ASIA/HOLY LAND - Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem issues Lenten Message: “However, the human person in this land is not called to live in a state of permanent war...those who impose oppression have the duty to put an end to it so that the land might then know the security and peace that are so much desired”

Thursday, 4 March 2004

Jerusalem (Fides Service) - “Fasting is to return to God and thereby to return to all our brothers and sisters. It is to rid ourselves of all the evils that have accumulated in us, so that we acquire the strength of the Spirit in order to be strong in all the areas of our life. The others will then respect our strength, which will be then the fruit of love and not the fruit of pride or the oppression of others.” This is part of a Lenten message issued by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Michel Sabbah.
In part one of his message “Our spiritual life”, the Patriarch says Lent is a time of penance, a time to return to God, time to be with the Lord. Amidst the daily difficulties and anxieties of life, the Spirit of the Lord, “sustains us and gives us the true strength to persevere and remain constant in our daily spiritual combat is our guide in the building up of the Kingdom of God on earth. Thus, every land and every parish might indeed become the abode of God on earth and a holy land..”
In part two of the message “The conflict in the Holy Land in our lives in these days”, the Patriarch reminds his people that Lent is a time to share: “In the difficult times we are living and in face of the various deprivations imposed on many, sharing is a duty…By living, within our souls and within our prayers, the oppression of some and the fears of others and by becoming conscious of our part in the responsibility for putting an end to this, we carry out our Lent. Thus we are involved in constructing the Kingdom of God among us and within our society that is at war.” The situation in the Holy Land and Palestine is one of war, the Patriarch says: “ siege imposed on all, death imposed on some, prison and torture, various deprivations, house demolitions, destruction of agriculture, attacks and killings of innocent victims. In the midst of all this, our life is a difficult and painful search for justice and peace..”
Although those responsible for the war act “as if they were planning for a permanent war and not for a permanent peace. However, the human person in this land is not called to live in a state of permanent war. God has said: Live in the land in peace, peace with God, who chose the land for his abode, and peace with those who live in it. Peace cannot be established while oppression and the violence that results from it continue. Depriving a people of its liberty and of its land is oppression that no conscience can accept. ”
The message voices sympathy with priests, religious men and women in every parish forced to spend hours of long waiting at road blocks in order to exercise their pastoral ministry, urging them to have patience and to pray to God for Palestinians and Israelis alike: “ Accept these difficulties as a sharing with all the poor ones of this land.” The message ends on a note of hope: “ Lent, a time of fasting and prayer, is a time to return to God. It is a time to be conscious of the Kingdom of God that is among us and that we are to establish in our society. It is a time when all believers in God might be filled both by His love and His force..”
(S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 4/3/2004; Righe 21; Parole 278)


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