April 28 marks Palm Sunday by Christians in the world who follow the Julian calendar, including Middle Eastern countries as well as Jordan. It is a day reflecting the love for Lord Jesus Christ and the time that helps believers reveal the Almighty Lord's presence in their lives and His incredible love for humanity.
Over the years, the Catholic Church has played a vital and key role in healing and dressing the wounds of humanity. Recalling the bloody events and the conflagrations that are currently taking place in various parts of the world, one would ponder at the world affairs and question the fate of humanity that is currently shoved into a stage confusion and perplexity, as well as being drifted into an unpredictable bleak abyss.
We did not fall asleep on Saturday night, April 13, and this is normal since the love for our country, Jordan, made us sleepless, at a time when we were praying all night-long pleading with the Almighty God to save our country from any harm. We, in Jordan, are not familiar with the sounds of planes and the dropping of materials flying in the sky.
Wherever one goes in the world, the name “Jesus” is heard everywhere particularly by people who face mundane problems with relevance to health or finances, among others.
St. Bernadine of Siena says in this regard, “This is that most holy name longed for by the patriarchs, anxiously awaited, called upon amid cries of suffering, invoked with sighs, implored with tears, given when the fullness of grace arrives.”
During winter time, birds migrate en masse from cold areas to warm locations in the world seeking warmth, as well as looking for sources of food and peace. This also applies to human beings as over the past decades huge masses of people in the Middle East have opted to migrate from one country to another, and in some cases to the farthest spots in the world, while seeking peace, job opportunities, and better future prospects.
My eyes were welling with tears as I was watching my brother and colleague Fr. Yousef As'ad, the parish priest in Gaza, holding an apple and saying--as he usually makes postings when the Internet is active--“After six months of vegetable and fruit deprivation, I received today a gift, namely a red apple."
A few days ago, I went to Jerusalem to participate in Palm Sunday celebrations according to the Gregorian Calendar, which coincided last Sunday. I invoked the memories of the years between 1988 and 1995, when I spent 11 years at the Latin Patriarchate Seminary in Beit Jala, as at the time we were pleased to serve this annual procession that commemorates the entry of Lord Jesus Christ into the Holy City.
Director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan Fr. Dr. Rif’at Bader said that the current 40-day Lenten Season is classified by the Church to incorporate fasting, prayer, and charity.
The Christians who follow the Julian calendar mark on March 20, the start of the Lenten Season. The start of the 40 days of fasting is sadly concomitant with saddening news that reflects violence, wars and bloodshed in various parts of the world.
Brothers and sisters,
The night shines with light... Yesterday you were in dark... You are all light in Christ... Saturday has ended... The breezes blew on the morning of the blessed Sunday... The glorious day of Easter!!
