Friday, May 15, 2009

Jesus is the peace the Holy Land longs for, Pope says


Pope Benedict XVI kisses the stone where Jesus was laid

Jerusalem, Israel, May 15, 2009 / 04:26 am (CNA).- Before he departs for Rome later this afternoon, Pope Benedict made sure to visit Christianity's holiest site—the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—where Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead. The Pope urged the people of the Holy Land to bury their sufferings in the empty tomb, since their “strife-torn land” can find the peace it yearns for in Jesus, the person who rose from it.

A delegation comprised of the numerous Christian traditions that care for the church accompanied Pope Benedict as he stopped at the place where Jesus was prepared for burial (Stone of the Unction) and the tomb in which Jesus was buried. As he paused at each place, he kissed the stone and then prayed for several minutes.

Upon leaving the Tomb of Christ, the Pope was welcomed by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, who gave thanks for Benedict XVI's visit. The patriarch noted that the congregation had just sung the “Te Deum”--a hymn of thanks to God—and that they sang it “first of all for your presence in our midst, during these days.”

“We sing this 'Te Deum' in joy, despite the complications of the situation today,” said Twal referencing the tensions in the Holy Land.
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Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Before this Holy Sepulchre, where the Lord “overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers”, I greet all of you in the joy of the Easter season.


Pope Benedict prays on the Stone of Anointing, Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Photo: Reuters)

Pope Benedict XVI in Israel
15 May 2009

Dear Friends in Christ,

The hymn of praise which we have just sung unites us with the angelic hosts and the Church of every time and place – “the glorious company of the apostles, the noble fellowship of the prophets and the white-robed army of martyrs” – as we give glory to God for the work of our redemption, accomplished in the passion,death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Before this Holy Sepulchre, where the Lord “overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers”, I greet all of you in the joy of the Easter season. I thank Patriarch Fouad Twal and the Custos, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, for their kind greeting. I likewise express my appreciation for the reception accorded me by the Hierarchs of the Greek Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. I gratefully acknowledge the presence of representatives of the other Christian communities in the Holy Land. I also greet the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre here present, with gratitude for their Order’s unfailing commitment to the support of the Church’s mission in these lands made holy by the Lord’s earthly presence.
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