"Desert Flower" in Haifa

Father Roman could not be present as he was celebrating the weekly Monday mass at the Italian Hospital in Nazareth, however some members of the kehilla of Haifa had the joy to welcome the youth of the kehillot for a special evening together over this Christmas period.

Father Apolinary and Benny, the two leaders of the youth group, were leading the young people and the twenty of us could celebrate the feast of St. Stefan, the first martyr of the Church, with good music and intense gratitude for the gift of Christmas in our lives. In his homily, Father Apolinary pointed out that what might seem a paradox - yesterday we celebrated the birth of Jesus and today we celebrate the death of a disciple of Jesus - is in fact our true call, to be witnesses of the Lord. All of us will be born one day into eternal life.

The Eucharist was followed by a delicious supper shared and prepared by the visitors. There was Polish food, Arab food besides salad, plenty to drink, and tasty dessert, a pie was prepared by one of the girls in the group. Some snacks and chips were eaten before mass and we had great fun all night long!

As a family, with members of different ages and generations, we chatted for long time during supper and the themes moved from serious matters such as 'should I really believe in what is written in the book of Genesis?', to very funny jokes and good memories of the time Desert Flower spent in Spain. There was indeed a wonderful atmosphere where the experience of friendship and fraternity was deepened!

In the last part of the evening all were seated in the front room of the house eating popcorn to watch a film about Christmas, a French-German production.

The joy of Christmas was really in our hearts and could be seen in the faces of all. We thank Father Apolinary, Benny and all the ones who came to Haifa and we look forward to another visit, hopefully soon, very soon, this time in the presence of Father Roman.