On Saturday, May 11th, 2024, at the church of Our Lady Women of Valor in Tel Aviv, Migrants from various linguistic communities, gathered to celebrate the feast of Our Lady Women of Valor, the patronage of the Migrant Community of the diocese.
The celebration was presided over by H.B. Card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and concelebrated by Msgr. Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, Bishop Emeritus, Fr. Matthew Marcel Coutinho, Patriarchal Vicar for Migrants and Asylum Seekers, Fr. Piotr Zelazko, the head of the St. James vicariate for Hebrew-speaking Catholics, Fr. David Neuhaus, as well as priests and chaplains of the various communities, several religious sisters, and consecrated woman.
12 years ago, when His Beatitude was the Custos of the Holy Land, a pastoral center and church was established with the help of Fr. Neuhaus, to serve the pastoral needs of the growing migrant community in Tel Aviv. The pastoral center hosts prayers and meetings for the various ethnic communities (Filipino, Indian, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Ethiopian, Eritrean), who love to share among themselves not only their common faith but also their diverse cultures.
Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the wedding of Cana (John 2: 1-11), Card. Pizzaballa conveyed in his homily, that our Lady reminds us to look to Jesus for Joy and Peace, amidst this terrible time: “We are living in a time also short of wine, which resembles joy in the Gospel, yet we undergo this suffering with an attitude of confidence and hope, because nothing is wasted with Jesus”. He ended by asking Our Lady of Valor to intercede for the community in the Holy Land, to fill their hearts with the Joy of the Gospel, and the strength of the Holy Spirit.
Why Our Lady of Valor?
It is taken from a passage in Proverbs 31, which describes a woman of valor. It is also a Marian title given to Our Lady, as she graciously embodied this trait throughout her service to God. Especially when she had to flee to Egypt amidst the danger of Herod’s wrath. Hence, the pastoral center was named after Our Lady of Valor, who fortifies the faith of the migrants and gives them the needed strength, to face the difficulties of their daily lives as immigrants in the Holy Land. “Our Migrants have many challenges; thus, they need the protection and intercession of Our Lady, who shelters and cares for the migrants and walks with them,” said Fr. Coutinho.
Cardinal Pizzaballa also expressed that “This place plays an important role in providing pastoral and humanitarian care for the foreign workers and migrants, who are part of the diocese of Jerusalem, and form an important testimony of the Christian faith in the society, especially amidst these difficult times”.
