With Open Doors | Introducing you to Christ and to others | Page 8

with a mix of pride and regret

Catholic Relief Services is the international outreach and assistance arm of the United States Conference of Catholic bishops.

As they celebrate their 52 years of existence, CRS thanks you for your commitment, courage and solidarity.

They approach their anniversary with a mix of pride and regret: pride in all the hard work and achievement, regret that our mutual dreams have not yet been realized.

They, and we, walk and work toward the day when, enshallah, God willing, there will be a just, genuine and lasting two-state solution in the Holy Land.

Tags: Catholic Relief Services, CRS, international outreach, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

our holy fifty-nine minutes

A holy hour is by tradition an hour of prayer, often in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament placed in the monstrance on the altar.

This evening at St. Andrew there was a holy hour for peace in the Middle East. After the time of prayer, spoken and sung and silent, one attendee teasingly informed the deacon that the prayer was one minute short of the promised hour, so that technically, it was not a holy “hour.”

But holy it was!

We sang the chaplet of divine mercy, repeating over and over in a haunting and massaging melody,

“Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”

“For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

“Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

Then we prayed a “litany of presence.”

Make your presence known, Lord,

to the people of Gaza

to the people of Israel

to the people of the West Bank

to the people of Jordan

make your presence known, Lord,

to President Rivlin of Israel

to Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel

to President Abbas of Palestine

make your presence known, Lord,

to the people of Syria

to the people of Iraq

to the destructive forces in Syria and Iraq

make your presence known, Lord,

to Pope Francis

to Archbishop Fouad Twal of the Holy Land

to Bishop William Shomali of the Holy Land

to Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako of Iraq

to Father Jorge Hernandez of Gaza

make your presence known, Lord,

to the children in the Middle East who live in fear

to the children who are orphaned

to the children who are wounded

to the children living in refugee camps

make your presence known, Lord,

to all those who are wounded and have died in the conflicts

to all those who mourn for them

to the living and the dead lost in the rubble

make your presence known, Lord,

to the Salesian Sisters and Monks of the Cremisan

to the Salesian school children

to the decision makers of the Cremisan land

make your presence known, Lord,

to those who pray for peace in the Middle East

make your presence known, Lord.

After the prayer a bow appeared in the sky, reminding us of God’s promise to Noah after the flood of destruction never to allow the earth to be destroyed again. God placed a bow in the sky to remind himself. This bow tonight, ever so faint, helped us to remember, too.

Tags: adoration, blessed sacrament, chaplet of divine mercy, exposition, Gaza, holy hour, Israel, middle-east, peace in the Middle East

Comments 4 Comments
Categories Israel-Gaza conflict, Israel-Hamas conflict, St. Andrew Catholic Church (Milford, Ohio)

“literally deteriorating”

Bishop William Shomali of the Latin Patriarchate Jerusalem speaks about the Catholic church in Gaza:

“The Christian community in Gaza is less than 1,500. Among them, 200 are Catholics. The others are mainly Orthodox and some Anglicans. We run three Catholic schools and one Anglican hospital. The Christian presence in Gaza is stronger than its percentage.

For the moment, we don’t have special news about the destruction and losses incurred by the Christian community, although we are in contact on a daily basis with its courageous parish priest, Fr. Jorge Hernandez. We know from him that the faithful did not come to Mass last Sunday. They were afraid to come. Many people are deprived of basic needs such as sleeping at night because of what they hear.

Our Catholic school in Gaza, which is part of the parish compound, welcomed many homeless, who escaped the shelling of their quarter in Al Shujaieh and Al Zaitouneh. They are around 600 people living and sleeping in the school without the necessary equipment. They need food and water.”

For the entire interview with Bishop Shomali, click on Situation in Gaza ‘literally deteriorating’ says Latin Rite Auxiliary Bishop

Tags: Bishop Shomali, Gaza, Latin Patriarchate Jerusalem

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Israel-Gaza conflict, Israel-Hamas conflict

“open the school and let them in”

Holy Family School in Gaza, run by the Latin Catholic Church, now plays host to 800 refugees bedded down in classrooms and corridors.

The man who guards the school called the priest and immediately he said, “Open the school and let them in.”

Gaza’s Christians are a tiny and diminishing community of about 2,000 in a total population of 1.8 million. Today, there are only two active churches in Gaza and five Christian schools, although most of their pupils are Muslims.

