Archbishop Pizzaballa invites
Holy Land Christians to pray ‘in the family'
 |
| Archbishop Pizzaballa leads a prayer servive overlooking the walls of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday |
At Easter, the eyes of the Christian world are traditionally
on the holy city of Jerusalem and on the sites of Jesus’ passion, death and
resurrection. But Covid-19 cases, and deaths, are on the rise in the Holy Land
and the holy sites are closed to the public.
By Vatican News
Just as in almost every other part of the world, Christians
in the Holy Land are invited to participate in Holy Week and Easter liturgies
through live streaming.
“It won’t be the same,” Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa,
the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, told
Vatican Radio, “but it will be an occasion for families to pray together in a
new way,” recuperating a domestic dimension of prayer that has been lost.
Archbishop Pizzaballa, who is also the former Franciscan
Custodian of the Holy Land, expressed his sadness that Easter in this most holy
place will be “really limited because of the coronavirus that is affecting our
societies and communities, both in Israel and in the Palestinian territories.”
However, he points out, plans are in place to make sure all
the liturgies, “according to our tradition at the Holy Sepulchre and at the
Latin Patriarchate” will be provided through live streaming by all the parishes
of the diocese.
“On the one hand it will be sad, on the other it will be
essential and maybe also very true because in these situations, even if we
cannot give life to all our traditions we can still live the mystery of Easter
and the mystery of our Salvation,” he says.
What’s more, Pizzaballa continues, “as Bishop I have
recommended to all families to start doing something we lost in the past: to
pray in the family.”
Echoing Pope Francis’ encouragement on Wednesday to give
life to “a great domestic liturgy,” the Archbishop concludes: “If you cannot
pray in the community, in the churches, you can pray in the family, and find a
new way to celebrate Easter here in the Holy Land.”
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét