(Vatican Radio) The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Catholic Church’s spiritual
leader in the Holy Land, traditionally celebrates Christmas mass with the faithful
at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Given the severe travel restrictions
that regularly prevent the faithful of Gaza from joining in the Bethlehem festivities,
Patriarch Fouad Twal traditionally celebrates a pre-Christmas liturgy in Gaza - something
he did this year on the third Sunday of Advent.
The Latin Patriarchate’s Christophe
Fontaine joined Patriarch Twal on his visit to the Holy Family Catholic Parish in
Gaza. In a moving blog about the visit, he writes, “In the three weeks since the
end of the Israeli operation 'Column of Defense,' the parish has seen the ceasefire
as 'a miracle.'
“Patriarch Fouad Twal who went for the first time to Gaza since
the ceasefire, explained in his Sunday homily that “Christmas is a gift from Heaven,
but the good will of men so that there may be peace is also needed.” He also invited
Christians “to live a strong faith” in order to continue living in this Holy Land
where the Holy Family passed during the flight to Egypt and to remember that ‘even
Jesus suffered injustice.’
“According to the parish priest, Father Jorge
Hernandez, IVE: ‘the parishioners are very appreciative of this visit and it is also
a little of Jerusalem that came here to them, and this touches them very much in their
faith life.’ To thank all those who supported them with their prayers and their gifts
during the war, the parish celebrated an official Mass of Thanksgiving. The pastor
said ‘that they all know we have prayed for them.’
“After (the) Mass, the
Patriarch, together with Bishop Marcuzzo, Vicar in Israel, as customary, met with
the families for the exchange of Christmas greetings. The General Administrator of
the Patriarchate, Fr. Humam Khzouz, who coordinated the entrance of the delegation
to the Gaza Strip and the Chancellor, Fr. George Ayoub, were also part of the Patriarchal
delegation.
“The small Catholic parish of the Holy Family has exactly 185 faithful.
Among the 1.6 million Gaza inhabitants, a crowded area of 360 sq. kilometers, there
are 1,550 Christians (Greek Orthodox for the most part) now only half of the 3,000
in 2008.
“Christmas, however, will be celebrated after the bombs,” writes
Christophe in the Latin Patriarchate blog. “So life goes on in Gaza. Eight days of
mass destruction left traces on houses, public buildings and schools. Along the roads
are found several ruins as those of the football stadium where the stands collapsed
after the stadium was struck by bombs. In the midst of the rubble, violence still
resonates and on their faces ‘exhaustion is seen by the dark circles around the eyes’
as Bishop Marcuzzo noted.
“By this, we must recognize, the people of Gaza cling
to life. The smiles of the children attest to it in front of our photo cameras, the
happy mothers and the daring of their sons, the open shops, the noisy traffic. In
fact, Gaza vibrates with life. Men, women, children confronted with violence, scarcity,
the conservatism that strongly rules daily life, they suffer from a high unemployment
rate (60% of the population) and from the weight of the days without some distraction.
But the inhabitants here also live the joyful feasts and marriages. In the Catholic
parish, for example, there are on average 1- 2 marriages and 3 – 4 baptisms a year.
“Immediately
after the ceasefire, the three Catholic schools of the Gaza Strip, which accommodate
1500 students of which the overwhelming majority are Muslims, organized the resumption
of classes. The two Catholic schools of the Holy Family reopened their doors. The
School of the Rosary Sisters instead had to wait until the following Monday in order
to repair broken windows because of the explosions. ‘The winter cold was arriving
and they needed to act quickly’ says Sister Davida, Principal of the School. In this
school where four Rosary Sisters serve, the principal tells of the resuming of classes:
‘many children made great effort to concentrate after thirty minutes of class. Some
psychologists from Caritas came to help them restart by playing and singing. Restoring
to a child the sense of security is a long process.’
“The relentless drama
continues in the interior of each person. Father Jorge Hernandez noted, together with
the School Principal, different problems in children of school age. ‘When the bell
announces the end of classes, when an airplane flies above their heads, some students
are afraid” they explain. ‘Other children stay in small groups near the walls. They
always have the behavior of war. They are afraid of the silence, of the grand silence.’
The Pastor then says ‘In Gaza now, when a child begins school, he has already seen
two wars. And he is not yet 4 or 5 years old.’
“To these children born in war
and who live in war, the parish proposes a pastoral life of prayer and playful activity
to help them grow “normally” in this little strip of overpopulated land that suffers
the embargo by its neighbors. More than ever the religious communities that live in
Gaza strain themselves to do everything to help the faithful of the parish, but also
the Orthodox and the Muslims so that they catch again their breath after the recent
events.
“The parish is supported by three sisters of the Incarnate Word Institute,
to which the pastor also belongs as well as the new parochial vicar, Father Mario,
who arrived just three weeks ago. At their side work the Rosary Sisters and the
Missionary Sisters of Charity of Mother Teresa, who are dedicated to disabled children.
Through ‘the festive oratorio’, children, parents and families can lead an almost
normal life. There are some beautiful moments, the people come to develop themselves,
to pray, to see each other and to play. So as in the streets of Gaza, also in the
parish life resumes its rights, forgetting the daily problems of security, the health
services but also the constant problems with electricity.
“The parish is an
island of life, where calm seems reestablished again, away from the images of a Gaza
‘ghost city’. Of course, they have rediscovered their life, but with an embargo. As
the Patriarch has said on several occasions ‘the people of Gaza do not have a normal
life. They live in an open-air prison.’ On Saturday afternoon, before the arrival
of the Patriarch, in the parish courtyard some youth were playing ball, the scout
band had its rehearsals, the crib was ready, the Christmas tree decorated, the divan
straightened up and the Sunday lunch prepared. It is here that the Patriarch greeted
the parishioners the following day, extending to them personally his Christmas wishes.”