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Pope writes to Holy Land Catholics living under 'dark clouds of Good Friday'

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis told Catholics in the Holy Land that he knows Holy Week this year is "so overshadowed by the Passion and, as yet, so little by the Resurrection."

In a letter published March 27, Pope Francis told the region's Catholics that he was remembering all of them in his prayers, but in a particular way, "I embrace those most affected by the senseless tragedy of war: the children robbed of their future, those who grieve and are in pain, and all who find themselves prey to anguish and dismay."

The Hamas attack on Israel in early October and Israel's retaliation on Gaza have led to death and suffering for Christians in Gaza, but also have seriously restricted the number of pilgrims to the Holy Land, which impacts the livelihood of many Christian families. In addition, heightened Israeli security measures have meant that many Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim, cannot cross the border to work.

"I would like each of you to feel my paternal affection, for I am conscious of your sufferings and your struggles, particularly in the course of these recent months," the pope wrote.

"Easter, the heart of our faith, is all the more significant for you who celebrate this feast in the very places where our Lord lived, died and rose again," he said. "The history of salvation, and indeed its geography, would not exist apart from the land in which you have dwelt for centuries."

Pope Francis wrote that he knows Christians want to remain in the Holy Land, and he thanked them "for your testimony of faith, thank you for the charity that exists among you, thank you for your ability to hope against all hope."

Pope Francis at his general audience March 27
Pope Francis speaks to visitors and pilgrims during his general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican March 27, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

He also prayed that the region's Catholics would be able to "sense the love of Catholics throughout the world!"

"You are not alone," he told them. "We will never leave you alone but will demonstrate our solidarity with you by prayer and practical charity."

The letter came about a month and a half after Pope Francis had sent a letter to "my Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel," expressing his heartbreak at the violence unleashed by the Hamas attack and repeating the Catholic Church's condemnation of all forms of antisemitism and anti-Judaism.

In his letter to Catholics in the Holy Land, Pope Francis quoted from a letter St. Paul VI had written on March 25, 1974, on the needs of Catholics and the Catholic Church in the Holy Land: "The continuing tensions in the Middle East, and the lack of concrete progress toward peace, represent a constant and dire threat not only to the peace and security of those peoples -- and indeed of the entire world -- but also to values supremely dear, for different reasons, to much of mankind."

Down through the centuries, local Christians have protected the "the places of our salvation," the sites associated with Jesus' life, ministry and resurrection, he said. But also, the Christian community has "borne enduring witness, through its own sufferings, to the mystery of the Lord's Passion."

"By your ability to rise anew and press forward, you have proclaimed, and continue to proclaim, that the crucified Lord rose from the dead," the pope told them.

"In these bleak times, when it seems that the dark clouds of Good Friday hover over your land, and all too many parts of our world are scarred by the pointless folly of war -- which is always and for everyone a bitter defeat -- you are lamps shining in the night, seeds of goodness in a land rent asunder by conflict," Pope Francis told them.

He also penned a prayer for them: "Lord, you are our peace. You who proclaimed blessed the peacemakers: set human hearts free from hatred, violence and the spirit of revenge. We look to your example, and we follow you, who are merciful, meek and humble of heart. May no one rob our hearts of the hope of rising anew with you. May we never tire of defending the dignity of every man, woman and child, without distinction of religion, ethnicity or nationality, beginning with the most vulnerable among us: women, the elderly, children and the poor."

 

Pope preaches patience, even amid war, during Holy Week audience

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Contemplating Christ's passion should inspire Christians to be more patient in the face of their own suffering and trials, Pope Francis said.

"There is no better witness to the love of Christ than meeting a patient Christian," Pope Francis said during his general audience March 27, highlighting the many mothers, fathers, workers, doctors, nurses and sick people who "every day, in hiddenness, adorn the world with holy patience."

"However, we must be honest: We are often lacking in patience," he said. "In daily life, we are all impatient."

Three days after raising concerns about his health when he skipped his homily at Palm Sunday Mass, Pope Francis walked across the stage of the Vatican audience hall using a cane and waving to visitors; he read the entirety of his speech without visible signs of difficulty and added off-the-cuff remarks. The audience was scheduled to take place in St. Peter's Square but was moved indoors due to inclement weather.

Pope Francis greets visitors.
Pope Francis greets two fathers who both lost their daughters in violent conflicts, Bassam Aramin from Palestine and Rami Elhanan from Israel, at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican March 27, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

In his catechesis, the pope said that the virtue of patience is an "essential vitamin" needed to combat the human instinct to "become impatient and respond to evil with evil."

Quoting St. Augustine, Pope Francis said that patience entails "knowing how to endure evils."

The pope then pointed to two men seated in the front row of the audience hall, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who had both lost daughters in violent conflicts; the pope praised them for choosing friendship instead of focusing on "the enmity of war."

Patience is more than a value that helps one lead a good life, the pope said; it is a countercultural Christian calling.

"If Christ is patient, Christians are called to be patient," he said, which requires countering today's fast-paced culture and a widespread mentality of wanting "everything and now."

"Let us not forget that haste and impatience are enemies of spiritual life," Pope Francis said. "God is love, and he who loves does not tire, he is not irritable, he does not give ultimatums; God is patient, God knows how to wait."

Pope Francis gives a blessing.
Pope Francis greets two fathers who both lost their daughters in violent conflicts, Bassam Aramin from Palestine and Rami Elhanan from Israel, at the end of his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican March 27, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

During Holy Week, Pope Francis urged Christians to ask the Holy Spirit for the "meek power of patience" and told them to contemplate Christ on the cross to learn from his patience.

"It is precisely in the Passion that there emerges the patience of Christ, who with gentleness and meekness accepts being arrested, beaten and unjustly condemned," he said. "This is the patience of Jesus."

The pope encouraged Christians to pray before the crucified Christ and to ask for the grace to put into practice "an act of mercy as well-known as it is neglected: patiently enduring bothersome people."

Christians should look at people who may annoy them "with compassion, with God's gaze, knowing how to distinguish their faces from their mistakes," he said.

"We have the habit of categorizing people by the mistakes they make," he said. "No, this is not good. Let us look at people by their faces, by their hearts and not by their mistakes."

Pope Francis ended his audience by praying for peace in Ukraine, where he noted the intense bombings taking place, as well as in Israel and Palestine.

"That the Lord may give peace to all as a gift of his Easter," he prayed.

Pope hails example of an Israeli and an Arab dad

Pope hails example of an Israeli and an Arab dad

A look at Pope Francis' general audience March 27.  

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