in the face of violence, respond with forgiveness and the love of Jesus

The Vicar General of the Custody of the Holy Land invites to pray for the territory, stressing that peace is the Christian “response” to wars and tensions. Yesterday, Palm Sunday, hundreds of faithful attended the procession. King Abdullah of Jordan vows to “safeguard” the holy sites of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem () – “We must not respond to violence with violence, but with love, forgiveness and peace.” The author is Father Ibrahim Faltas, Vicar General of the Custody of the Holy Land in Jerusalem and former director of the catholic schoolsin a brief reflection sent to on the occasion of Holy Week. In the text, recall recent episodes of violence anti-Christian in the Holy Land: “Our response to these violent actions – stressed the cleric – has been forgiveness, prayer. From the holy places, in this week that represents the heart of Christian life and faith, he assured: “we will pray for the whole world”; at the same time, in this phase of deep tension, he asks everyone to: “pray for the Holy Land.

“We are Christians,” says Father Faltas, and recalls that “Jesus taught us to forgive, to reach out to those who make us suffer.” In addition, “we have a very important responsibility” because we are the Christians of Jerusalem, and although we live in “difficult times” marked by attacks and persecutions, we are “proud of the Cross” because it is the “sign of Jesus’ love for humanity”. Precisely to reinforce the message of forgiveness, a Stations of the Cross for Catholic schools took place on March 31 with the participation of the Custos Francis Patton and the Patriarch of Latinos, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa. More than 500 children waved handkerchiefs “with the Jesus prayer: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

With Palm Sunday, which commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the Christians of the Holy Land began the Holy Week celebrations prior to Easter in a climate of hope (for peace) and tension due to the recent attacks: from the Christian schools of Nazareth to the assault on the Sepulcher of Mary, going through the assault on the Church of the Flagellation and the vandalism against Christian cemeteries. Hundreds of people participated in the procession to the Mount of Olives, waving branches and palms as a sign of peace. “My wish,” said Patriarch Pizzaballa, “is that love and life characterize our lives more than the violence we are experiencing.”

King Abdullah II of Jordan yesterday pledged to protect the holy places in Jerusalem. It was during a meeting in Amman, with a delegation of the city’s Christian and Muslim religious leaders, accompanied by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. The monarch recalled that the Hashemite kingdom “will always be with you” and, addressing the Muslims, added that it is the “duty” of each one to avoid “the escalation of Israeli tension against the holy places.” Finally, the king stressed his personal commitment to preserve “peace and harmony” in the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third holy place of Islam, administered by Jordan.

Christians who participated in the Stations of the Cross at Christian schools in the Holy Land also recalled the recent attacks. They began the walk to the Flagellation carrying the image of Jesus that was attacked and destroyed by Jewish extremists a few weeks ago. “The Via Dolorosa was dyed red”, with the 500 red scarves that we all wore, because they represent the statue of the Flagellation that suffered a violent attack, perpetrated by a fanatic.

In recent months, numerous Christian churches and cemeteries have been the target of “acts of violence due to religious fanaticism, which is worrying” and has “shaken the Christian community”, which already “does not have an easy life on a daily basis, due to constant geopolitical changes”. “Christians are the first to pay the consequences, a true ordeal of the cross for many of them, who with courage and resilience remain in the holy city, hoping for a better future” and for this reason , he concludes, “represent a true miracle of God.”