Read the rest of the article: Gaza churches open doors to refugees from Israel offensive

Tags: Gaza, Hamas, Holy Family, Latin Catholic Church, Muslims, refugees

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Israel-Gaza conflict, Israel-Hamas conflict

hear our cry for mercy, O Lord

as we pray …

for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas

for the resumption of humanitarian relief for the people of Gaza through Catholic Relief Services

for the Israeli innocents who live in fear of Hamas’ indiscriminate rocket attacks on civilian areas

for the Palestinian innocents who live in fear for their lives from air and ground attacks or suffer the humiliations of occupation

for the avoidance of excessive actions of hostility and indiscriminate punishment which can breed a whole new generation of terrorists

for the emergence of a viable and independent Palestinian state living alongside a recognized and secure Israel which will bring the peace for which majorities of both Israelis and Palestinians yearn

Tags: Catholic Relief Services, ceasefire, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Israeli, Palestinian

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Emotions Memories Desires, Prayers

“starring” the prayers of others

Before we left on pilgrimage we gathered prayer petitions from parishioners, families, students, friends, co-workers and classmates. Yes, I said “classmates.” One of our pilgrims is a student in the Lay Pastoral Ministry Program of our Archdiocese. From her classmates she collected a huge stack of prayers, many of which were written in Vietnamese.

Mary Jo, a teacher at our SASEAS School, and her daughter Bridget, just weeks away from her wedding, cut and pasted all the prayers on heavy paper and created a real work of art.

All the prayers were folded into a book that was easy to pack and carry.

The book opened up into a star shape that could rest right on the corner of the altar whenever we prayed.

Cathy, the lay ministry student, kept the prayers with her at all times. Here she touches the prayers to the rock of Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, joining the cries of many to the cry of Jesus to his Father.

The prayers rested during Mass on the altar over the stone of the holy (and empty) tomb of Jesus.

The prayers were with us as we celebrated Mass with the local Christians in the olive grove of the Cremisan Valley near Beit Jala (Bethlehem).

On the Sea of Galilee we celebrated Mass at an outdoor altar on the edge of the water near the home of Peter and Andrew in Capernaeum. We opened up the prayers to God there as well.

And the prayers were with us for the last time at Mass on the Mount of Beatitudes.

We left all the prayers that we brought with the Sisters who live in the convent on the Mount of Beatitudes. Cathy and I were just starting to explain to one of the Sisters what we wanted to do, when she scooped them out of Cathy’s hands, “Tell the people that the Sisters will continue to pray for their intentions.” Sister knew what we wanted – and what our parishioners, families, students, friends, co-workers and classmates wanted.

Tags: Agony, Andrew, Beit Jala, Bethlehem, Capernaeum, classmates, Cremisan Valley, empty tomb, Gethsemane, Jesus, Mass, Mount of Beatitudes, Peter, pilgrimage, prayer, Sea of Galilee, Vietnamese, wedding

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Beit Jala, Cremisan, HOPE 2014 Pilgrimage, Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, SASEAS

celebrating Jesus in green, red and white

One of the good things about “having a priest” on a pilgrimage is that you get to celebrate Mass every day. One of the good things about “being a priest” on pilgrimage is that I get to celebrate Mass every day, each time at a site that was significant in the life of Jesus or is significant to the local Catholics today, and thus are significant to us.

The color was green when I concelebrated with Father Ibrahim, the parish priest of Beit Jala (Bethlehem) and Father Faysal, the General Director of the Latin Patriarchate Schools of Palestine and Israel.

At Capernaum along the Sea of Galilee we celebrated in red, in honor of the Apostles Peter and Andrew.

In the olive grove of the Cremisan Valley, Father Ibrahim and I wore white vestments.

In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, if we had been on Mount Calvary, I would have worn red. But since we had Mass at the Holy Tomb, the color was Easter white.

At the Milk Grotto shrine in Bethlehem the color was, well, you can see for yourself.

Tags: Andrew, Apostles, Beit Jala, Bethlehem, Calvary, Capernaeum, Catholic priest, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Cremisan Valley, Easter, Father Faysal, Father Ibrahim, Jesus, Latin Patriarchate Schools, Mass, Milk Grotto, Peter, pilgrimage, Sea of Galilee

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Beit Jala, HOPE 2014 Pilgrimage

the color blue is used only three times

Speaking of my three teachers (yesterday’s post), I took their picture together three times – on purpose.

