Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem, celebrated a Mass at the Holy Family Church in Gaza on December 22, in which he encouraged Christians to be light amid the darkness of war.
Despite the pressure exerted by the Israeli authorities, the Patriarch of Jerusalem managed to enter the Gaza Strip to wish Christmas greetings to the 400 Christians who have taken refuge since the start of the war in the parish of the Holy Family, the only Catholic in Gaza.
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The Holy Father denounced that Israel did not allow the cardinal access to the Strip during his traditional Christmas speech addressed to the Roman Curia last Saturday. “Yesterday they did not let the Patriarch enter Gaza, as they had promised,” lamented the Pontiff.
However, the cardinal was finally able to enter and celebrate Mass alongside the Christians, whom he reminded that “He gives us the strength to endure this dark time.” In your homily, He also exhorted them to remain firm in hope and “to be deeply rooted in Jesus.”
“I don’t know when or how this war will end, and every time we get closer to the end, it seems like we start over. But sooner or later, the war will end, and we must not lose hope,” he said. Furthermore, the cardinal reiterated: “we will never abandon you, and we will do everything possible to support and help you.”
In this context, he asked them to prevent “hatred from infiltrating our hearts,” as well as to pray for the end of this war “and fully trust that, with Christ, nothing can defeat us.”
“We must preserve our unity to maintain the light of Christ here in Gaza, in our region and in the world,” added Cardinal Pizzaballa.
Furthermore, he expressed that “we are all proud of you, not only for what you do, but because you have preserved your identity as Christians who belong to Jesus.”
Finally, he encouraged them not to be afraid, “because no one can take the light of Christ from us. Continue to give a good testimony of the Christian faith,” concluded the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
I am a graduate in Journalism and Advertising from the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. I have been a senior correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in the Vatican for two years and I am currently a European correspondent based in Spain.