Easter at the Holy Sepulcher
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
MMXVIII 1st QUARTER UARTERMMXVII I 1st QUARTER Contents Page 1 • Calendar Page 2 • Jordan: Father Khalil Jaar: “I rub shoulders with the saints of the 21st century!” Page 3 • 50 pilgrims walk in the footsteps of the disciples of Emmaus to meet Christ Page 4 • Easter reflections of Mr. Sami El-Yousef, Chief Executive Officer of the Latin EASTER AT THE HOLY SEPULCHER: “HE IS Patriarchate Page 6 • Homily of Archbishop NOT HERE; HE IS RISEN” Pizzaballa: The Paschal Mystery of the Resurrection The bells and the organ pierced the silence: Easter was thus announced in Jerusalem. With the anticipation of the 2018 Easter vigil on Saturday morning, the Holy Sepulchre was the first place in the world where the Resurrection was Page 8 • St. Louis Hospital sees announced. (Read more) restoration of its fading Crusaders frescos Page 9 • Easter at the Holy Subcriptions and Gifts are now being taken, Sepulcher: “He is not here; he please assist us by contributing as soon as possible. is risen” Page 10 • A Chaplain’s Reflection CALENDAR 500 pilgrims walk in the footsteps of the Page 11 • Vice Governor disciples of Emmaus to meet Christ General's Report 2018 Page 12 • Lieutenant’s Report Mass at St Patrick's More than fifty people marched from Jerusalem to 2018 Emmaus-Nicopolis. (Read more) Church, 9:00am first Page 14 • Pilgrimage 2017 Sunday of the month followed brunch. St. Louis Hospital sees restoration of its fading Crusaders fresco Editor Mr. Simon Milton KHS A partial restoration of frescos at St. Louis Hospital 0448 350 272 Cardinal O’Brien is was completed. (Read more) [email protected] visiting Brisbane from September 16 - 20, 2018, more details Jordan: Father Khalil Jaar: “I rub shoulders with the saints of the 21st will follow regarding century!” events during his visit. Father Khalil Jaar opened a free “evening school” for all those children who had no place elsewhere. (Read more) 1 MMXVIII 1st QUARTER UARTER Jordan: Father Khalil Jaar: “I rub shoulders with the saints of the 21st century!” Jerusalem, April 4, 2018 AMMAN – In August 2014, hundreds of Iraqi refugees, fleeing Daesh, flock to the Marka-Hashemi neighborhood, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Amman, near the Latin Parish of Marka. Father Khalil Jaar opened a free “evening school” for all those children who had no place elsewhere and who are waiting with their families to get a visa to reach a host country. A vast courtyard filled with students in gray and red uniforms. It’s time for recreation. The children have fun and pose for a photo. Suddenly, a bell sounds: Abouna Jaar sounds the hour The children line up with discipline in front of the chaplain and sing a of prayer. The children line up with powerful song. discipline in front of the chaplain and sing a powerful song. It’s the Our Father in Aramaic, the language of Christ, which young children also call “the language of Christians”, the language in which they were used to pray, and which some speak fluently. Realizing the linguistic richness of their culture and “that they do not forget their roots,” Father Jaar instituted this daily Our-Father, learning this prayer by heart. From humanitarian urgency to the creation of a school In August 2014, this tireless parish priest of Marka faces the arrival of more than 800 Iraqi Christian families hunted by Daesh. He speaks of the difficult first months of these families. “At first, everyone was sleeping here. We turned the school into a giant dormitory. It was hard, we had a lot of sick people. Then, little by little, thanks to generous wealthy families from Amman, we were able to rent apartments in which two or three families settled. In addition to material worries, Father Jaar recalls the psychological distress, and recounts how he led children, scared by the noise of planes’ takeoff, to Marka airport to show them that it was not about warplanes. “There is not one family here who has not lost a loved one,” he sums up. Once the state of “humanitarian crisis” passed, “the evening school” was born in February 2015. The school today welcomes, free, 200 children at night, in addition to 100 children integrated with Jordanian schoolchildren in the morning. “These children had no place elsewhere,” continues Father Jaar. In a few months, the establishment becomes a pillar in the lives of many families. Cafés for women, games for children, Masses and prayers: everything is organized around the parish. “Some people were scared to go out and still are, but this school has brought them joy,” continues Father. Aware that each expense is a sacrifice because some families cannot properly feed their children, he has gone so far as to transform an old storage room into a hairdressing salon: in exchange for compensation, a young trained hairdresser cuts hair from all the little community! Although he can count on the generous support of the Embassy of France that finances the schooling of all these children, Father Jaar does not hide his concern. “There are still more than 220 Iraqi out-of-school children in the neighborhood, but we do not have the funds to accommodate them. The Iraqi situation has sadly gone to the background in terms of humanitarian urgency. In addition to the 800 families already in his care, Father Jaar has recently been entrusted with the care of 355 Chaldean families following the departure of the Chaldean priest to Australia. 