Bethlehem and St Catherine of Alexandria

On Friday afternoon I came to Bethlehem. I wanted to be here to thank the Lord both for the gift of life and for the gift of faith, since 51 years ago, on November 25, I was baptized. I find it quite strange that many have a good memory for some anniversaries but then do not register the date of their sacraments, especially the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion). These are huge gifts of the Lord. Keeping their anniversary could be helpful to thank the Lord for that particular gift, at least on that day. I was baptized in the Parish Church of Siggiewi by then Archpriest (now Monsignor) Aloysius Deguara. I was given the names of Nicholas, Francis Xavier, John, Aloysius. The second and third names were given to me by my godparents (who were my maternal grandparents) and the fourth was given to me by the priest who baptized me. I love each one of these names: they are almost a programme of life in themselves. Nicholas: love of God and of the people; Francis Xavier: great missionary zeal; John: in depth knowledge of God; Aloysius: purity. Obviously, I do not want to forget that I was baptized on the feast day of St Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr. She underlines for me the great value of courageous and knowledgeable witness.

St Catherine of Alexandria

The Church run by the Franciscans here in Bethlehem is dedicated to Saint Catherine. Thus, on this occasion the Custos of the Holy Land makes his solemn entry into the Basilica of the Nativity, which here marks the beginning of the preparation for the feast of the Birth of the Lord. Many Friars come to Bethlehem for this special occasion. Everything has to be done with full respect to the Status Quo, as I had written earlier. This is an agreement made in the 19^th Century between the different Christian denominations which share some of the most important sanctuaries here in the Holy Land (especially Holy Sepulcher and Bethlehem).

School children, parishioners and pilgrims
waiting for the arrival of the Custos in Manger Square

The Solemn Entry was at 11.30am. The Custos was accompanied passes through a special opening in the Wall of Separation between Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Once he reaches Manger Square, he is welcomed and then accompanied by the Mayor of Bethlehem. This year, for the first time, it seems, he was also accompanied by the Mayor of the neighboring city of Beit Jala. Waiting for the Custos, there were many children coming from the Terra Santa College (a Catholic School run by the Franciscans) and the School of the Sisters of St Joseph. There were also many other people, parishioners and pilgrims waiting for his coming. Passing through the Basilica of the Nativity he proceeds to the Church of St Catherine where he is then welcomed by the Parish Priest in the name of the whole community. At 1.45pm Evening Prayer of the feast of St Catherine was celebrated (the feast of St Catherine was anticipated by one day since the 25 November fell on a Sunday, wherein the Church celebrates the feast of Christ the King). During the singing of the Magnificat, the Custos is led to the Grotto of the Nativity, where he venerates the grotto and the manger. At 3.30pm, then, the Office of Readings is celebrated. This is presided over by the Guardian of the Bethlehem Franciscan community. Again, during the singing of the Te Deum, he is accompanied to the Grotto of the Nativity.

Evening Prayer on the Feast Day of St Catherine of Alexandria

The Celebration then continued on Sunday where the whole Parish Community gathered to celebrate the Eucharist with the Custos. This year, in union with the whole Church, the celebration was that of Christ the King. I was very positively impressed by the great number of people participating: old and young, religious and laity, women and men. They were singing and actively participating for mass, which was almost entirely in Arabic, with the exception of the Eucharistic Prayer, which was in Latin. I was really touched by this lively and vibrant Christian community in this place where it is becoming more and more difficult to witness to the Christian Faith. What an example to all of us!

The Parish Priest did the homily in Arabic. I only understood some numbers that he gave, since these are very similar to Maltese. He was giving, then, some statistics. He said, among others that in the last two years the parish grew by some 200 members – a very good thing to hear! He also said, I’ve been told, that the number of Catholic students attending the Catholic schools grew from around 40% to some 65%, thanks to scholarships given by the Custody and by benefactors around the world. All this is truly encouraging in a context wherein lately we have been hearing more negative news on the Christian presence in these lands.

The Parish Church of St Catherine run by the Franciscans
In front of it, in the middle of a cloister, the statue of St Jerome

On Sunday morning I had two other interesting meetings. First, I met with Bro Lawrence OFM, who is from the US. He is in charge of the Milk Grotto complex. He was speaking to me about this place which is considered to be the house where the Holy Family would have dwelled during their stay in Bethlehem, after moving out of the cave. So, it would be the house where Mary would have, among other things, breastfed baby Jesus. St Jerome venerated this place as being the Holy Family’s house as from the end of the fourth century. Tradition has it that some drops of milk fell and made of the reddish rock (typical of Bethlehem), a very white rock, which produces white dust. Bro Lawrence told me that since he’s here (some 10 years), he has had well over a thousand cases of people who have prayed to God, through the intercession of Mary, and received the grace either to have a child or to be freed from some form of illness (particularly breast cancer). People send in photos and letters to thank the Lord and Our Lady for the grace received.

He showed me around the complex (last time, when I came here I wasn’t aware of how large it actually is). There is a beautiful chapel where a group of nuns, Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament (founded by Blessed Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation) adore the Blessed Sacraments 24 on 7. This is truly a power house and an oasis of silence! 

The Chapel of Adoration at the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem

He also showed me the main Church with its modern stained glass windows. One of the windows shows the moment (the star) when the Word became flesh in the womb of Mary. Finally he showed me some mosaics coming from the Byzantine Church which was built here and a tomb from the time of the Crusades.

Another very inspiring meeting was with Sr Maria Grech FMM, a Maltese sister who has been living and working in Bethlehem these past 22 years. For the last 9 years she is running the Franciscan Family Centre. We had a very beautiful conversation which I would have liked I could transcribe here! She gives counseling to couples going through a difficult moment in their relationship. She visits also the homes of needy families. She takes care of the children. The FMM Sisters have a school for children, some of whom live in a residence run by the Sisters because they have nowhere else to go. Sr Maria was telling me that one question she faced at the beginning of her work was unemployment. She wanted to do something about it. So she came up with the idea of giving work to these married men by creating work for them: refurbishing the miserable housing of some of the families. She told me that in these 9 years, over 300 houses have been refurbished with kitchens, bathrooms, running water etc. And from where does the money come? She told me that she is not geared for fund-raising; she has no website. One organization which helps her is the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land. There are also groups in Germany, the United States and other countries which are helping her, giving her the possibility of helping these families and children. A very practical way of how to keep families together, giving them a future! May God bless her and her work! If someone would like to help her, please contact me and I will try to put the person in touch with Sr Maria. These websites could help in our understanding of this valuable project:
http://staging.ffhl.org/newsmanagerdotnet2/templates/programs.aspx?articleid=362&zoneid=17 
or 
http://www.custodia.org/default.asp?id=1344 

Sr Maria Grech FMM with some children (photo taken from suggested website)