“ Ut Cognoscant Te” Schools of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
“ Ut Cognoscant Te” Schools of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem LPS “Easter is a sign of Peace” English Issue 18 April - 2015 His Beatitude Fouad Twal: Every day in the Middle East, we are witnesses of tragic... Our Schools in April Aboud Jifna Beit Sahour Taybeh Ramallah Zababdeh Ein Arik Beit Jala Bir Zeit Nablus English Issue 18 April - 2015 2 His Beatitude Fouad Twal: Every day in the Middle East, we are witnesses of tragic... with our two holy Palestinian saints: Mariam and Marie- Dear brother Bishops and Priests, Alphonsine. Therefore, let us bury in the tomb of Christ Dear men and women religious, our worldly inclinations, our contradictions, our religious Dear faithful of the Holy Land, divisions, our hostilities, our lack of faith and our fears. Dear pilgrims and faithful from around the world, We must “put away the old self of our former way of life… be renewed in the spirit…and put on the new self, created On this glorious day in this Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth” (Eph we relive the joy of Easter, and the Risen Christ, truly He 4:22-24), believe in good, believe that peace is possible, is risen who, “is going before us to Galilee” (Mt 28:7). that we “may have life and have it more abundantly. (Jn 10:10) I wish you all a beautiful and holy feast of the Resurrec- From this tomb emanated light and peace. And here to- tion! Every day in the Middle East, we are witnesses of day, from this battered Holy Land, light and peace must tragic events that make us even contemporaries of Cal- spring out again. Let us pray for the grace of God for the vary. But our joy and our faith in the Risen Lord, “no one Holy Land and the whole world. will take away”(Jn 16:22), because the Lord invites us Brothers and sisters, let us equip ourselves with faith, today, even in the midst of difficulties that are ours, to courage and joy of our encounter with Jesus, to proclaim taste the first fruits of the Resurrection. His resurrection and His victory. As Christians, we are When the women followers of Jesus went to the Tomb called to the heart of the Middle East, shaken by wars with spices to anoint the body of the crucified Christ (Mk and anguished by violence, to be signs of contradiction, 16: 1-2), they found an open and empty tomb and saw signs of hope beyond everything. Our future in this re- a young man, clothed in a white robe saying “You seek gion and in the world is uncertain and even incomprehen- Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified. He has risen, he is not sible, but do not be afraid, Christ assured us, He is “with here.” (Mk 16: 6-7) Then they went away quickly from the us always until the end of time”(Mt 28:20). tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to Politics and the international community are less con- his disciples. (Mt 28: 8) cerned of our freedom and fate. Personal interests pre- Today thousands of us who seek the face of Christ, His vail over the good will of those who desire and work for Word and His peace. And we struggle to find Him in this peace and justice. world, as nothing seems to quench our thirst, neither po- Nevertheless, contemporary martyrs continue to bear litical discourses, nor the business world, even our sur- witness to the Resurrection of Christ. Processions, the roundings sometimes. Like the women at the tomb, fear stones of Jerusalem, Iraqi and Syrian refugees who have pervades us before this emptiness. Because this tomb, lost everything for their faith, and prisoners in the name of brothers and sisters, where thousands of people are Christ, are signs that our Lord is alive. With the interces- seeking God every day, no longer contains the body of sion of Blessed Mariam and Blessed Marie-Alphonsine, the Crucified. we follow them that we become true witnesses for Christ God is not necessarily where we seek Him. It is not in During this Year of Consecrated Life, dear consecrated obscure and isolated corners, it is right beside us, in our brothers and sisters, let us rekindle the joy of our first call brother and sister, in our neighbor! Just like the disciples, and return to God to be faithful disciples at the service of standing in amazement in front of the empty tomb, we are our Church of Jerusalem and our brothers and sisters. invited to grow in our relationship with Jesus and become Many come to the Holy Land in search for Christ, while heralds and witnesses of the Good News, to finally un- trying to find or rediscover their roots. Our roots are here, derstand that we will find