Many people in the United States are facing challenges because of unemployment and economic difficulties. Budgets are tight.
However, the worldwide downturn in the economy is also affecting the people living in the land where Jesus lived and walked, where he suffered, died, and rose from the dead.
As we observe Holy Week and Easter, we especially hear about places such as the Sea of Galilee, Bethelehem, Nazareth, and Jerusalem. In all those places today, Christians are struggling to keep their faith alive and to live in dignity.
One way Catholics throughout the world can help their brothers and sisters in the Holy Land is through the Good Friday collection taken in all Catholic parishes. This papal collection raises funds for the Commissariat of the Holy Land run by the Franciscans, who have been serving in the Holy Land for nearly 800 years.
The collection supports these efforts:
• Maintenance of the Holy Land: Maintenance and repairs of all the Holy Land parishes, shrines, chapels, and oratories used by the local Christian community and visiting pilgrims. Recent work was done at Gethsemane and Bethlehem as well as ongoing restoration work at the Grotto of the Nativity in Nazareth.
• Charitable programs for the poor: Care for the poorest social classes, both Christian and non-Christian. This includes providing housing and rented apartments for families, restoration of uninhabitable dwellings, and assistance for needy families for medical treatment and pharmaceuticals.
• Educational programs: Formation and education for seminarians, scholarly activities, and schools open to all students.
• Pastoral programs: Pastoral ministry in 29 parishes and in shrines, chapels, and oratories, including spiritual direction and counseling.
Please contribute to the Holy Land collection on Good Friday and help keep the faith alive in the places where Jesus walked.