Faith and Practice

A disciple of Jesus, Mary Magdalene stayed with him until the end, when he died on the cross, and she was also among the first witnesses to his resurrection.

Jeremiah is one of the greatest of Israel's prophets. He suffered much because of his faithfulness to God during a period of sin and refusal of God's Word. The Catholic Church remembers him on July 21 each year.

The Biblical prophet Elijah is a central figure in the books that tell the story of the people of Israel. Tradition ties him to Mount Carmel and the Christians in the Holy Land celebrate him on July 20 each year, especially in Haifa.

On this feast, the Church remembers Mary, protectress of the Carmelite monks, who settled on Mount Carmel in Haifa.

Daniel, from the Jaffa community, has sent us a brief article about Saint Bonaventure, a great Franciscan theologian and a doctor (teacher) of the Church whose feast is celebrated on July 15.*

Sister Gabriele of the Benedictine Monastery on the Mount of Olives sent us this article about Saint Benedict. His feast is celebrated on July 11.

Maria Goretti was only 11 years old when she was murdered by a young man, who sought to rape her. She is the patron saint of rape victims.

The Apostle Thomas is best remembered because of his doubt when his fellow apostles told him that Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared to them. According to one tradition, he brought faith in the Risen Jesus to India.

On June 29, the Church celebrates the memory of the two great apostles of the Church at the beginning, Peter and Paul, who did much to found communities of believers in the Risen Jesus. June 29, according to tradition, is the date of their martyrdom in Rome.

Irenaeus of Lyons was one of the great Fathers of the Church in the second century. He was a bishop and greatly influenced the development of Christian theology.

On June 24, six months before Christmas, the Church celebrates the nativity of John the Baptist, who played an important role in the life of Jesus Christ.

Daniel sent us an article he wrote on Saint Anthony of Padua, monk and doctor of the Church, who was born in 1195 and died in 1231. He is also the patron saint of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

Saint Barnabas is the patron saint of Cyprus, a Jewish disciple from that island who was a model of Christian life at the very beginning of the Church.

Saint Ephrem was one of the Fathers of the Church who wrote in Syriac (the Christian form of Aramaic) and produced hymns, poetry as well as fascinating Biblical exegesis.

Justin Martyr is an important Father of the Church and is from the Holy Land. His treatise "Dialogue with Trypho" is an important testimony to Jewish-Christian dialogue in the second century.

This feast, which commemorates the joyous visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, comes at the end of the month of Mary.

On May 17, the Catholic Church remembers the bishops of Jerusalem who have been recognized for their saintly lives.

Every week, on our YouTube channel we publish a short movie about the Gospel of the week in the Hebrew language. Watch a short explanation of the Gospel-reading of today's Sunday. This week we read J 17:1-11. The teacher of this week is Bp Rafik.

The Roman Liturgy’s Office of Readings for the Solemnity of the Ascension is taken from a homily by St. Augustine (Sermo de Ascensione Domini).

The late Fr. Michel Remaud reflects on the link between Jesus' ascension into heaven and the gift of the Holy Spirit as illuminated by a rabbinic text.