2 MMXVIII 1st QUARTER A united community, “awakened” by Iraqi distress UARTER In recent weeks, the parish has also opened a free clinic because medical costs remain very high for Iraqis. The entire community around him, Christian and Muslim, also benefits. “Among the Jordanians, many isolated elderly people cannot move because the hospital is too far away or too expensive. Marka is a poor neighborhood.” A nurse comes three times a week and the doctor travels punctually. “We hope to be able to finance compensation so that she can come regularly because the needs are immense: just today, we had 56 patients!” Father Jaar also does not intend to forget all these young Iraqis, deprived of the right to study in Jordan and, what is more, to work. In order to better prepare them for the future that awaits them in their future host country – Australia, Canada or even in Europe – the chaplain has created a computer center. Every day, 20 young Iraqis come to take classes to prepare for the ICDL (International Computer Driving License), an essential test to find work afterwards. “The majority of these young people could not continue their studies because of Daesh,” he explains. This training also benefits young Jordanians without resources. “I want everything that is made available to Iraqis to benefit my parishioners as well,” he summarizes. “Whether they are Jordanians or Iraqis, I say to these young people every day that they must not waste a minute of their lives.” This mix between the different existing communities is a difficult but successful challenge for the parish of Marka which has found a new breath since the arrival of the Iraqis. “You only have to see the number of young Jordanians who volunteered to help these families! This Iraqi community has awakened my parish,” says Father Jaar. For his part, the priest from Bethlehem saw this apostolate as a radical call that changed his life. “When these families arrived, I realized that God had sent me here to take care of the Iraqis while I was wondering what I would do in this parish. They are martyrs, witnesses. I often have in mind this Gospel sentence that says,‘They will persecute you because of your Faith!’ That’s what they have lived! Yes, I rub shoulders with the saints of the 21st century.” Claire Guigou 50 pilgrims walk in the footsteps of the disciples of Emmaus to meet Christ Religious, volunteers, expatriates, or simple lovers of the Holy Land – found themselves re-living the walk of 30 kilometers made by the Emmaus disciples over 2000 years ago JERUSALEM – April 2, 2018, Monday after Easter, the day of the resurrection of Christ, more than fifty people marched from Jerusalem to Emmaus-Nicopolis to relive the journey of the “disciples of Emmaus” 2000 years ago of that. Departing from the Cenacle at 6 a.m., more than fifty people – religious, volunteers, expatriates, or simple lovers of the Holy Land – found themselves re-living the walk of 30 kilometers made by the Emmaus disciples over 2000 years ago. Each year, this walk that is organized by the Beatitudes community of 3 MMXVIII 1st QUARTER Emmaus-Nicopolis, brings many people together. Nevertheless, the position of the locality of EmmausUARTER still provokes so much debate. The Gospel according to St Luke mentions the distance: “Emmaus, about 7 miles [60 stadia] from Jerusalem” (Lk 24:13). The Catholic Encyclopedia states “the distance given by Luke varies in different manuscripts and the figure given has been made even more ambiguous by interpretations.” Based on the tradition of the early Fathers of the Church and on the relatively early hour when the disciples left Jerusalem, the first hypotheses – that it corresponds to the village of Nicopolis near Latrun Abbey – is the most likely one. The village located at “about 7 miles” or 60 stadia, would correspond with Abu Ghosh, which is recognized by the majority of pilgrims as the village from which Jesus began to walk with the disciples. Another hypothesis exists that the Franciscans hold, that Emmaus corresponds to the Palestinian village of Qubeibeh. After a picnic break at Abu Ghosh, the adherents of the Emmaus day arrived in Nicopolis where more than 200 people gathered in the late afternoon for the celebration of the Holy Mass presided over by Bishop Boulos Marcuzzo, Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine.