We could have imagined that the war would be long. But today—one year later—facing a bloody showdown between the main regional powers was a fear we would gladly have done without.
Today’s anniversary is not something that belongs to the past. It is not the memory of an event that time is attempting to reconcile. October 7, 2024, reminds us that even after a year, the war is not over. Forty thousand dead, hostages still held in Gaza, an active front with Hezbollah and Iran, the looming threat of a regional war, fears of nuclear weapons use. Then there’s the pain of families, orphans, the elderly, the sick who can no longer access treatment, children unable to attend school, and those who still have a friend or brother held hostage. All of this is what October 7 reminds us of.
It has been a difficult year, and we do not hesitate to admit it. A year in which relationships, trust, and connections were put to the test. A year that erased friendships and bonds. We have been forced to work hard to help the parish in Gaza, which has become a shelter for hundreds of refugees. Thanks to your contributions, families received essential items, food, medicine, and clothing. Children continued to play in the parish hall, grasping at moments of fragile calm. In the refugee camps, we distributed clothing, blankets, food, and first-aid kits to around 300 families who had, and still have, nothing left. Above all, they have lost hope. And then there are the “butterfly children,” who need constant care—a project that has continued despite the war.
These are signs of hope. Just like the young people of Sebastia (a troubled village in the West Bank), who, amid the storm, take to the streets to clean their city. Quietly, with smiles, they offer a different image of what would otherwise be just another war zone. They believe their home deserves to be clean, and that beauty must be preserved. They told us this, even in these days, when our WhatsApp channels were flooded with photos of this small army of young people, armed only with brooms and cleaning tools. That is why we have chosen to show you these images, rather than the ones that already flood our social networks. A tiny point of light, like the delicate flame of a candle, which we hold in our hands, sheltered from the wind of hatred and war, so that it does not go out, continues to shine, and reminds us that this too is the Holy Land.
For anniversaries like this, it is easy to recall the harm done, the blood shed, the widows and orphans. But we especially want to remember one thing: that good has not stopped, that hope endures, that somewhere, there are still those who smile and refuse to be defeated by pain. More than the evil done, it is right to remember the good that no one has managed to destroy.
We want to continue on this path, as the Patriarch of Jerusalem has asked of us: “We have a duty to commit ourselves to peace, above all by guarding our hearts against any feelings of hatred and preserving instead the desire for good for everyone. And then, by committing ourselves, each in our own communities and in any possible way, to support those in need, to help those who are working to alleviate the suffering of those affected by this war, and to promote every action of peace, reconciliation, and dialogue.”
It is a task that belongs to each of us. And today, it is more urgent than ever.
