Catechism with the Filipinos

On Saturday, May 29, the first cycle of catechism for children was concluded at the Divine Mercy Chapel in Tel Aviv, where a vibrant community of Filipino residents in Israel meets. This activity, directed by Father David accompanied by Benedetto, a volunteer in the kehillot, began in March and continued without a break once every two weeks. The objective of these meetings, which will hopefully be renewed after the summer break, is to strengthen the Christian identity of these children, born and growing up in secular Jewish Israeli society.

Almost all these children, who are pupils in the schools in the neighborhood, revealed during the lessons that they have a good knowledge of the Hebrew Bible and of the Jewish feasts however very few of them are able to integrate together with this inculturated cultural treasure the foundations of the Christian faith, practiced faithfully by their parents. This is also the origin of the challenge that has been zealously taken up by the responsible for the Hebrew speaking Catholic community: to tell these children in the only language that they can study in the history of salvation from a Christian perspective, thus helping them to integrate the two important components of their identity, being Christian and being Israeli. Impressive was the number of these little pupils, usually about thirty in attendance, who with curiosity and interest, allowed themselves to be led on a journey of discovery which can be summed up with the title of the book of Father Gregor Pawlowski, “Getting to know Christ”, used as the textbook during these lessons.

The testimony of Benedetto

A visit to the Filipino community in Tel Aviv was not an activity that had been planned for my volunteer activity in the kehillot but slowly concretized as the activity proceeded. I accepted this with enthusiasm and I must say I never regretted the initial readiness. It was an occasion to get to know a new reality that I knew nothing about, that of the non-Jewish migration to Israel. I was able to discover how this “minority” community organizes itself and comes together in meeting centers, actually places of worship that become places of sharing the daily joys and trials. These children, so very Israeli and yet nonetheless quite “different” from their fellow pupils, helped me enter into the mystery of identity, to unravel the delicate thread that brings together culture and religion and to understand the difficulties for a child to live his or her own faith as part of a minority. This all took place at a moment when the political and social circumstances in the country put into question the continued presence of thousands of foreign residents on Israeli soil, and these children are part of that population. I can say that it was a very powerful experience in which my role was to be a friend, to teach them some songs chosen from the repertoire of the kehillot. It would be wonderful if other Christians in the land would feel the desire to visit these brothers and sisters and dedicate some time to them in order to confirm them in their faith through the building of a dynamic of relationship and friendship.

On the last day it was difficult to bid them farewell even if some of them might indeed participate in the upcoming summer camp in July. I carry with me a vivid memory of their laughter and their enthusiasm.