“Let us live on the holy mountain for the glory and honor of God”
We sang the hymn of the jubilee with full voice to thank the Lord who, in his love and Providence, wanted and supported this presence throughout our history, despite the wars and in the midst of difficult circumstances, peculiar to the blessed Land where we are. The foundation dates from January 1, 1892, when eight Carmelites from France settled at the foot of Mount Carmel.
To tell this holy story, we published two books. The first, entitled Near the Source, is published in French. In four main chapters, we present the vocation and mission of our community and situate it in the whole of the contemplative life present in the Holy Land. We recall past events from archival documents and, finally, we express the meaning of our current presence within the local Church and in the social and political context that is ours.
The second book is entitled The Guardians of the Vine, a title that refers to a biblical verse from the Song of Songs. It is published in Arabic. It is an abridged account of our history, geared toward Arabic-speaking Christians and intended to present our monastery to them.
The Jubilee Year culminated in the celebration of the Eucharist on November 4, 2017, in the monastery chapel. It was presided by Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and concelebrated by Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, Vicar in Palestine, Father Hanna Kildani, Vicar in Israel, Father Enrique Castro OCD, General Delegate for Israel, several members of religious communities, local clergy as well as Discalced Carmelite fathers and brothers.
The Christian people were present in all their diversity: Catholics of Maronite and Greek-Melkite rite and Orthodox. We also enjoyed the presence of Jewish, Baha’i and even Druze friends. All, as children of the same Father, participated in the Jubilee Mass, led by the choir of the New Life ecumenical community. It was a powerful moment, an eruption of the Spirit in an atmosphere of joyous and festive communion, something of a messianic moment that overwhelmed us all.
To prepare for this jubilee, we have benefited from numerous collaborations in all fields, and everything made us feel that, despite our weakness and our poverty, we are at the heart of the ecclesial community, that Carmel belongs to the people of God; we are theirs and for them. It was a strong experience, part of the essential missionary character of our vocation.
This event was lived under the sign of internationality and interculturality. Such is the characteristic of the Mother Church of Jerusalem. During the celebration, we used three languages following the dynamism of the Spirit! A long procession of entry preceded the Eucharist: above all, the processional Cross carried by a Carmelite brother, followed by the entire community of sisters with some symbols: the Founding Infant Jesus, the same that Mother Mary of the Sacred Heart brought on the day of the foundation, 125 years ago. Then, the icon of Our Lady of Mount Carmel with our Holy Mother Teresa; a notebook from our Annals, and the light of the jubilee; behind these, the other sisters who bore lights, signs of fidelity. Our sisters on the council of the Association of Our Lady of Mount Carmel also participated in this procession while coming for their regular meeting.
After the Introductory Rites, there was the special rite of the Jubilee Year when we presented our symbols to the people. In the end, Archbishop Pizzaballa read the blessing that Pope Francis sent to our community on the occasion of the jubilee.
During his homily, Bishop Marcuzzo reminded us of the biblical meaning of jubilee, which, according to the book of Leviticus, is a time of repose, not for rest, but to return to the roots, to return entirely to God. What are our roots? He reminded us of our origins here at Wadi’ain es-Siah. Carmelites were born near a spring, as our Rule of Life says, ‘juxta fontem,’ near the spring of the prophet Elijah who, by his prayer, brought back the pagan people to the true God. He also recalled the important place that the Virgin Mary has in our Order.
“How can we return to God?” the bishop asked us. Saint John of the Cross tells us: we must go out, climb the mountain of Carmel by detaching ourselves from all that is old to enter a new way of thinking and acting, doing this with patience like Elijah did hoping for rain after years of drought. This is the newness of jubilee.
So what does it mean to go back to the source? We can respond as St. Teresa of Lisieux answered: “In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love”. I wish that you might make this holy decision, to be love in the heart of the Church of the Holy Land.
After the homily, we renewed our vows in the presence of the whole assembly: a powerful moment of communion with our pastors and also a moment of communion with all the consecrated men and women present.
At the end of Mass, the whole assembly was invited for a fellowship hour.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/-tyt1qduzl4
