Happy Feast of Pentecost. May the Spirit of God fill you in this day and renew your faith in the Risen Christ.
In this very place, the apostles and Mary, the mother of Jesus, waited for the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise: “I shall send you the Spirit, the Consoler, he will teach you and remind you of all I have said. With Mary, the apostles were here to pray, separated from their society, far from all. They feared, felt weak, but not abandoned. They believed in God and in the Lord’s promise.

In this very place, today we pray. We believe in God, we believe in the Risen Lord, we believe in the Holy Spirit. Like the apostles we believe and know that we are not abandoned. At the same time, we fear, we have prejudices about our relationships. We fear our two diverse societies. We have prejudices on our different faiths. Yet, we pray and come before the Lord. We are in partnership with all the members of our societies and of all religions.
Today we wait that the Spirit who is coming may pour new life in us and fill us of his love for others. Our fears, prejudices and reactions may be replaced by lave, friendship and those gifts the Spirit of the Risen Lord put in our hearts.
The day of Pentecost, the Church of Jerusalem was born, and with it the whole Church. Today the Spirit invites us to remember that we are his dwelling place, the Temple of God, as Paul says. We all are called to be dwelling place and Temple of God: the people of Jerusalem, of the whole Holy Land, the two people and the three religions.
The Spirit is in us. He is Spirit of truth, love and unity. He reminds us that the Church “be one”, that every single Church should leave aside being a merely human community, that we can overtake our human barriers, barriers that prevent us from being true Church and dwelling place of the Spirit. Pentecost obliges us to act and pray for unity. If it is true that we belong to different cultures and speak different languages, it is also true that we are inhabited by the same Spirit.
The Spirit of God is in us to teach us to appreciate all the faithful of all religions, and to adore the mystery of God who gives his Grace to all. Each one should let the talent the Lord gave him grow. May one’s faith in God be the journey that lead us to meet and love our brothers and sisters, who are also journeying towards God.
The Spirit of God is in us, to fill the hearts of all the people of this Land with his peace. A Holy Land, dwelling of the Almighty God, Land always looking for peace, that is looking for God, for God is peace. We need to see God, he who no one has seen except the Son, who revealed him to us. Through Jesus, Eternal Word of God, we have been enabled to know God, we are then able of peace.
Israel is celebrating 60 years of independence, and it is still waiting for peace. Palestine remembers a catastrophe, and it is still waiting for peace. We wait for the same gift; we have the same hope in our hearts. President Peres, in his speech on Independence Day, spoke of “the human person created in the image of God”, all the human persons, Israelis and Palestinians. We thank God that he, the head of a nation in conflict, has this vision. We pray that the same vision may be present in the hearts of the leaders of both peoples.
On Pentecost day, in proclaiming the Resurrection, Peter remembers Joel’s prophecy: “it will come to pass that day that I shall pour my Spirit on you. Then your children will prophesize”. To prophesize means to listen to the Word of God; and to walk in his ways listening to the Lord. The Churches that are in Jerusalem, the two peoples of this Land, need to listen to the Spirit of God. God never leaves Man to a blind destiny, while this Land seems to be left in the hands of people who do not understand the need of peace. The Churches, rooted here since the beginning, need the Spirit to renew their life, to heal and purify, and to fill the Churches and the countries of God’s life.
For this reason, for the Churches, for the peoples, we pray so that in this day of Pentecost, in the presence of the Spirit among us, we may heal of all the wounds and have once again the ability to see God.
You, dear youth who are to receive the sacrament of Confirmation, will soon become the bearer of the Spirit. For yourselves, for your families, for the countries where you will live. Welcome the Spirit in yourselves, welcome your own faith and know that the Spirit always walks with you and support s you in your youthfulness and in your formation for the future. May Mary, who was here with the apostles, be with you and walk at your side.

                                                                + Michel Sabbah, Patriarch

Jerusalem,
Pentecost, 11 May 2008