Gifts and surprises in the Jaffa kehilla

Another gift filled the hearts of members of the Jaffa kehilla with joy and surprise as they gathered for the weekly Sunday mass on Saturday evening.

Last week, they had experienced the joy of receiving an icon for their prayer hall (visible in the photo), a loan from the poor Clares in Jerusalem for six months, the time it will take Alberto and Benny to prepare an icon for the kehilla.

This time it was an even greater gift: the relics of Blessed John Paul II among us. The youngest members of the kehilla had already heard about Pope Wojtyla during their catechism class and had learnt about the meaning of being a saint and the respect the Church offers these persons worthy of being remembered.

At mass, the reliquary was exposed, set on a specially prepared stand alongside a photograph of the Blessed Pope. On the background of the first miracle of Jesus in Cana (the reading of this Sunday), remembering John Paul II and thanking the Lord for all that was achieved through him in the Church, the thoughts of one and all were called to focus on the many miracles that the Lord accomplishes each day in our lives, from the smallest to the greatest.