Catholics living throughout the Middle East were urged by Pope Francis to “be the salt of your lands” on Sunday, June 27, as the region was consecrated to the Holy Family. The Pope gave a message appealing to the Middle East’s Catholic patriarchs as leaders from the Catholic Church gathered at Nazareth’s Basilica of the Annunciation for the consecration act.
The Pope wrote in his message, “Truly be the salt of your lands, give flavor to social life, desiring to contribute to the building of the common good, according to those principles of the Church’s social doctrine so much in need of being known.”
Through his message, the pope displayed his joy with the bishops taking the initiative to pray for peace throughout the Middle East and consecrating the region to the Holy Family. Pope Francis recalled his recent trip to the Holy Land, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq, along with his appeals to Lebanon and Syria.
A future of peace in the Middle East?
The Pope also mentioned a meeting that will be held at the Vatican on July 1 with Christian leaders from Lebanon. The pope told the Catholic leaders in the region that the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph “well represents your identity and your mission.”
Francis went on to say, “Consecration to the Holy Family also summons each one of you to rediscover, as individuals and as a community, your vocation as Christians in the Middle East, not only by demanding due recognition of your rights as native citizens of those beloved lands, but also by living your mission as custodians and witnesses of the first apostolic origins.”
The pope went on to note that while visiting Iraq last March, he made a comparison between society and a carpet that had been woven from diverse threads “that only by being together side by side became a masterpiece.”
“If violence, envy, division, can tear even one of those threads, the whole is wounded and disfigured. At that moment, human projects and accords can do little if we do not trust in the healing power of God.”
The start of something new
Francis then thanked Catholics in the Middle East for both their witness and persevering in their faith, urging the people to “live the prophecy of human fraternity,” which Francis said was expressed while he visited Najaf, Abu Dhabi and in his encyclical ‘Fratelli tutti’.
The Middle East’s consecration to the Holy Family happened while a Mass was being live-streamed at the Basilica of the Annunciation, marking the inaugural “Peace Day for the East.”
Going forward, the day will be observed every year in Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and the Palestinian territories, each of the countries belonging to the Council of the Catholic Patriarchs in the Middle East.
Jeffrey Stevens is a Senior Writer with ThinkCivics News and a freelance journalist with The Jerusalem Post, focusing on the Vatican’s involvement in world politics. In addition, he is a published author and the founder of Gospel Grammar. Jeffrey is currently pursuing a second degree in theology from Aidan University in Jacksonville, Florida.
