This week began one of my favourite moments of the year, Lent, in preparation for the Holy Week. But why? If it supposed to be a time for sacrifice and conversion. Well precisely because it is much more than that. When I was a child, I thought that one of the places I most wanted to know was the place where Jesus lived. I thought it would be something magical and it is but in a different way than what I imagined. Most of us when we hear the word Jerusalem think, “The land of Jesus”. And even the movies that we watched as children just show this one aspect. Forgetting that in this small space of land there coexist besides different cultures and the three great religions, many other forms of faith and equally those who do not believe at all but choose this land as their home. Of course, this makes the experience of this Lenten season much more unique. The novices and Juliana decided to start our Lenten purposes by participating in …

I write a brief preamble of the essence of the psalms. Breath! I say this because breathing is life is the breath of divine on its creation, and I think psalms are like songs prayed. They represent human states of mind like repentance, thanksgiving, adoration, hope, joys, judgment … all of these states of mind in tune with the sacred. There are 150 beautiful Psalms in he Biblical collection. There is an invaluable wealth of knowledge, fellowship, revelation, and growth in God that we cannot calculate. I loved the explanations given by the teachers and the visits to various relevant sites were amazing and full of stories. Stories already told by the Bible, by writers, by cultures … but here in Israel history can also be read in nature: in the silence of the rocks, in the noise of the waves, in the wind, the song of the birds … Nature, glorifies God and sing of glory. Fragments of records are left in time as signs of the visible and invisible God. The atmosphere is inspiring, …

“For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.” Luke 2, 11 As Christians who live in a time where everything outside has often more transcendence than the inside we must not celebrate a date where material gifts are simply exchanged, but commemorate this with the birth of Christ. This is where our salvation story really begins. But what does the presence of Our Savior mean? Christmas is the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God. The birth of Jesus is the encounter of humankind with love, a free and eternal gift from our Creator. We celebrate that we are not lost but that God in the simplicity of the everyday becomes one of us and is with us. It is important to celebrate with the family. Or like us, who are far from ours, seek to share with those we chose as our family: the table, the traditions of our countries and music among other things and for the wonderful gift we …

This is my fourth article, I have been in Israel for 92 days and now I am going to celebrate the feast of Hanukkah. Jews celebrate the victory of light over darkness, honesty over dishonesty and a deeper spirituality over materialism. This commemoration marks the struggle of the Jews against their oppressors for the right to practice their religion freely. Sr. Anne Catherine spoke to us about this celebration and its importance for Judaism. It was after this class that I was thinking about the meaning of the candles and the message that each one arouses in us. For myself, each flame has a message for the Jews and for the world. For me the first one tells me about FAITH. By faith the people of Israel stood firm in their fidelity to God. The second candle may be the DEDICATIO. The Maccabees, fought for their religious freedom, reaping an impressive victory against the powerful army in the ancient world. After three years, they reconquered Jerusalem, rededicated the Temple and lit the candlestick with the …

In this Necklace we will use the three parts of the Covenant found in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Holy Writings. These three parts show well the unity and God’s fidelity to the Covenant with God’s People. In our Necklace we have the different stages in the history of Israel: In Genesis, from the Tora: the Patriarchal period in the earlier Prophets: With Joshua the distribution of the land, in Judges the first settlements, in Samuel the Kingship of David, and in the latter Prophets: Micha written before the Babylonian Exile, Jeremiah during the Exile. In the Holy writings: Nehemiah and Ezra, books written after the Exile, and the Book of Ruth, which gives a basis to the genealogy of David, from whom will come the Messiah. The pagan background of the city of Bethlehem in Judah shows how God can intercultural the history of the covenant into pagan culture: Bethlehem, house of bread, לחם, or house of meat as well as the house of war (since the word for war is milhama מלחמהliterally meaning: the place of …

To make a necklace (harizah), a midrash says you must first know how to pierce a hole in a pearl, then how to use the proper thread in order to string together the pearls to one necklace. The aim of making a necklace, harizah, is to manifest the divine origin of the Torah and to stress the unity of the Tenakh, (the unity of Revelation), the project of God. The pearls are found in the Torah, the Prophets (Neviim), and the Writings (Khetuvim). These pearls make present that the project of God is not ended. P.T.Hagigah 2,77b Making a necklace reveals the divine origin of the whole of Scripture (Torah, Prophets, and Holy Writings), their unity, and their permanent relevance. My Father, Abuyah , was one of the great personalities of Jerusalem. When the day arrived for my circumcision, he invited all the great personalities of Jerusalem and installed them in a house.As for Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, he placed them in another house. When the guests had finished eating and drinking, they started …

Readings of the Bible: Psalm 139 Exodus 33-12-23 Luke 5:1-11 We are celebrating this solemn profession of Sr Wafaa on the eve of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. This gives our celebration even greater solemnity, as it sets it within the context of the Church. The step that you are taking today, Wafaa, confirming your original commitment made some years ago, giving it a definitive character, is not for yourself alone, but for the benefit of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, and ultimately for the benefit of the Universal Church.