Mosul, Iraq, Dec 28, 2018 / 04:56 pm (CNA).- Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin urged the Catholic population of northern Iraq to remain steadfast in their faith and be open to forgiveness despite the numerous challenges facing their community.
Delivering the homily at a Mass at the Syro-Catholic Cathedral of Altahera in Bakhdida (also known as Qaraqosh), near Mosul, Iraq, Parolin likened the plight of the Christian population over the past five years to that experienced by the Holy Family as they fled to Egypt.
“The Church and the whole world witnessed with disbelief and horror the events of the summer 2014, when from one day to the next, you were forced to leave everything behind and flee from your homes,” said Parolin.
“In an inspiring witness, you did not deny your faith. Like the Holy Family of Nazareth, you chose the path of exile in order to protect the lives of your children, the hope of the future.”
In August 2014, most of the region’s Christians left the area after Islamic State took control of Bakhdida. At the time, it was Iraq’s largest Christian city. Many of the Christian sites in the town, including the cathedral, were ransacked and destroyed by Islamic State militants.
The city was liberated in October 2016, and since then, its residents have begun to return, albeit hesitantly. Parolin praised the Christians of northern Iraq for staying firm in their beliefs despite “these years of harsh trial,” and said that their faith has helped to restore the faith of other Christians around the world. He also offered thanks to the organizations who have worked and prayed to make the area safe once again.
The sacrifices made by the Middle East’s Christians, Parolin explained, “will be no less fruitless than the witnesses of the many martyrs” from the early Church, who “bathed the land with their blood and lived their faith heroically to the end.”
Parolin acknowledged that forgiveness is difficult, and that even though it may be hard, it must be done in order to be drawn closer to God.
The people of Bakhdida are “experts in forgiveness,” he said, adding, “It is moving to know that many people have forgiven those who have wronged them.”
“Forgiveness and reconciliation play a very important role in society,” Parolin explained. He told those present that they are “called to make a valuable contribution” to the Church and to society as a whole by being “artisans of reconciliation and peace, witnesses of love and forgiveness, a wellspring of goodness and a blessing for all.”
This forgiveness, he said, must be a tangible sign of the Christian faith in the area, and communities working together “can become a living witness for our world, torn by division and violence.”
“Yet none of this, dear brothers and sisters, can happen without the strength provided by a faith lived fully under the banner of love.”
Parolin noted that while people have started to return to the area and begun to rebuild–much like how the Holy Family eventually returned to Nazareth–the harder task they are facing is not the physical rebuilding, but re-establishing a “social fabric” that was torn by “betrayal, bitterness, and hatred” over the last few years. This, he explained, is the true vocation of the region’s Christians, who must stay true to their roots, and create a better future for their children.
Christians in the Middle East “are in the presence of Jesus,” the cardinal said, who have “a unique and extremely important mission.”
“In this holy season of Christmas, may the tender strength of the Child Jesus teach us how to pursue the path of love and humility,” said Parolin.
“I pray that all of you will be blessed with the gifts of unity, reconciliation and peace. May the Holy Family of Nazareth confirm you in faith, sustain you in hope, make you grow in charity, and accompany and protect you always.”
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The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition cover the altar, just dedicated by the cardinal. The covering of the altar signifies that it is both the place of the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Lord’s table. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Sep 12, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).
On Aug. 31, exactly 100 years after its dedication, the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant was reopened for worship on the hill of Kiryat Yearim, nine miles from Jerusalem.
The church, which was closed for four years for restoration work, stands atop the hill overlooking the (Muslim) village of Abu Gosh. From the top, visitors can see Jerusalem.
A view from the hill of Kiryat Yearim, where the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant stands. At the foot of the hill lies the Muslim village of Abu Gosh, with Jerusalem visible in the background, a little more than nine miles away. The place, mentioned in the Bible as “Kiriath-Jearim,” held an important role in the history of the Jewish people, as it was here that the Ark of the Covenant rested for about 20 years until King David brought it to Jerusalem. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The place, mentioned in the Bible as “Kiriath-Jearim,” has held an important role in the history of the Jewish people as it was here that the Ark of the Covenant rested after being recovered from the Philistines (see 1 Samuel 6).
The ark contained the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments — God’s covenant with the Jewish people — were inscribed and was the sign of God’s presence among his people.
According to the Bible, it was hosted in the house of Abinadab, where it remained for about 20 years (see 1 Samuel 7:1-2) until King David brought it to Jerusalem.
For this reason, even today, the site is visited by many groups of Jews.
A Byzantine basilica was built on the top hill around the fifth century. The current church, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1920, stands on the remains of that building. It was consecrated in 1924 by the then-Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Luigi Barlassina, and dedicated to Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant.
The Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim (exterior). The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, whom Christians also honor with the title of “Ark of the Covenant.” “The covenant of God with his people finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is no longer just the sign of God’s presence but God himself among us. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant because she carried Christ himself in her womb,” said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, in his homily. Credit: Marinella Bandini
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the current Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, recently came to the basilica to dedicate its new altar on the occasion of the reopening of the church.
“This reopening is a moment of trust in the future, a desire to start anew, and this is what we need most at this time, when everything around us speaks of death and endings,” he told CNA after the celebration on Aug. 31.
The opening of the doors of the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim on Aug. 31, 2024, for the solemn celebration with the rite of dedication of the altar, presided over by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
“Climbing this mountain, blessed by the presence of the Lord,” he added, “invites us to have a broad and farsighted perspective on events and not to close ourselves off in the dramatic present moment.”
Hosting the event were the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, a French congregation founded in 1832 by Mother Emilie De Vialar, which owns and operates the church and surrounding property.
The complete details of how the land came to be acquired by the sisters are lost to history, but it centers on one of the order’s sisters who died in 1927. Sister Josephine Rumèbe, who is buried in the church, was reportedly endowed with special mystical gifts and managed to acquire the land on behalf of the sisters. The story goes that she had 5,000 francs at her disposal and sought the help of a clergyman for the purchase. To prevent a competing buyer from acquiring it, the cleric secured the entire hill for 20,372 francs. Miraculously, when Sister Josephine counted the gold coins hidden in her room, the amount matched exactly what she needed.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, pours the chrism oil on the new altar of the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim. On Aug. 31, 2024, he presided over the solemn Mass with the rite of dedication of the altar, marking the reopening of the church after four years of restoration and maintenance work. Credit: Marinella Bandini
The dedication of the new altar in the basilica took place after the recitation of the creed and chanting of the litanies. The cardinal placed relics in the altar, including that of Mother Emilie De Vialar, who was canonized a saint in 1951. This was followed by the anointing of the altar with chrism oil, the incensing of the altar, the covering of the altar, and the lighting of the altar.
The relics placed inside the new altar of the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim, which was dedicated by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, on Aug. 31, 2024. Among the relics are those of Mother Emilie De Vialar, founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, the order who owns the church and surrounding property. Credit: Marinella Bandini
“The covenant of God with his people finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is no longer just the sign of God’s presence but God himself among us. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant because she carried Christ himself in her womb,” said the cardinal in his homily, inviting the faithful, following the example of the Virgin Mary, to renew their trust in God as the Lord of history and active within history.
Upon entering the church — whose iconographic elements were created by artists from the Ave Center of the Focolare Movement — the eye is drawn to the golden flame emanating from the center of the apse.
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, celebrates the Eucharistic liturgy on the altar he dedicated in the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim on Aug. 31, 2024. Credit: Marinella Bandini
A special decoration that, on one hand, evokes the biblical significance of fire, symbolizing the presence of God, and on the other, is connected to the history of this place and particularly to Sister Josephine’s vision of a “mountain of fire,” holds significance here.
When she was still a young postulant in France, during Eucharistic adoration, Sister Josephine had a vision of flames forming a mountain with Jesus above them instead of the host. The vision then vanished, and only 50 years later, at the time of laying the foundation stone of the church, it was revealed to her that the “mountain of fire” was indeed Kiryat Yearim, which she used to call “the Holy Mountain.”
Sister Valentina Sala, the current provincial of the congregation for the Holy Land, immediately felt a strong connection to this place. She recounted to CNA: “The first time I came here for a few weeks, a sister took me to Kiryat Yearim. I knelt at Sister Josephine’s tomb and prayed to return if that was God’s will.”
Sister Valentina Sala, the current provincial of the congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition for the Holy Land, prays at the tomb of Sister Josephine Rumèbe, founder of the convent and the church in Kiryat Yearim. “The first time I came here for a few weeks, a sister took me to Kiryat Yearim. I knelt at Sister Josephine’s tomb and prayed to return if that was God’s will,” she recounted to CNA. Credit: Marinella Bandini
On the centenary of the church’s dedication, Sister Valentina also emphasized the significance of this place for her congregation, whose charism is to serve the needs of people through works of charity.
“What is charity work? What people need today is not just health care or education; there is a hunger and thirst for God. We must be able to recognize this need, helping those who come here to listen to his voice. We need places where people can pause and rest with God,” she said.
When the construction of the church was nearly complete, Sister Josephine had a vision of the Virgin Mary, at the top of the church, facing Jerusalem with outstretched arms in a gesture of dispensing grace. A statue now stands above the church to recall that vision, facing away from those entering and directed toward Jerusalem.
