Give Hope, Sow Peace. The Good Friday Collection for the Holy Land is a concrete sign of communion and hope.
Dear brothers and sisters, May the Lord grant you his peace!
As Holy Week approaches, our hearts and our gaze return here to the Holy Land, to the land where the Son of God gave his life “until the end” and from which the Church was born. Even today, from these Holy Places, we continue to draw from the source of Easter the meaning and the hope of our service. But we cannot hide, however, that the time we are living is difficult.
The war, the violence and the insecurity have hit Gaza, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon and Syria hard. To all this was added the long absence of pilgrims, which has aggravated a situation already complicated for many families who no longer have the means to support themselves.
Young people are finding it increasingly difficult to imagine a future here, in their land. Hope itself appears wounded, in Bethlehem, in Jerusalem, in the North of Israel, as well as in Lebanon and in Syria. In this context, the words of the Holy Father resonate strongly, who has called us back to the urgency of prayer and fasting for peace, asking with force for an end to the conflict in the Holy Land.
Good Friday, then, takes on an even deeper meaning for us. The Pontifical Collection Pro Terra Sancta is not just a gesture of solidarity: it is a concrete sign of communion with the Church of Jerusalem. Thanks to this Collection we can support schools, parishes, charitable works, social projects and emergency interventions, keeping the Christian presence alive in the Places of Redemption.
Today more than ever we are called to rebuild: not only buildings, but we are called to rebuild relations, trust, hope. And this passes above all through education, through the youth, through families, through the places where a culture of encounter and peace can be born.
On Good Friday, as we contemplate the Crucified One, we ask you not to forget the Holy Land. Remember us in prayer and support us with your generosity. Your closeness is for us a precious sign of fraternity and hope.
From the Holy Places we assure you of our remembrance in prayer and we wish you to live the Easter of the Lord as a source of new life.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Fr. Francesco Ielpo, ofm – Custos of the Holy Land