer along the fourteen stations, aided by the seminarians of the Latin Patriarchate, who themselves live in Beit Jala.
A group of some forty Italians joined the local Christians. All were welcomed in the Saint Catherine’s parish church by Msgr. Fuad Twal, coadjutor of His Beatitude Msgr Michel Sabbah.
During the meditation of this station, the assembly could also pray while thinking of the dramatic events of that same day in Gaza, as well as praying for the liberation of Msgr Paulos Faraj Rahho, Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul in Iraq, who was kidnapped on February 29th.
After bestowing his blessing, Msgr. Twal thanked the Italian parishes and associations for their support of the Holy Land. "This is the proof that we are neither forgotten nor abandoned." Msgr. Twal then invited the assembly, first in Italian and then in Arabic, to turn toward Christ: "The dramatic situation that we live here sends us directly to the Gospel. It invites us to take the Gospel seriously, to take the words of Christ seriously. ’He who would walk in my path, let him renounce himself, take up his cross every day and follow me.’ It is not possible to live in the Holy Land, to love the Holy Land, to work in the Holy Land, without the cross. Christ is the first, before us - before you - Christ took up his cross. Christ was buried before us.
The first time, the second time, the third time, he rose. He taught us, too, to rise up, to renew our courage and hope, to have faith, to believe in peace. We thank you for your aide. These gestures are precious. They help us not to die; they help us survive. We want peace, that peace that the politicians of the international community have not yet been able, not wanted us to obtain. We want to say, "Enough violence, enough attacks, enough death. We are tired of this situation, of this way of living. We are tired of politics that tell how to manage conflict without resolving it.
“Christ was buried before us, he rose before us, he lived the way of the cross before us, the way that leads to resurrection. Let us take the Gospel seriously. As he said, ’Fear not!’ we are not afraid. We take seriously his words, ’I give you my peace’. And his peace is not that of the politicians. His peace is not that of the military. His peace is in serenity, in trust in the future, trust in mankind, trust in self. This is the peace we are hoping and waiting for.
“We who are on the cross, we who are behind the wall, we have the courage to desire this peace for the whole world. We who are on our knees, we have the courage to announce this peace. Peace unto you, peace unto this Land."
Msgr. Twal’s words were met with an ovation. "As for me, these words give me courage and such an experience of prayer," says a Bethlehem parishioner.
If the politicians don’t listen, at least the young people renew their courage.
MAB