Jesus said to his disciples:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field.” (Gospel)

There is a parable told about St. Lawrence, perhaps only a legend, which merits retelling.

Can one go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem despite the war that is raging on in Gaza and the rocket missiles that are raining down on Israel? Is it too dangerous? And aside from the concerns to do with security and the difficulty of travelling to Israel now that many airlines have cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv, is it right to travel to the Holy land when so many are dying there?

"Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said Pope Francis has accepted his invitation to attend the World Meeting of Families in the U.S. next year. Chaput has made the announcement before giving his homily during the opening Mass of the Tekakwitha Conference in Fargo,” The National Catholic Reporter writes.

Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Isha who was sentenced to death for apostasy in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and eventually released, was received by Pope Francis for a half an hour meeting in the Vatican, along with her husband, Daniel Wani, her two young children and the Italian deputy foreign affairs minister who escorted her to Rome this morning.

“The Pope plans to reform the papacy and this will benefit relations with the Orthodox,” says the Prior of the monastic community of Bose, Enzo Bianchi. Pope Francis has appointed Bianchi as one of the new consultors of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Vatican dicastery led by Cardinal Kurt Koch who is in charge of ecumenical matters.

While Israel ramped up its offensive in Gaza on Sunday, with appalling loss of life and injuries, 1,200km to the north-west in Iraq a different, but hardly lesser, tragedy was under way as the Christian community of Mosul poured out of the city where they have lived for 1,600 years in search of refuge.

"Chaldean website ankawa.com says a university professor was killed after speaking out against anti-Christian persecution. Meanwhile, the Islamic State has set the jizyah at $450"

The situation Christians are facing in Iraq is becoming increasingly dramatic.The Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) extremists have burned down the Syro-Catholic bishopric in Mosul, the Patriarch of the Syro-Catholic Church, Ignace Joseph III Younan told Vatican Radio in a statement condemning the act. Pope Francis is following the developments in Iraq closely and with great concern as Christians are struggling to survive. After almost 2,000 years, there are now no Christians left in Mosul.

The great enthusiasm through which Jordanian Muslims are expressing their welcome to Pope Francis is indicative of a basic fact, that he is different from the other Popes who have visited Amman since 1964.

This Pontiff has a Third World background, like many Jordanians. He had worked as a chemistry technician in a pharmaceutical company before joining the seminary. He shares with many Jordanians the trauma of the poor working class communities; he worked as a janitor in a multi-storey office complex.

“No more war, war destroys everything. Let us not be overcome by evil or allow violence and hatred to prevail over dialogue and reconciliation.” The Pope’s meeting of prayer for peace in the Holy Land was not in vain. “The memory of last June 8th meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew and Presidents Peres and Abbas, is still fresh in my mind. Together we invoked the gift of peace and listened to the call to break the spiral of violence and hatred,” the Pope said. For some, this gathering took place in vain.