The message of the empty tomb
- 2020/04/12 -
There are these little gestures and tokens of sympathy in these days
of the Corona crisis with all its restrictions which enrich our
everyday life and give us hope, also here in Jerusalem where our
pilgrimage home and our kindergarten are closed at the moment.
But our life continues sustained by the promising and hopeful message of Our Lord who is risen.
We in our community of the Sisters
of Saint Charles were joyfully celebrating the Easter liturgy. It was
not only our chapel that was illuminated by the light of the Easter
candle - and this in spite of the fact that the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre was closed -, but our hearts were also thankfully filled with
its light, because unexpectedly the Benedictine monks of Mount Zion
made us the wonderful gift of a big candle after they had been informed
that the candle we had ordered for Easter had not arrived in time
because no mail from abroad is delivered in Israel at the moment.
One of our sisters beautifully
decorated the candle with a boat on stormy waves under two canvas sails
at the cross. By this, she reminds us of the meditation presented by
Pope Francis on the completely deserted Saint Peter's Square weeks ago
on a Friday evening at the end of March:
The Lord asks us and, in the midst of our tempest, invites us to
reawaken and put into practice that solidarity and hope capable of
giving strength, support and meaning to these hours when everything
seems to be floundering. The Lord awakens so as to reawaken and revive
our Easter faith. We have an anchor: by his cross we have been saved. We
have a rudder: by his cross we have been redeemed. We have a hope: by
his cross we have been healed and embraced so that nothing and no one
can separate us from his redeeming love. In the midst of isolation when
we are suffering from a lack of tenderness and chances to meet up, and
we experience the loss of so many things, let us once again listen to
the proclamation that saves us: he is risen and is living by our side.
The Lord asks us from his cross to rediscover the life that awaits us,
to look towards those who look to us, to strengthen, recognize and
foster the grace that lives within us. Let us not quench the wavering
flame (cf. Is 42:3) that never falters, and let us allow hope to be rekindled.
Pope Francis, March 27, 2020, Prayer at Saint Peter´s Place, Vatican
Happy and Blessed Easter to all of you!
May the light of Our Lord
illuminate you,
and may the joyful and promising message
of His resurrection
penetrate the darkness
and drive all our fears and sorrows away!
and may the joyful and promising message
of His resurrection
penetrate the darkness
and drive all our fears and sorrows away!
German Hospice St. Charles Jerusalem - Lloyd George Street 12, 91080 Jerusalem, Israel - Tel. 00972 2 5637737 - info@german-hospice.de