CHRISTMAS IN WAR ZONES
The small local Catholic community in Gaza, with only 117 faithful, celebrated Christmas with the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Bishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on a visit to the Strip from 13 to 15 December. A Christmastide celebrated with the words of Psalm 120, which, said the parish priest, Father Romanelli, is the one that “best describes the state of mind of our Christian faithful today”
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. In Gaza there are no mountains but we have a beautiful sky to look at”: recites Psalm 120, so-called of ‘ascents’, said Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of Latin rite in Gaza, shepherd to a small community of 117 Catholics on a population of two million people. It’s Christmas time, but the manger, the lights and the decorations are all inside the perimeter of the parish compound.
“We also have a six-meter Christmas tree”, the parish priest hastened to add, “one of the very few here in the Strip. It’s displayed inside the church devoted to the Holy Family.” In Gaza there is shortage of water, medicines, social services, electricity, jobs, “we try to live as we can in a state of continuous tension if not war, and – points out the parish priest of Argentine origin, living the Strip for the past two months after 14 years spent in Beit Jala – in spite of everything there is a great yearning to celebrate”, also thanks to the three-day visit (13-15 December) of the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Monsignor Pierbattista Pizzaballa and of the Patriarchal Delegation. For a few days the sound of the bombs, rockets and clashes of the past year were concealed by Christmas music and songs.
Strangers in their own land. The Christmas visits to Gaza began with Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, now Emeritus, and since then both his successor, Fouad Twal and Bishop Pizzaballa, have continued this tradition. The reason for these visits, said the parish priest, is that “Israel does not grant permission to leave the Strip and go and pray at the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, so the Patriarchs go to Gaza to celebrate Christmas and show their closeness to the small Christian minority.”
The issue of authorizations from Israel has long been “one of the reasons for the greatest suffering of the Gazan Christians” who, remarked Father Romanelli, ” consider themselves descendants of Jesus, like those of Bethlehem, Jerusalem and the Territories.
Knowing that not everyone will get permits makes them upset. They would like to experience the embrace of the Church. They feel somewhat strangers in their own land.” In the meantime, Msgr. Pizzaballa, went to embrace them and “made us feel the closeness of the whole Church of the Patriarchate, an anticipation of the Christmas season.” Bishop Pizzaballa, added the parish priest, “had the opportunity to visit the Catholic schools and receive Christmas wishes from Christian and Muslim students. He was received in the homes of different families where he listened to the difficulties of living continuously in a war zone with the desire to live in a land of freedom and justice, and, above all, wishing to go to Bethlehem for Christmas.”
An active community. During three days full of events the local community participated in the inauguration of the new Caritas Jerusalem medical facility and to that of a section of the St Thomas Aquinas Center where local Christians receive theological and pastoral formation and learn subjects such as computer science and English”, which are helpful in finding a job in the stifled Gazan economy.” “No one has been forgotten, especially the sick, the elderly and the disabled – said Father Romanelli -. In this Advent season we visited the elderly and the sick of the parish with young people and scouts, bringing them small gifts. The priests administered the anointing of the sick, blessed the houses and often prayed in the light of candles, due to lack of electricity.” But the service “to the last” does not stop there: “the scout groups of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches have collected clothing items with the help of other associations and of the students of the three Catholic schools in Gaza. Everything will be donated to the neediest in the many suburban districts of the Strip.”
12 communions and 4 confirmations. “Last Sunday, December 15, we celebrated the Christmas Mass, starting with a Eucharistic adoration and praying the Morning Office – said the parish priest -. During the liturgy we also celebrated 12 First Communions and four Confirmations and imparted the blessing to students in their final high school year. The living nativity scene marked these days of celebration when we enjoyed the goodness of the Lord. The Christian community in Gaza, Msgr. Pizzaballa told us, “has not lost hope and faith even despite so many difficulties. It is active in providing service to others thanks to the efforts of the priests and religious present, such as the Sisters of Mother Teresa with their homes for disabled children and the elderly whom they lovingly attend to, the nuns of the Rosary who run the school, the nuns and brethren of the Incarnate Word and their pastoral and catechetical service which has been ongoing for over 10 years. We are proud of this.” Father Romanelli lives in the awareness that “what happens in Gaza does not depend on us but on those around us and those in charge of making decisions. So we see that there is no help from anywhere. The words of Psalm 120 return again: “I lift my eyes to the mountains – where will help come from?
Let us pray that Jesus may come to our assistance, let us invoke His coming, for He gives us strength. Our hope is entirely reposed in Him, born as Light into the world, who died and rose again for the redemption of all of humanity. That is our wish for everyone from Gaza. We will repeat it even more strongly on Christmas night when we will spiritually unite with the Grotto in Bethlehem, a nearby but impossible destination for many.”
