For Christians all over the world, Easter is a season of hope; Christ triumphant on Easter morning banishes the darkness of sin and death.
Here in Iraq, we have particular reason to rejoice in Christ's victory over the powers of evil. It is a victory we so sorely need in a land where we are currently walking the Way of the Cross, desperately searching for signs of the Resurrection
At the Good Friday service for the celebration of the Lord’s Passion in the presence of Pope Francis, the Preacher of the Papal Household, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, denounced the indifference of the institutions.
Pope Francis has called upon “all those in authority to redouble their efforts to work with all men and women in Kenya to bring an end to such violence and to hasten the dawn of a new era of brotherhood, justice and peace”
Jihadists have attacked a university residence killing 147 people. Shock testimonies speak of “decapitated corpses”.
Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!
Easter Sunday, the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord, is really a feast of Jerusalem. All across the world today, Christians in western traditions are remembering our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, and when they do it they are thinking about Jerusalem.
Palm branches, cries of hosanna: As in the rest of the world, Palm Sunday was the start of Holy Week for Catholics in Iraq. In Malabrwan, a small Christian village in the north of the country dozens of children gathered in the Chaldean parish church holding palm and olive branches to commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. They listen to the Gospel and they sing songs. Happiness can be seen on their faces, as can light-heartedness. But one should not be deceived: many of the children have gone through bad times.
In 1992, I was just approaching the end of my sixth year as permanent observer to the United Nations in New York. The then-secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, wanted to transfer me to Brazil.
The Holy See’s Diplomatic Service, like those of most countries, seeks to move its ambassadors after an established period of time to stop them from “‘going native.” Cardinal Sodano, therefore, quite properly wanted me to start packing my suitcase.
Pope St. John Paul II, however, had something to say on the matter: “Martino stays in New York!”
The abouna.org site has the pleasure to post the excelling painting of artist Robert Giacaman, which represents the two new saints Blessed Marie-Alphonsine Ghattas and Blessed Mariam of Jesus Crucified Baouardy, being the major painting in modern time that unveils for the first time the canonization of the two Palestinian nuns on May 17.
The artist, Giacaman, is Palestinian from Bethlehem who studied art in Italy. He completed his painting on Tuesday March 24, 2015 at 1:48am.
The Bishop Emeritus of Novara, chosen by the Pope to write a meditation booklet for Holy Friday, said this in a statement to Vatican Radio.
My visit to the Italian capital on the first week of March was split into two parts, namely meetings in order to develop religious tourism and a meeting with the Pope in order to present to him the artistic painting of the displaced.
For the first part of the visit, I was invited by the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, the Vatican touristic arm, to continue the discussion that started in Jordan in the wake of the visit undertaken by a delegation from this renowned institution to the Kingdom at the invitation of the Jordan Tourism Board and Royal Jordanian.
