“In these dark times”: Pope Francis

Letter addressed by Pope Francis to the Catholics of the Holy Land:

Dear brothers and sisters:

I have had you in my thoughts for a long time and I pray for you every day. But now, on the eve of this Easter, which for you has a strong charge of Passion and still little of Resurrection, I feel the need to write to you and tell you that I carry you in my heart.

I become close to all of you, in your various rites, dear faithful Catholics spread throughout the territory of the Holy Land. In particular to those who, at this moment, are painfully suffering the absurd drama of war, to the children who are denied a future, to those who cry and suffer, to those who experience anguish and disorientation.

Easter, the center of our faith, has even more meaning for you, who celebrate it in the places where the Lord lived, died and rose again. Not only the history, nor the geography of salvation would exist without the land that you have inhabited for centuries, in which you want to remain and where it is a good thing that you can stay.

Thank you for your testimony of faith, thank you for the charity that exists among you, thank you because you know how to hope against all hope.

I want each of you to feel my affection as a father, who knows your sufferings and fatigue, particularly those of these last few months. Along with my affection, I hope you can perceive that of all Catholics in the world.

May the Lord Jesus, our Life, like a Good Samaritan, pour the oil of consolation and the wine of hope on the wounds of your bodies and souls.

Thinking of you, the pilgrimage I made ten years ago comes back to my mind; and I make my own the words that Saint Paul VI, the first successor of Peter, pilgrim in the Holy Land, addressed fifty years ago to all believers: “the prolongation of the state of tension in the Middle East, without conclusive steps towards peace having been taken.” , constitutes a serious and permanent danger that threatens not only the tranquility and security of those populations – and the peace of the entire world – but also certain values ​​extremely dear, for different reasons, to a large part of humanity” (Exhort. ap. Nobis in Animo).

Dear brothers and sisters, the Christian community of the Holy Land has not only been custodian of the places of salvation throughout the centuries, but has constantly borne witness, through its own sufferings, to the mystery of the Passion of the Lord. . And, with his ability to get up and move forward, he has announced and continues to announce that the Crucified One was resurrected, that with the signs of his Passion he appeared to his disciples and ascended to heaven, taking our tormented but redeemed humanity alongside the Father. .

In these dark times, when it seems that the darkness of Good Friday covers your land and so many parts of the world are disfigured by the useless madness of war, which is always and for everyone a bloody defeat, you are torches lit in the night ; They are seeds of good in a land torn by conflict.

For you and with you I pray: “Lord, you are our peace (cf. Eph 2:14-22), you who have proclaimed blessed those who work for peace (cf. Mt 5:9), free the heart of man of hate, violence and revenge. We contemplate you and follow you, who forgives, who is meek and humble of heart (cf. Mt 11:29). May no one steal from our hearts the hope of standing up and resurrecting with you, may we not tire of affirming the dignity of every man, without distinction of religion, ethnicity or nationality, starting with the most fragile, with women, the elderly, the little ones and the poor.”

Brothers and sisters, I would like to tell you that you are not alone and we will not leave you alone, but we will remain in solidarity with you through prayer and active charity, hoping to soon be able to return to you as pilgrims, to look into your eyes and embrace you, to break the bread of brotherhood and contemplate those sprouts of hope born from your seeds, scattered in pain and cultivated with patience.

I know that your Pastors, the religious men and women, are with you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you do and continue to do. May the gold of unity grow and shine in the crucible of suffering, also with the brothers and sisters of other Christian confessions, to whom I also wish to express my spiritual closeness and express my encouragement. I carry you all in prayer.

I bless you and invoke upon you the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, daughter of your land. I renew the invitation to all Christians in the world to make their concrete support felt and to pray tirelessly, so that the entire population of your beloved land may finally be at peace.

Fraternally, Pope Francis.—Rome, Saint John Lateran.