The Holy Land: Listening to the Word,
Listening to Life

“God’s Word is a gift we are called to know and love, study and understand more deeply.”

The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

Sr. Michela Refatto at Mount Nebo... “Walking alone for a while and then with others is like a metaphor of our life as we constantly seek to encounter God.”

Sr. Michela Refatto, sfp

It has been a gift and a grace to live and study in Jerusalem for four months. I had the opportunity to visit towns and places that are meaningful in the history of the chosen people and in the life of Jesus. However, I must admit that the most relevant lessons I received were not the Greek and Hebrew classes I attended, nor the archaeological excavations I visited: it was experiencing the lives of so many brothers and sisters who can no longer live in peace.  

The Bible describes Jerusalem as a mother of many children. One of the Psalms states that we all belong there – and this is true! One feels at home in Jerusalem, and experiences the city as a womb where many different peoples are welcomed. This is fascinating, while also posing the challenge to remain open and share.  

As times goes by, however, one finds that there is a subtle, but pervasive trend permeating life in Jerusalem that promotes segregation. It emphasizes distinctions in order to promote separation and hinder dialogue. At the same bus stop there are both Jews and Arabs, but they are immediately recognizable by the way they dress. Even if they are going to the same destination, they use different buses.   

This pervasive attitude of distinction becomes a wall of division any time it is expressed in radical ways because it prevents any form of dialogue. Reason is supplanted by the dominion of the strongest.  

I often wondered, does suffering teach anything? What was learned from the horrors of the holocaust if today we do not want to admit that we are perpetrating another holocaust, one that is just as violent? I cannot express with words the pain I felt when I had to go through the checkpoints -- that is, the two entrances through which Palestinians need to go carrying permits to exit Bethlehem on their way to Jerusalem.  

Holding in my Heart these Sacred Places . . .
Upon my return to Italy, I asked myself: “Michela, what spoke to you the most?”  I certainly can answer: the land of Israel, so special with its diversity and riches, its desert and the hills, the plains in blossom and the lake.

As I visited the various places, the words of Scripture really became alive and especially in some of these places: 

1. Young Jewish men and women in the military service to defend Israel Checkpoints in Jerusalem

   The Sea of Galilee, which reminds me in a powerful way of Jesus’ presence.
   
2. The Church of the Primacy of St. Peter,* where we remember when Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me more than these?”  
   
3. Walking up to Mount Sinai at night, together with a crowd of pilgrims of various religions, I experienced that walking in the darkness, struggling and straining to get up higher, respecting the pace of others. Walking alone for a while and then with others is like a metaphor of our life as we constantly seek to encounter God.  
4. Walking to Jericho on the desert road in the Judean Desert where I saw the sunrise and experienced the blessing of water which generates life and springs from a mysterious spring. There I remembered the parable of the Good Samaritan, a favorite of mine. I also understood in a new way what commitment God had made when God promised to open a new way for God’s people in such a rocky environment.   
   
5. Climbing Mount Nebo and going down to the Moab plains in the footsteps of Moses on a journey that seems unfinished. On the contrary, Moses received much more than the Promised Land, because he received the gift of seeing God face to face.  
   
6. The Holy Sepulcher - A few times I went out to the Holy Sepulcher, where it is impossible not to re-live Mary Magdalene’s experience – her mourning the loss of a friend and her joy in encountering Him alive and receiving the message to bring to others.  

Besides the places, I hold in my heart faces and names of people who give me hope and who touched my life in a special way.  . . .

Cherishing these Holy People made in the Image of God... 
• Nafus, Elias, Nicolas, Iusuf and Issà, who work at the Jesuit Community where I was staying. Two of them are Muslim, two Orthodox, one Catholic, and they consider themselves one family. It was moving to see them having a snack together. I felt uncomfortable being served by them, but they told me I was their sister. On special occasions they would ask me to stay in the kitchen with them and cook. Everything was seasoned with much laughter. 

• The Jewish Community that gathers in the Colhaneshama Synagogue, where I attended Sabbath services. The prayer was beautiful, everyone participated, and the celebration was lively and filled with Psalms sung by the congregation, who was constantly in awe of the wonders performed by Adonai-God. That synagogue does not make a distinction between men and women and dares to pray for peace between Jews and Muslims; it is open to dialogue and also welcomes Christians. 

• The talk of President Obama in Cairo – whom I perceive as a prophet of our times  and who is ready to commit himself to peace. I saw people moved and in tears – I too was moved, especially because he did not neglect women.

• Fr. David, a Jew who fled Germany with his family and converted to Christianity. He is now a Jesuit. He works incessantly to help his Jewish brothers and sisters open their eyes and see what they do not want to see. He is one of the Vicars of the Patriarch and in charge of the relationships between Jews and the Church in Jerusalem. Fr. David wrote: “In this land there are Christians who choose to be in solidarity and share with the Jewish people or with the Palestinians. However, the problem is that these two peoples do not talk to one another and therefore these Christians, and consequently the Church, are not a bridge. On the contrary, they are a wall! So what can we hope for? You too can be bridges by helping us to have a more balanced perspective: one that is not totally focused on Jewish history and demonizes the Palestinians nor focuses exclusively on today’s Palestinian situation. In order to develop a truly responsible dialogue, we cannot forget either party.” 

What is the conclusion of my experience?
I am convinced that God’s Word is a gift we are called to know and love, study and understand more deeply. I am sure that the land of Israel helps us in this quest and passion – and both need to be encouraged. But this is not enough: we are called to live with consistency and faithfulness to this Word and to fight with all our strength so that we may not be undermined and paralyzed by the power struggles that so often negatively influence government and religious institutions in our cities and in the world. 

Wishing us a good journey and may God and Mother Frances help us!

Issà, Elias, Nicolas, Iusuf, who consider themselves one family	International Jesuit Community at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem
Sr. Michela  with other Gregorian University students

© Franciscan Sisters of the Poor