HOLY LAND: Charity joining Cardinal’s call for day of prayer for peace on 7th October
An International Catholic charity is supporting the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem’s call for “a day of prayer, fasting and penance” for peace in the Holy Land next Monday (7th October) – as well as providing emergency aid to the region’s suffering Christian community.
Regina Lynch, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International executive president, wrote in a statement that she was “deeply saddened by the unspeakable violence that has shaken the Holy Land for the last year”.
She added: “I would like to call upon ACN’s friends and benefactors around the globe to participate in a day of prayer, fasting and penance on Monday, 7th October 2024, which Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem has announced to mark the first anniversary of this heartbreaking conflict.
ACN’s help in the Holy Land since last October has included emergency aid, food, housing, school fees and medical assistance to hundreds of Christian families, as well as job creation programmes and support for Christian-run organisations.
The charity has also provided subsistence aid, Mass stipends, transportation, support for church construction projects and help with formation of priests and religious congregations in the region.
Ms Lynch wrote in her statement: “ACN shares the infinite grief and anguish of all those afflicted by the war, including those who have lost loved ones.
“We pray that God will comfort them and give them hope, courage and strength to persevere despite the immense challenges they continue to encounter every day.”
She added: “7th October is also the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
“The Blessed Virgin Mary not only shares the pain of those grieving the death of loved ones, as she saw her son give up His life on the Cross, but she also knows the power of the Resurrection which offers hope to all those suffering injustice.
“May she join her prayers with ours on the anniversary of the Holy Land’s descent into chaos and bring peace through her intercession.”
Ms Lynch highlighted: “With the Holy Father, Pope Francis, we pray ‘that the sincere search for peace will extinguish strife, love will overcome hatred, and revenge will be disarmed by forgiveness’.
“Please join us in this campaign of prayers for lasting peace and stability in the Holy Land and other parts of the Middle East engulfed in a spiral of war.
She concluded: “We ask the ‘God of all comfort’ to hear our prayers and allow His love and compassion to touch the hearts of those involved in the fighting, inspiring them to seek peaceful solutions, so that justice and reconciliation can prevail throughout the Holy Land and beyond.”