Holy Land Catholic Explains Price Tag Vandalism, Catholic Immigrants in Tel Aviv, and More

What a whirlwind trip to the Holy Land!  Pope Francis, if he’s tired or ill as some journalists have suggested, shows none of that–as he moves smoothly from one event, one teaching opportunity to the next.

First, I’d like to share a couple of great shots from the Pope’s journey:  First, Pope Francis in Bethlehem, at the site of some of the recent vandalism; and second, at the River Jordan, at the site where Jesus was baptized by his cousin John.

Thanks once again to my friend and guest blogger, Cecilia (Cia) Lakin.

Cia has continued to send updates from her perspective, on the ground in the Holy Land.

And as long as our Holy Father is there, I’ve promised to keep sharing Cia’s reports, unique as they are, with my readers.

This time, Cia talks about

First, how practicing the Catholic faith is often a challenge when our teachings are contrary to popular norms.  Cia writes of her experience in the Holy Land:

Practicing the Catholic faith is often a challenge when our teachings are contrary to popular norms. Being Catholic in the Jewish state of Israel brings the additional challenges of observing time-specific religious requirements in a society where cultural and social norms are informed by Judaism.

Here, Sunday is the first day of the work week, not a day of rest. Shabbat, the Jewish holy day, begins at sundown each Friday.

In Jerusalem, midday Friday sees a hectic activity, both women and men hurrying about to buy last minute items for the rituals and family dinner which will welcome the “Sabbath Queen” to each home. By late afternoon shops are closing, streets are becoming quiet, and fragrant odors are coming from homes as we walk through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

At the exact moment determined by the rabbis, loud air horns sound over Jerusalem announcing that Sabbath has begun. Few cars will be on the streets, families will light candles to mark off sacred time from the ordinary week, and the Jewish people will begin a day of worship which praises and thanks God who created the world and rested on the seventh day.

After sundown Saturday, they will again observe a closing ritual marking the end of this sacred time and the beginning of the work week.

And on Sunday morning, about the time most Catholics would be thinking about dressing for Mass, they will be heading off to work or school. If you are a Catholic citizen of Israel, you will be doing the same. Christmas and Easter are ordinary days here. Instead, a calendar of lunar religious holidays and fixed national holidays mark off the passing of each year. Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Passover – these are important days. A Catholic wishing to observe Easter Sunday must make special arrangements at work, just as a Jewish person wishing to spend Yom Kippur at the synagogue must do in the U.S.

When we are in Jerusalem, we attend the daily and Sunday Mass at the Jerusalem Kehilla (parish). Mass is always at 6:30 p.m., a convenient time even on Sunday. Mass is in Hebrew, as are the many sung parts and hymns.

Even that required adaptation:  The community has had to construct a body of liturgy and music, since normative prayers and songs did not exist in modern Hebrew. To catechize, Fr. David Neuhaus, S.J., Parochial Vicar for Hebrew Speaking Catholics here, has commissioned a series of books translating the teachings of the Church into the everyday language of this country. Many new songs have been written and Hebrew versions of the Hail Mary and Our Father have been set to music.

On one Friday during our stay here we set out from our hotel for a 30-minute stroll to the Vicariate House, which contains the chapel where Mass is celebrated. Streets were nearly deserted, though it was not quite 6 p.m. We carried sweets purchased in an Armenian shop in the Old City to share with the men attached to the kehilla at dinner after Mass. Perhaps fifteen people were there for worship, together with four priests from various communities near the Vicariate. HaAv (Father) Piotr, an engaging Polish priest not yet 40 who is the popular pastor of the kehilla, was the celebrant. Music was provided by an Italian man, Benedetto, whom the Vicariate supports as he studies toward the priesthood. The chapel has no organ, but Benny is a skilled guitar player. Many of the songs and melodies are his compositions.

Looking around the chapel as Mass begins, I guess that as many as a dozen languages could be spoken by those present. The priests routinely speak three or four languages each – Hebrew, Arabic, Polish, Italian, German, English – and members of the congregation come from many countries.

When one settles in Israel, one must learn Hebrew. However, to call these people “Hebrew-speaking Catholics” is to make an accurate statement, but it is also to suggest a homogeneity which does not exist. Some of them are Christians who have found themselves in Israel after emigrating with Jewish spouses, some were themselves Jews who were attracted to the Church and have converted. One or two at any Mass might be locals trying to discern if they are called to make major changes in their lives and the lives of their families by seeking baptism. All know the liturgy, some by heart and some by use of the small missals which have been prepared and printed by the Vicariate.

While the vast majority of Catholics in the Holy Lands (Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority) are ethnically, linguistically and culturally Arab, this small group of mostly Israeli citizens is a minority within a minority, Christians among Jews and Hebrew speaking among those whose tongue is Arabic.

HaAv Piotr consecrates matzah, which is kosher for Passover. It is precisely the same content as the hosts used in the U.S., and is approved for use here, where it is readily available. At the exact moment when he elevates the host and the chalice, 6:55 p.m., a loud air horn sounds nearby to announce that the most sacred of days, the Sabbath, has begun in the Jewish state. I find this juxtaposition of sacred time and sacred species to be satisfying, almost as though Israel is saying to this small Catholic community, “Yes, you are here. Yes, you are welcome.”

The news from Pope Francis’ visit is happening so fast.  Cia reported that the day was VERY hot and sunny, and everyone who had traveled with her to Bethlehem was exhausted, sunburned and dehydrated.  “Except for the Pope,” she notes, since he was under a canopy, along with a few lucky bishops who got to be up there, too.  HaAv Piotr,  with his fair Polish skin, looks like a beet all around his head.