“This place, which evokes the covenant, invites us to realign ourselves with God and to be under this blessing,” Sister Valentina concluded.
This is also the meaning of the words she addressed to those present — the vast majority of local faithful from Jerusalem as well as from Galilee — at the end of the Mass.
Hundreds of local faithful from Jerusalem and Galilee attend the solemn Mass with the rite of dedication of the altar, marking the reopening of the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant in Kiryat Yearim, on Aug. 31, 2024. A hundred years ago, Sister Josephine Rumèbe of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition wrote about having seen a vision of “a crowd rushing toward the basilica. I saw priests, sisters of our order, and then men and women of the world who were even more pleasing to God than all the others, holy souls shining like stars.” Credit: Marinella Bandini
“Sister Josephine had already seen you in various visions: ‘I saw a crowd rushing toward the basilica. I saw priests, sisters of our order, and then men and women of the world who were even more pleasing to God than all the others, holy souls shining like stars.’”
She continued: “And what if we are that vision? What if we are that future? Of course, we are! From now on, you will be the ones to bring life to this hill, to this covenant between God and his people. Come, rush, stay, feel at home. There is not only a newly renovated church to see but a Presence to discover: Take the time to dwell with the Lord. What could be more beautiful… Many graces await to be dispensed from here!”
Harare, Zimbabwe, May 30, 2018 / 10:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A group devoted to John Bradburne, a lay missionary to what is now Zimbabwe in the 1970s, is raising money to fund an investigation into his life and virtues, in view of opening his cause for beatification.
The group, led by Bradburne’s neice, Celia Brigstocke, hopes to raise GBP 20,000 ($26,600) for the investigation.
Bradburne was born in 1921 in England, the son of an Anglican clergyman. He served in the British army in World War II, and he converted to Catholicism in 1947 after staying with the Benedictines of Buckfast Abbey.
He wished to become a monk at Buckfast, but had not been long enough in the Church, and he became a wanderer throughout Europe and the Middle East. He was a prolific poet. He stayed at other Benedictine abbeys, with Carthusians, the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, tried living as a hermit on Dartmoor in England, and became a Third Order Franciscan in 1956.
Through a Jesuit friend in the British colony of Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe), Bradburne came to serve at the Mutemwa Leper Settlement, spending the last 10 years of his life there.
Southern Rhodesia declared independence in 1965, and the Rhodesian Bush War was fought from 1964 to 1979 among the white minority government; the Marxist Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army; and the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU).
As ZANU forces approached Mutemwa, Bradburne was urged to leave, but he insisted on remaining. He was kidnapped, and murdered Sept. 5, 1979.
He had confided in a Franciscan priest that his wishes were to serve leprosy patients, to die a martyr, and to be buried in the habit of St. Francis.
Maputo, Mozambique, Sep 5, 2019 / 05:02 am (CNA).- Pope Francis encouraged young people of different faiths in Mozambique Thursday to not give up in the face of their country’s challenges, but to confront them with joy and hope.
And Parolin lives where? I think they should listen to blues singer Jonny Lang in Walking Away at spotify…you know, the way Christ left Nazareth… “ he could work few miracles because of their little faith”. Lang…Walking Away…
The things that mattered
Were broken and shattered
One by one
I was so sad
But now I’m just glad
That it’s over and done
There’s just one thing
I want to say
I actually loved you
But now I’m walking away
Honestly loved you
put no one above you
But now I’m walking away.
…………..
Where there’s a vow as in marriage, you stay. Christ had no vow to Nazareth…He left.
If the Pope collected one dollar from each Catholic…five hundred if you’re runnning cheddar on Wall Street or a plumber, he could move them all to Chile…the only SA country considered developed by the World Bank. Parolin…Rome…outdoor cafes…Bernini sculptures.
And Parolin lives where? I think they should listen to blues singer Jonny Lang in Walking Away at spotify…you know, the way Christ left Nazareth… “ he could work few miracles because of their little faith”. Lang…Walking Away…
The things that mattered
Were broken and shattered
One by one
I was so sad
But now I’m just glad
That it’s over and done
There’s just one thing
I want to say
I actually loved you
But now I’m walking away
Honestly loved you
put no one above you
But now I’m walking away.
…………..
Where there’s a vow as in marriage, you stay. Christ had no vow to Nazareth…He left.
If the Pope collected one dollar from each Catholic…five hundred if you’re runnning cheddar on Wall Street or a plumber, he could move them all to Chile…the only SA country considered developed by the World Bank. Parolin…Rome…outdoor cafes…Bernini sculptures.