Pope Benedict: Od Yavo Shalom (Peace will come)


T. from the Haifa community echoes the Pope's hopes for unity and peace.

Farewell greetings died away and Pope Benedict XVI, who had visited the Holy Land from May 8 to 15, left our country. The fears and anxieties that were linked to possible misunderstandings had already been forgotten. What was left behind was a radiant happiness in souls and memories of this wonderful week. What did the Pope's visit add to our lives?

First of all it gave us the unforgettable joy of unity. The program of his visit was very intense. But for the faithful it was also not easy. For example, members of our communities had to go to Nazareth at 2.30 am in order to take part in the mass. Hours spent under the burning Israeli sun (sometimes on foot because there was no place to sit) were also difficult enough. But as folk wisdom says: "Joy turns difficulties into pleasure". The common atmosphere of elation and friendliness united one and all and filled with faith, hope and love all the participants - us, Hebrew speaking Catholics, Christian Arabs, believers from different countries, all who had come to the meeting with the Pope. Before coming to the Holy Land  the Holy Father said, that the aim of his visit  was "...to ask the Lord, while visiting the places sanctified by His life on earth, for the precious gift of unity and peace for the Middle East and for all the humanity." Indeed, his coming once more turned the thoughts of the nations of our area to the necessity of working for the establishment of peace. This was the great value of the song sung during the inter-religious meeting in the Basilica of the Annunciation! A Jew sang: "Lord, grant us peace" in different languages, and all the participants - Muslims, Jews, Christians, Druze - with the Pope too, whose voice might not have been strong but whose heart was fully with them.

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All  people of good will are eager for peace. They talk, sing and pray for it. It seems that the way to peace is long and hard. But the Lord said: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you"( John 14:27). In the meeting with the Holy Father in the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulcher), one of the seminarians from Beit Jala was very glad to know that I was from the Hebrew speaking community and said to me: "The Pope brought us hope. His arrival changed the relations between representatives of different faiths in our suffering ,exhausted land".

Here it is, peace, standing at the entrance. Shall we open the door of our heart for it? Yes, by all means! Let the reflections and songs about peace that can be found on this page, help us in this not easy but necessary task.

Od Yavo Shalom (Peace will yet come).

 

salaam_shalom

Peace will yet come (Israeli song)
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Arab-Jewish peace song
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Peace song for the Pope
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