Being a community is more than just being together.It means responding to a call to build: giving life to a family sustained by the Word and meeting each other. Here, in this video, is what some people who participated in the Mariapolis of the Holy Land last July told us. There is a light breeze which caresses the ancient ruins of the Church of St. George, in Taybeh, the only entirely Christian village in the Holy Land. According to Scripture, it is the place where Jesus came to rest with his followers before the Passion. And it was here, on 8^th-9^th July 2022 that adults, young people and children of the Focolare Movement gathered together to live a truly special Mariapolis, a moment of fraternity and true communion. “Mariapolis is a time for the family to get together,” says Mayra, from Bethlehem, “It usually takes place every year but due to the pandemic we couldn’t have it. This year, after three years, we could and for me it’s like taking a break from my life and recharging myself spiritually.” “To be witnesses of love” was the title of this two-day event that saw the participation of people from many regions of the country, from Haifa, Nazareth, to Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Gaza. Despite the socio-political and cultural challenges of the Holy Land, the desire to enjoy beauty and to live as a community give the strength to overcome physical and often inner barriers. The community is the place where we find the values that become nourishment, where we build a present and a future which respect the dignity of all; the place where listening to and witnessing to the other in the light of the Gospel invites us to better understand the work of God in our lives and, more than anything else, it is the place where no one is alone. Marcell and Boulos, from Nazareth shared this with us: in their life-journey, they were able to experience support and family during the most painful moment of their lives, the death of their youngest son, Jack. And Khader, from Gaza, who despite the daily hardships to be faced in the context in which he lives, places his hope in God, joyfully recognizing the beauty of the vocation to which he is called: that of happiness.

Maria Grazia Berretta

Activate English subtitles https://youtu.be/cCMZ1jlYzhA