https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-via-crucis-meditations-easter-2025-god-s-economy.html


In his meditations written for the Good Friday Way of the Cross at the Colosseum—presided over this evening, 18 April, by Cardinal Baldo Reina on ...

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📄STATEMENT: "A Sanctuary of Healing Struck in the Land of the Divine Healer"

The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem have issued a statement in response to the Israeli airstrike on the al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Palm Sunday. The full text of the statement is below and you can download and share on our website via the link in the comments.

"On this sacred Palm Sunday, as the faithful around the world raise palm branches in remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ’s entry into Jerusalem—an entry marked not by conquest, but by meekness, peace, and divine compassion—we find our hearts weighed with sorrow over the suffering endured in the very land upon which He walked.

"In the early light of this holy day, the al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza, a place consecrated to healing and long rooted in the Christian vocation of mercy, was struck by an Israeli air assault that rendered its emergency and other critical departments inoperative. Patients in fragile condition, including children, were forced into the open streets. Among them, a twelve-year-old who perished during the chaotic evacuation. This death, like so many others, is a silent cry, a reminder of the innocent who suffer where care should prevail.

"This hospital, already strained by months of siege, stood as one of the last beacons of medical hope in Gaza, where dozens of healthcare institutions have been systematically destroyed. The stripping away of such sanctuaries of life and dignity is a tragedy that transcends all boundaries of politics and enters the realm of the sacred.

"Yet even amidst devastation, the light of faith remains unextinguished. In Gaza’s Zaytun Quarter, within the heart of the Old City, the historic Church of Saint Porphyrius held Palm Sunday prayers—quiet, steadfast, and full of grace—affirming that the witness of Christ’s peace endures, even when sorrow surrounds the sanctuary.

"As the Church that guards the Tomb of Christ and walks daily in the path of His Passion and Resurrection, we cannot turn away from this anguish. Yet we respond in prayer, bearing witness to the truth that mercy remains stronger than hatred, and that humanity, even when wounded, is never defeated.

"For as it is written: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4).

"Lord Jesus Christ, Divine Healer, have mercy on Gaza."

📸Photo: Aftermath of airstrike on Al-Ahli Arab Baptist hospital. Credit: AP.

Gospel of the Day (Matthew 26,14-25)

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples."'" The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, "Surely it is not I, Lord?" He said in reply, "He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.

The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born." Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" He answered, "You have said so."

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2025/04/16.html