Catholic Churches in Holy Land mark day of prayer peace in Mideast, Holy Family

By Munir Bayouk/en.abouna.org:

On Sunday, June 27, 2021, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa presided at the Holy Mass marking the day of prayer dedicated for "Peace in the Middle East and the Holy Family" at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Holy Land. 

The Holy Mass was attended by Bishop Yousef Matta, archdiocese of Acre, Haifa, Nazareth and the rest of Galilee for the Melkite Greeks; Bishop Musa Al-Haj, patriarchal vicar of the Maronite Church in Jordan and in the Holy Land,  Bishop Afram Antoine Semaan, patriarchal vicar for the Syriac Catholics in the Holy Land, as well as a group of bishops, priests, and nuns from various Catholic churches and congregations.

In his homily, Bishop Matta said: "The family of the Catholic Church gathers in the Holy Land, in Nazareth, where everything began, to convey praise, honor and gratitude to God, and to proclaim the courage of the Lady of Galilee, Blessed Mary, where the angel said to Her the message of God: 'Hail Mary, full of Grace'. He noted that the message of peace extended to Blessed Mary was the first step of proclaiming peace between God and man.

Stressing that real peace is an important tenet of the new law, he quoted Lord Jesus saying in the beatitudes, "Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God". He added, "Real peace is based on stability at all levels as it is the outcome of love, the fruit of justice, and foremost of all is God's gift and grace to all".

Pope Francis has urged Catholics in the Middle East to “be the salt of your lands” as their bishops consecrated the region to the Holy Family …

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