The Emilia Romagna Teens4Unity, who chose the Holy Land as their site for this year’s “workshop”, shared a very profound spiritual and human experience with peers who live in that country. Their enriching experience ranged from visiting the Grotto of the Nativity to trekking in the Judaean Desert, from visting the Holy Sepulchre to bathing in the Dead Sea, from the renewal of their baptismal promises in the River Jordan to a boat trip on Lake Tiberias. If one stops at this itinerary, it would have been only a trip or, as many would call it, a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the footsteps of Jesus to retrace the life of Him who gives meaning to our life as Christians. But if to this itinerary, one adds an afternoon visit to the Creche Orphanage in Bethlehem, a meeting with the Auxiliary Bishop Kamal Batish of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the exchange of experiences with youth and other local Focolare members, then one would be able to talk about the Emilia Romagna Teens4Unity Workshop that took place in the Holy Land from 23 to 30 July. The protagonists were 45 young people and animators, keen to become more familiar with places that are at the centre of their Christian faith. These young people have already participated in many other experiences: they took part in World Youth Day held in Poland three years ago; they visited Amatrice in the Abruzzo region, where they offered a donation of money to support the youth of this Italian city devastated by a powerful earthquake in 2016; they took part in two workshops organized by the international music groups Gen Verde and Gen Rosso; they organized ecological and non-ecological activities, promoted initiatives in favour of the Zero Hunger project and collected money to provide for hearing-aid batteries needed for deaf and dumb children in Belarus. These activities led to the desire for a deeper spiritual experience, and these young people went for it. James related: “I had a very strong experience while we were walking in the desert. The animators suggested silence to help us live a moment of personal dialogue with Jesus. I must admit that after a while that silence frightened me because in our society we are not used to it”. Life in common and sharing are typical characteristics of these experiences, where one feels comfortable to share everything, from tiredness to deep spiritual thoughts, and where the group becomes very sensitive to the difficulties of the individual. Chiara commented: “In a few days, I will forget all about the hot weather, the effort to climb Mount Tabor on foot, running a temperature on the day we had to visit the orphanage, something I was really looking foward to… but I will always remember this trip because I have lived it with my family par excellence. Yes, I travel even with my natural family, but it’s not the same. My Focolare friends are real family to me and a very special one”. As expected, moments of tension and fatigue were also part of the journey, yet as Joshua said: “When we listened to the experiences of the Palestinian youth, our perspective changed. We have no idea what it means to be a minority because of religious belief. We have never experienced the presence of a wall in our everyday life like the one that separates Israel and Palestine. These things became food for my thoughts”. Annamaria said: “When we met the children at the Creche, my eyes opened. I have discovered that all my life is a great gift”. The seven days in the Holy Land flew by and it was soon time for the group to return to Italy, but this experience, which summarises the great mystery of pain-love that finds fulfilment in the Resurrection, remains imprinted on the heart of each one. That empty sepulchre still cries out loudly Alleluia.

                                                                                                               Tiziana Nicastro