God in our brothers and sisters, in the Mother Church, on Golgotha and this empty Tomb. in spreading and sharing the joy of our salvation. Even For this, we have a great responsibility, that despite the when the darkness of Good Friday and of death over- numerous adversities, we must persevere in hope for a whelm us and darken our hearts and our country, believe life of joy. The living Christ always triumphs over evil. and sing: Christ is risen, Alleluia Dear brothers and sisters; dear friends; the sick; the el- To do this, brothers and sisters, we must live the first derly and the prisoners; to you dear faithful refugees, who miracle of the Resurrection, a radical change of heart, a live a Good Friday with uncertainty for the future because conversion, just as the Roman centurion at the foot of the of injustices and violence; to all who are deprived of the Cross, “who saw how he breathed his last and said, Truly experience of the joy of Easter; to you who have come this man was the Son of God!”(Mk 15:39) There is the to the Holy Sepulcher to share and celebrate with us this conversion of the soldiers, but also of the disciples gath- feast – for you, I raise my prayer, in the hope that you ered in the Upper Room and locked up in fear. The Res- enjoy the peace of the Resurrection. This peace will fill urrection transformed them and they became witnesses, your heart with love, solidarity, by the power of the Risen joyful witnesses in suffering for Christ. Christ who wants us to rise with him. (Phil 3:10-11) One day, we hope to sing our Alleluia and share eternal The Lord is risen! Go and proclaim this Good News to the glory with all the saints, world. Yes, Jesus is truly risen. Amen. Alleluia English Issue 18 April - 2015 3 Our Schools in April Extracurricular Activities Aboud The school carried out various extracurricular activities which included a trip to Mahkmas Park, Ori- gami workshops for grades5-9.The students enjoyed A French mobile library visits .this work shop very much the school In cooperation with the French Cultural Centre, a French mobile library, loaded with hundreds of books, visited the school. French books, magazines and posters were given out to the students with the purpose of enhancing reading and learning French On the other hand, the school, in cooperation with the Wildlife Society and the students’ parents coun- cil, set up a voluntary work day on Saturday April 25. The work included planting flowers in the school garden, cleaning the playgrounds, and whitewashing the outside of the school wall. This was followed by a meeting of the .students’ parents council with the administration English Issue 18 April - 2015 4 A campaign to Boycott Israeli Products Ramallah On Wednesday March 25, LPS, in cooperation with the society for protecting the Palestinian consumer, and AL A trip to Wadi Qelt Jibrini Dairy Products Company, launched a campaign to LPS Tawjihi students (Twelfth-graders) went on a trip to boycott the Israeli products. Wadi Qelt, near Jericho. The trip included a visit to the monastery of Wadi Qelt and a two-hour walk through the Qelt valley to the city of Jericho and Shams resort. This trip comes as a recreational activity for the students be- fore theTawjihi trial exams. The event was attended by the chairman of the society , a representative of Al Jibrini Company and LPS students and staff. The campaign, which is considered a national obligation and a method of peaceful resistance against the Israeli occupation is intended to encourage the stu- dents and their families to boycott these goods, and to encourage the national products which support the Pal- estinian economy. At the end of the event, Al Jibrini company representa- tives distributed samples of the company products which included different kinds of juice and dairy products. English Issue 18 April - 2015 5 LPS hosts the mini volley Lectures about adolescence, ball festival violence and HIV LPS hosted the mini volleyball festival for the students SAWA centre, in cooperation with LPS social worker, from grade one to grade eight in Ramallah governor- concluded a series of weekly lectures about adolescence ate, as this age group is the best age for developing the and the physical, psychological and social changes dur- physical potentials of the students, and to discover ing this period. The lectures also dealt with the subjects their latent talents in this sport, in the hope that they of violence, the internet and HIV. The students were di- might become professionals in this sport on the national vided into two groups: boys and girls, and the lectures and even international levels.