Feast of Saint James in Jerusalem kehilla

The Feast of Saint James is important for the Church of Jerusalem in general and the Hebrew speaking communities in particular (see here for the Feast of Saint James). Saint James, guided by the Holy Spirit and with great courage, decreed how Jews and Gentiles could come together in one community. This decision directed the development of the community of the believers in Jesus to become a place of peace between the people of Israel and the nations of the world who come together around the table of the Lord in a shared faith in Jesus as they participate in his supper (see here for the link between Saint James and our communities).

Many friends came to the celebration, filling the chapel and many priests joined Father Pierbattista around the altar. At the beginning of the service, Father David, responsible for the kehillot, said: “We do not say to Father Pierbattista simply “welcome” but rather “welcome back!” after all he built this house and cultivated the community here for many years”.

In his homily, Father Pierbattista underlined the importance of the unity between the word we speak and the act we do. However, what is important in the well intentioned act is that it be aligned with the will of God. We do not do the good deed in order to gain honor for ourselves or because we are afraid of what others might say. The good deed is not even the consequence of a call for help. The fruitful deed is good in as much as God is acting through us.

After the homily and the prayer of the faithful for our communities and all those in need, a new icon was brought to the principal celebrant, an icon received as gift by the Saint James Vicariate from an Italian monk, Andrea Bergamini, who is studying theology with the Franciscans and who has been coming to the Hebrew speaking community for some years now. Andrea “wrote” the icon which shows Saint James among the apostles and the elders at the Jerusalem Council of apostles, described in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15. During this feast, Father Pierbattista blessed the icon and at the end of the mass placed it on the wall of the chapel.

At the end of the mass, the faithful gathered in the courtyard in order to prolong the joy of the feast. Thanks to all those who helped organize the feast, to Father Piotr, responsible of the Jerusalem kehilla, to Benny and the members of the choir, to Andrea and Franciscan Fra Alberto who assisted him, and especially to Father Pierbattista who returned to us for a few moments in order to join our festivity.