¿Crees que aún es posible hablar de esperanza en los días turbulentos que estamos viviendo?
Do you think it is still possible to speak of hope in these turbulent times?
Our lives unfold amidst the uncertainty brought on by war, along with all its attendant destruction, anguish, fear, suffering, and death. How can hope remain alive in my heart in the face of the panorama unfolding before my eyes? When we hear the sound of air raid sirens and then the noise of explosions, nearer or farther away? When the pain of so many who have lost loved ones, or find themselves utterly helpless, is a powerless and silent cry rising to heaven?
Saint Teresa of Avila, writing to her daughters in her work “The Way of Perfection, exclaimed : “The world is in flames !” (1) These same words have resonated within me. They are echoing in the now. ! Our Holy Land, our Middle East is on fire! The world is on fire!
However, I experience another fire that continues to burn within me, and that fire is the Risen Christ, the source of my hope. Today we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, which, in the midst of war, acquires for me more strength and radiance than ever before. He speaks to my heart, and I understand more deeply that war, suffering, and evil do not have the last word; indeed, they never will. Because Love is stronger!
Did you know that two weeks ago, in the border region between Lebanon and Syria, they erected a statue of Christ that reaches 20 meters in height, including its base ? Well, yes ! That is Christian hope. To continue believing, to continue loving, to continue fighting with the weapons of the Risen Christ, who tells us, “Peace be with you” (2). “I am with you always, to the very end of the age!” (3). And to place Him at the center of our lives, even when everything tells us otherwise.
Join me, join us in another kind of « war » whose weapons are faith, hope and love. We are here in this Holy Land, remaining confident because we are in the Father’s Hands. Pray, pray that we may continue to be faithful to our calling here and in the Middle East. May our silence continue to be a word that pleads for peace; may our presence continue to be a witness of love, of fraternity, that we may simply remain in God’s love among these peoples; may our prayer continue to rise unceasingly: no more wars, because “war is always a defeat” (4)! LET THE WEAPONS FALL SILENCED AND LET THE MUSIC OF PEACE BRING FORWARD! NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD!! (5)
Mary, « You who have known bewilderment and trembling, obtain for us the courage of “yes.” Help us not to flee from this reality, but to live it to the full, certain that for God nothing is impossible. Help us to be a Church that listens, a community that welcomes, families that do not close themselves off. Grant that, like you, we may bring Jesus – the Emmanuel, God-with-us – into the midst of this frightened world. May our lives, here in Nazareth and throughout the Holy Land, become that sign of hope, that little flower blooming among the rubble, to tell everyone that Love is stronger than death and that the Word made flesh continues to dwell among us. Amen ». (6)
I wish you a happy, holy, and blessed Easter!
CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS TRULY RISEN!
A Carmelite Nun from the Holy Land
(1) Saint Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection 1.5
(2) Gospel of Saint Luke 24:36
(3) Gospel of Saint Matthew 28:20
(4) Expression of Pope Francis used on numerous occasions.
(5) Gospel of Saint Luke 1:37
(6) Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Homily for the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Nazareth, March 25, 2026