Religious communities of the Mount of Olives
On the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sunday dedicated to the Word of God, the religious communities of the mount of Olives (on Bethany side) read the Gospel according to saint Mathew together.
This reading was divided into two parts. The first time took place in the morning, in the Home of Our Lady of Sorrow, with Mt 11. The second part was held in the afternoon with the other chapters of saint Mathew’s Gospel. This reading was done in a travelling form, starting from the Combonian Sisters house, to end in the Benedictine Sisters monastery.
There was a good participation to the two times of this event. In the morning, in addition to the hosts of the nursing home and the religious communities living there (“Filles de Notre-Dame des Douleurs” and the Little Sisters of Jesus (of saint Charles de Foucauld), there were also volunteers, the Mater Misericordiae community (“Silencieux Ouvriers de la Croix”), and some visitors. The chapter 11 was read in Arabic, specially underlining this: “'Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest” Mt 11:28.
In the afternoon, twenty people: consecrated souls, volunteers, pilgrims, started a journey of reading and thinking. Five stages were planed: Combonian Missionaries house, Passionists Fathers convent, Mater Misericordiae house, Pater Noster Carmel, and the Benedictine monastery. Some were particular experiences, such as the reading among the olive trees in the garden of the Passionists Fathers, the fraternal welcome of the Carmelite nuns in the choir of the Pater Noster church, the final stop on the terrasse of the Benedictine monastery, gazing on a sunset on the holy city.
The reading was done with different voices, in different places. It gave a special insight on the Word we read: how this Word is current, enlightens us and guides us. A precious and specially synodal experience! This reading of the Gospel did indeed set together on the way the rich ecclesial presence of the mount of Olives, in a common desire of justice and peace, in a concrete commitment to a better life.