On any map of the Holy Land of Palestine/Israel the color blue is used only three times: the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River and the Dead Sea.

Here are the St. Andrew teachers on the western shore of the Jordan River.

Here they are in the front of a boat on the Sea of Galilee.

I also have a photo of the three of them floating in the Dead Sea. You have to ask one of them to see that photo.

Tags: Dead Sea, Jordan River, SASEAS, Sea of Galilee

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories HOPE 2014 Pilgrimage, SASEAS

my three teachers

Abby, Christy and Sharon, you honored me by accompanying me to Jordan, Palestine and Israel. Having known you as teachers in our parish school, it delighted me for these fourteen days to travel, eat and pray with you in the Holy Land. It was like I was taking you home to meet my people, especially in my beloved Beit Jala, and to see the land in which I grew up, in Christ, that is. I wanted you to have an experience as life-giving as I have had. I wanted you to come to love the land and love the people as I much as I do. I knew that each of you would meet a partner teacher and be her house guest for two nights. I was confident that you would be in loving hands in her home and in her care. But a tiny part of my soul was a bit nervous about how things would be for you. I knew you had seen a photo of your partner-teachers, and had corresponded by email with them. But the father-worrier in me wanted to know for sure that you would feel comfortable, loved and safe.

Myrna, Niveen and Sally, however much I would thank you would not be enough. As the teachers from St. Andrew came off the bus in your church yard, you embraced Abby, Christy and Sharon, as if they were your long-lost sisters who had finally come back home. After just a few moments, you whisked the teachers away. They were in your arms, in your hands, in your cars – and they were gone. Then I left for two days, wondering how things were going, and hoping that each of you would bond with the teacher that you took home and to school with you. When I returned to pick up Abby, Christy and Sharon to move on to Jerusalem. I got my answer. The smiles on the faces of all six of you were proof and evidence of the friendship and solidarity that was built up in less than 48 hours.

Myrna, Niveen and Sally, I cannot ever thank you enough for what you have given to Abby, Christy and Sharon. They are better teachers, better women and better Christians because of you! You are also “my three teachers” now, too. I owe a debt to you that I cannot repay. But God can repay you. I will remind God often of my debt to you, and will ask God to pay you back for what you have given to the teachers from my school – and to me. May God continue to bless you, your families, your students and your homeland. Keep hope. Stay holy. Remain happy. Be brave.

Tags: Beit Jala, Holy Land, Holy Land Outreach Promoting Education, Israel, Jerusalem, Jordan, Palestine

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Beit Jala, HOPE 2014 Pilgrimage, SASEAS

her three children

It seemed that, while on pilgrimage, Michelle was always remembering her three children, and was always missing them. She often reminded the rest of us that she had three children, and was constantly reminding God, too.

Whenever she was standing quiet, we figured she was thinking of her three children, missing them, and praying for them.

While at the Sea of Galilee, I handed her three stones, of three different sizes, one for each of her children: small, medium and large; youngest, middle and oldest. I suggested that she hold the stones, one by one, as he held her children in her heart, one by one. Start with the smallest stone, I suggested, while praying for your youngest child. Hold the smallest in your hand, tell God what your prayer is for your youngest, then toss the stone into the sea. Then take up the medium sized stone and your medium sized child; make the prayer and toss the stone. And finally, the largest and the oldest.

The four photos below capture the stages: the stone, the wind up, the toss and the ripple.

It made me wonder if the four photos capture the stages of our prayer. Do they represent four parts of prayer, or four movements in prayer, or four things that are necessary for prayer, or four things that make a prayer a prayer and not just a thought? What do you think?

I have given each photo a caption, from the point of view of the stone. What caption would you give them, if the photos were not about the stone, but about the prayer?

Part 1: the stone (notice the white bird flying near the water)

Part 2: the wind up

Part 3: the toss

Part 4: the ripple

Tags: children, pilgrimage, prayer, praying, ripple, Sea of Galilee, stone, stones, toss

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Emotions Memories Desires, HOPE 2014 Pilgrimage

← Older Entries

Newer Entries →