What is holiness? Being ‘creative in love and persevering in trials,’ said Pope Francis in his homily on Sunday, 20 October. On the façade of St Peter's stand out the images of the newly canonised saints, an Italian priest and nun with another Canadian nun, and finally eight Franciscan friars together with three Maronite laymen. They are the martyrs of Damascus, a new page of holiness in the history of the Custody of the Holy Land. Among the concelebrants were the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. It was a time of violent anti-Christian persecution in the city of present-day Syria, which was then, like the entire Middle East, the Ottoman Empire. The seven Spanish brothers plus one Austrian gave their lives for Christ, together with the three Masabki brothers, Lebanese Maronites, two of whom were married with children. Brother Emmanuel Ruiz and his fellow martyrs were beatified by Pius XI in 1926. Almost one hundred years later, while the Middle East is more than ever torn apart by violence, the Church allows itself to be questioned by the word of the Lord: ‘can you drink from my own cup? Christ provokes man's desire and raises worldly aspirations to a different horizon, which is that of love. The logic of domination is reversed. The gospel, which shines out in the lives of the saints, shows a way that scandalises the man of today: ‘not the one who dominates but the one who serves out of love wins’. Br BAHJAT KARAKASH, ofm Delegate of the Custos of the Holy Land in Syria In that martyrdom there were not only the brothers and the three lay people; there were thousands of Christians, and even today our Christian community lives its witness with great difficulty because of the war and its consequences. The most important thing is that, although numerically diminished, this community continues to be very present in the area. With a very strong impact on a social, moral and spiritual level. Today, Christians are at the forefront of rebuilding Syrian society through emergency humanitarian works, psychological, moral and spiritual support. It is a community that lives as a bridge of dialogue and peace between the different Syrian communities, which do not always coexist peacefully. Christians still have a very strong role and witness to offer the world. H B Card Pierbattista Pizzaballa,ofm Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins We must, as they say in English, think out of the box, i.e. not get trapped in our groups, our tribes or our way of thinking, but have the courage to step out of these limitations and start putting the other at the centre, not our own opinion. The next day, Monday 21 October, the Friars Minor met at the Antonianum to celebrate a solemn Eucharist of thanksgiving. It was presided over by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, H.B. Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa and concelebrated by the Father Custos, Brother Francesco Patton, and some bishops and presbyters from many parts of the world. We are witnessing the illusion of believing that one can build prospects for peace with the use of weapons,' the Patriarch said in his homily, ’We have seen what this has produced rubble everywhere. We should really do penance and ask God's forgiveness for all this. And recognise that even religions, in their institutional forms, have not shown great freedom and capacity for prophecy. But despite the many difficulties, the power of the Cross remains bright and gives us comfort. ‘We forgive you’, says the Patriarch, recalling the writing of some young Palestinian Christians on a wall destroyed by bombing. ‘But we forgive you’, this is the Christian way of being in the Middle East. H B Card Pierbattista Pizzaballa,ofm Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins To purify the memory, one must first of all rid the heart of the deposit of hatred and violence that has accumulated within. This can only be done if there is a gaze that goes beyond ourselves, turned first of all to God. God can, little by little, through people and relationships, purify our hearts. However, we must distinguish the personal aspect from the collective and community aspect. The personal aspect has its own path that needs to be faster; the community aspect, on the other hand, is slower and, in addition to forgiveness and the purification of memory, needs to embrace dignity and justice. Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land Obviously, building peace is not an easy thing to do, and here we must refer to St Francis. St Francis, sending the friars to the Holy Land, said: ‘Remember that the peace you proclaim with your lips you must first have it in your heart’... Even Christians, at times, might be tempted to react with violent means, which are not acceptable to the Christian conscience. Therefore, there is a pastoral educational dimension, and I believe that one of the privileged tools for building a culture of peace are schools. We have many schools, and we seek for them to be inspired by the encounter between St Francis and the Sultan, which represents a parable and a paradigm of working for peace. Besides schools, there are also concrete circumstances that favour peace. I am thinking, for example, of when someone is in difficulty: during the terrible earthquake in Syria a few years ago, in Aleppo, the doors of the Terra Santa College, as well as those of the parish, were opened to all, Christians and Muslims. Read More