As is the case each year, as Holy Easter approaches the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, in the person of its prefect, is sending a letter to all of the bishops in the world with an appeal to offer prayers and concrete generosity in support of the Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
We reproduce below a portion of this year’s message:
“The Lenten season provides a particularly appropriate opportunity for sensitizing the entire Catholic Church in favor of the Holy Land, promoting particular initiatives of prayer and brotherly charity. I am addressing a cordial invitation to all those in the ecclesiastical community to place themselves alongside the Christians of Jerusalem, Israel and Palestine, as well as those of the neighboring countries (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Egypt) that together make up that blessed Land.”
The works of the Custody of the Holy Land to which the funds collected on this day (this year, the 6th of April) will be destined are multiple: sanctuaries, parishes, schools, homes for the ill and orphans, lodging for pilgrims, academic institutions, an ecumenical center and two publishing houses, residences for the neediest among the Christians, as well as positions of employment (1,320), scholarships and subsidies for students in difficulties.
In calling upon the Churches of the entire world to feel themselves “as one” with the brothers and sisters of the Holy Land around the Cross of Christ, the message thus seeks to evoke a commitment to overcome − through the power of brotherhood, prayer and practical measures of support − the solitude that at times envelops the local Christian community. And also, to intensify pilgrimages to that land, particularly in view of the upcoming Year of Faith proclaimed by the Holy Father, an opportunity for achieving deeper understanding of the heritage of faith coming from that land.
Attached you will find the handout for the 2012 Good Friday Collection!
