Friday, September 15, 2006
Exactly one month ago, August 15, Father Saad Sirop Hanna was kidnapped in Baghdad. Four days ago, September 11, was released by his captors in return for a ransom. Tuesday, September 15, a Mass of thanksgiving for the release of Father Saad was celebrated in the church of San Rocco in Turin.
Turin is geographically far away from Baghdad and has a community of Christians in Iraq, but there is a link between the two cities made of visits with representatives of the Chaldean Church have done in recent years in our city.
A link to Iraq before the war started and continued, enough to fill the church of San Rocco di faithful eager to show their involvement with the closeness to the suffering of the Iraqi Christian community.
The Mass was celebrated by the Chaldean priest Father Rayan P. Act and five other priests: Don Fredo Olivero, Don Silvano Bosa, Don Andrea
Princivalle, Father Peter and Father John Kilasara yAxis.
Don Fredo Olivero started talking to the Mass of the sufferings of Iraqi Christians who have the need of our moral and material help, and we need to be close to them to fully understand the immensity of God's love, a love that transcends the boundaries and linguistic misunderstandings and makes us His sons and daughters only.
After the readings, Father Rayan P. Act read from the Gospel of John (15.18 to 25) the pace of the world to hate Jesus and ending with the words: "They hated me without reason." From this sentence he was inspired by a sermon that began with a description of the difficult times that Christians live in a world increasingly hostile to them, a world that hates God and wants to destroy his church alive through the forced removal of his children places where they have lived for centuries.
Rayan Father's homily ended with a moving portrait of Father Saad Sirop Hanna as a man, a friend and priest, of his culture, his humility and his devotion to the Church and especially to his sons to whom he dedicated Govan all of his efforts.
Speaking of the law that the Iraqi Christians to remain in their country, Father Rayan has ended his homily by recalling that this law will cost a lot to the community, a death toll of more than money, and faith rather than fear.
The Mass continued with the words of consecration and the Aramaic Lord's Prayer recited by Father Rayan.
At the end of the Mass has entertained many people to greet Father Rayan, talk to him and wish him and his community a better future.
Luigia Storti
Migrants Pastoral Office Archdiocese of Turin
Pictures Daniel Dal Bon
0 comments:
Post a Comment