After a record number of pilgrims and tourists at Christmas, peace and quiet return to the city where Jesus was born.
On their pilgrimage to Bethlehem, on 28th December, to celebrate the memory of the holy innocents, the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land did not expect to have to make their way through crowds of faithful to be able to celebrate a votive Mass in St. Joseph’s Grotto, next to the altar dedicated to the tiny martyrs. Yet this was what happened. Without consulting one another, many religious, sisters of the Rosary, sisters of St. Joseph, Franciscan sisters, sisters of Mother Theresa, Bridgettine sisters and even Benedictine sisters, who are usually enclosed, all had the same impulse of “visiting and praying in the holy places after the crowds”.
Everybody clustered around in a fraternal and intimate atmosphere to take part in the Mass presided by Father Artemio Vitores, the Custodial Vicar. In his homily, he recalled how ancient the tradition of the Holy Innocents was, mentioned not only in the Gospels but also in the tradition of the Church, with the reference to the feast in the Leonine Sacramentary, from as early as the 5th century. Father Artemio then recalled the dramas of which children in the world today are victims, including at their birth, inviting the assembly to remember them in their prayers. Lastly, the Vicar concluded on what the appeal to “go back to being like a child” can mean today.
Father Artemio and the students of the seminary, who had accompanied him to serve and sing at this Mass, stayed in Bethlehem to share a meal with the local fraternity and once again, all the brothers returned together to the grotto in the afternoon to remember the holy innocents, during the office of vespers, before setting off again for Jerusalem.
To read the homily of Fra Artemio Vìtores, click here (in Italian).
Mab
On their pilgrimage to Bethlehem, on 28th December, to celebrate the memory of the holy innocents, the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land did not expect to have to make their way through crowds of faithful to be able to celebrate a votive Mass in St. Joseph’s Grotto, next to the altar dedicated to the tiny martyrs. Yet this was what happened. Without consulting one another, many religious, sisters of the Rosary, sisters of St. Joseph, Franciscan sisters, sisters of Mother Theresa, Bridgettine sisters and even Benedictine sisters, who are usually enclosed, all had the same impulse of “visiting and praying in the holy places after the crowds”.
Everybody clustered around in a fraternal and intimate atmosphere to take part in the Mass presided by Father Artemio Vitores, the Custodial Vicar. In his homily, he recalled how ancient the tradition of the Holy Innocents was, mentioned not only in the Gospels but also in the tradition of the Church, with the reference to the feast in the Leonine Sacramentary, from as early as the 5th century. Father Artemio then recalled the dramas of which children in the world today are victims, including at their birth, inviting the assembly to remember them in their prayers. Lastly, the Vicar concluded on what the appeal to “go back to being like a child” can mean today.
Father Artemio and the students of the seminary, who had accompanied him to serve and sing at this Mass, stayed in Bethlehem to share a meal with the local fraternity and once again, all the brothers returned together to the grotto in the afternoon to remember the holy innocents, during the office of vespers, before setting off again for Jerusalem.
To read the homily of Fra Artemio Vìtores, click here (in Italian).
Mab