May 12, 2009 / 06:53 am
Bishops from the Holy Land gathered Tuesday afternoon with Pope Benedict in the room where, according to tradition, Jesus celebrated the Last Supper. The Holy Father, returning to his message of peace, encouraged Christians in the Holy Land to accept the gift of God's love, which will ensure a vibrant Christian presence.
The Pope's surroundings led him to immediately recall that the Upper Room is a place that “invites the Church to prayerful contemplation” since it was here that Jesus 'loved them to the end.'
“In the Upper Room,” the Pope said, “the mystery of grace and salvation, of which we are recipients and also heralds and ministers, can be expressed only in terms of love. Because he has loved us first and continues to do so, we can respond with love.”
With the Christian presence in the Holy Land dwindling, Benedict XVI called on the community to let Christ's transforming love help them “overcome the temptation to turn in upon ourselves in selfishness or indolence, isolation, prejudice or fear, and to give ourselves generously to the Lord and to others.”
The power of his love “moves us as Christian communities to be faithful to our mission with frankness and courage," he said.
This call to “communion of mind and heart ... is of special relevance in the Holy Land,” the Pope noted, pointing out that the “different Christian Churches found here ... are a sign of the multiple forms of interaction between the Gospel and different cultures. “They also remind us that the mission of the Church is to preach the universal love of God and to gather, from far and near, all who are called by Him, in such a way that, with their traditions and their talents, they form the one family of God."
As the future of the Christian presence in the Holy Land remains tenuous, the Holy Father advised the Church to generously accept and nurture “the gift of love.” Accepting and living out this gift will ensure that “the Christian presence in the Holy Land and in the neighbouring regions will be vibrant,” he said.