The recent resumption of fighting in the Middle East has reignited fear and trauma. The Chemin Neuf Community, with a presence in Lebanon and Israel, has not been spared. A brother in Israel and a sister in Lebanon share their news, their concerns and their sources of hope with us. To read the news from Lebanon, click here.
Opposite: a screenshot of a heart-warming bond between brothers and sisters from the Holy Land and Lebanon
By Father Damien Artiges, Head of the Chemin Neuf community in Israel
Dear brothers and sisters,
Thank you for your prayers and messages of support! Here is a brief update on our situation in the Holy Land. At the Ecce Homo house in Jerusalem, everyone is well: four guests still here for study or work, the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, and ourselves.
Alerts are still frequent, at least one or two a day, and often at night. Each time, we go down to the shelter in the basement, which is the archaeological site of the “Lithostrotos”, that is to say, the paving stones; according to tradition, this is the place where Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd (John 19:13).
We can hear the explosions of intercepted missiles time and again, and in recent days, debris of varying sizes from these missiles has fallen on the Old City. For the time being, gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited, and major places of worship are therefore closed: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall.
When the conflict broke out at the end of February, there were about fifteen guests in the house, and we formed a good, international and very ecumenical group: a small evangelical group from the USA, a Lutheran female bishop from Norway with her husband, a few Germans including a pastor, and a Greek Orthodox woman from Cyprus.
Together with them and the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, we shared a time of evangelical worship, attended Sunday Mass in the basement, received a joint blessing with the other ministers, and took part in a Lutheran Holy Communion.
A true moment of grace and reconciled diversity in the midst of adversity, in this place marked by the Passion of Christ.
In the days that followed, all these pilgrims were fortunately able to find a way home.
In Tantur, Marie Farouza and the small team at the ecumenical institute were running a training programme with four participants – the first since the war began (October 2023). All of them chose to stay until the programme’s scheduled end on the weekend of 14–15 March.
They thus spent a fortnight in prayer and sharing, but also in meeting others. Although they did not leave the campus in order to comply with the regulations, the speakers came to them: for example, the custodian of the keys to the Holy Sepulchre, from a family that has held this office for 28 generations.
Just before the Israeli-American attack, the group was in Galilee. Over Lake Tiberias, a double rainbow appeared the day before the war began, and it was like a call to stay vigilant and to have faith in the face of the uncertainty that lies ahead. To stand watch with the people of this country and neighbouring countries, to believe that evil will not have the final say, that a just peace can be achieved.
For Holy Week and the Easter season, we were expecting a large number of pilgrims at Ecce Homo, which was a great boost for the life of the house, the communities and the staff. As time goes on, bookings are being cancelled and we have to resign ourselves to an almost empty house. So, on top of the tensions of war, there is anxiety about the economic future, particularly regarding retaining staff and continuing to provide them with the means to support their families. A few local religious will join us for the Easter Triduum and, as every year, we are preparing for and hope to celebrate Easter with the White Fathers and the Assumptionists despite everything.
Our thoughts are with those who are most at risk and who are suffering from the war more than we are, particularly in Iran and Lebanon; we continue to rely on Divine Providence and on your prayers for peace here and throughout the Middle East.
In communion,
Damien