Thank You from the Holy Land
Excerpts from a Letter from Sr Anna Manyonga:
From the Holy Land, I send you greetings and gratitude to my dear Sisters, the wider Presentation Family, my family, friends and colleagues, for your calls, messages, emails and above all your prayers during the recent difficult days, weeks and months. I felt your love, support, care and concern for me.
As we celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (the ever-flowing fountain of love and mercy), I express my gratitude to you all from the bottom of my heart. I want to reassure you all that I am never alone or lonely, the Lord has given me a lot of support and connections here – individuals, families and religious communities who journey closely with me.
At Home in the Company of Sisters and Residents
I currently live with Sisters of another religious order. They have been wonderful to me. They always checked in on me, in times of alerts and sirens. On the first day of the recent war, they gave me a first aid kit. One afternoon, upon receiving alerts of coming missiles, we went to the bunker with the workers who were repairing the roof of the laundry. I also have connections with other residents on the premises. We had a young lady from London, who came to visit a friend lecturing in the Hebrew University. Because of the war, she could not fly out. Finally she travelled back to the UK through Romania. She was so interested to know the places where our Sisters are in the UK, so she might come to visit. Some individuals and families known to the Sisters also came to our residence during the war to seek safety.
Inter-Faith Group
On the first Thursday of the month, I join an interfaith group (Muslims, Jews, Christians and others), that prays together for peace in the Holy Land. During the recent war, we began to meet daily at 6.00pm for spontaneous prayers for about 15 minutes (except on Fridays and Saturdays because of Shabbat).
International Student Society
On 18 June we held an online session for international students who come to the Holy Land for their agricultural internship program, masters, doctorate or postdoc studies. A Catholic priest and I coordinate this group. We have a WhatsApp group where on Tuesdays and Fridays we share a reflection on the gospel reading of the day. In addition, we organise online sessions with input that during that time we would be experiencing the war. The topic of the session was, A Jubilee of Hope in a Time of Darkness, presented by a Jesuit priest. This session took place at the right time, a time when we needed to hear of where we could find hope, and how we could hold on to hope in the midst of the incredible darkness that had enveloped the Middle East.
In time of such darkness, when one feels so broken, and when God seems so distant, the Jesuit encouraged us to direct our screams of anger, our screams of rage, our screams of pain to God who can do something about it. He shared that hope is a gift from God and proposed an exercise of reflecting on past experiences to find strength and hope. He referred to his personal experiences of darkness, including apartheid in South Africa and commented on how hope is found in remembering, a remembrance that gives hope – hope that is born by remembering that the tomb of Jesus is empty, remembering that darkness does not last forever and that God will not allow death to have the final word. He concluded by quoting Pope Leo XIV’s call for every baptised person to be a sign of hope in the world today, emphasising that hope comes from loved experience of God’s presence rather than empty piety.
Migrants and Asylum Seekers
It is in such challenging times that we experience and see the best of humanity – the exchange of messages and calls that took place between members of our faith community and our friends here was remarkable. We checked on one another and shared information among our Office staff group and among the pastoral workers group. We shared what was happening for us, what was happening in our migrant communities and the safety guidelines from the Home Front Command. A Catholic priest linked to the Migrants and Asylum Seekers phoned me daily to check that I was ok. We had to cancel our meeting scheduled on the 19 June, but instead we had a zoom session to connect with one another and share how we were and what was taking place in our migrant communities.
Unfortunately, some of our migrants were injured, one is still in critical condition in hospital, others were slightly injured, some lost houses and property, and had to be relocated. Some suffered from mental stress, fear and anxiety – for several nights they were without sleep because the silence was punctuated by the rocket sirens that drove them into bunkers. Those taking care of elderly had a harrowing time of running with their employers to bunkers when the sirens would sound. Some students were saved because they were in the bunker when the institute was hit. The hit caused extensive damage to some buildings and hostels. We continue to support our communities in the challenges they face, standing with them who live on the periphery of the society here.
The African Religious Group and Zimbabwean Group
The African Religious group and the Zimbabwean group are other forums of support and connection. The Zimbabwean group includes 5 religious sisters, a religious brother, several individuals, and families in the Holy Land. One day, a member of the Zimbabwean group called in to see me, to check on how I was doing and if I had everything I needed. It was such a great gesture of love and care, and we shared a meal together.
Light in a Time of Darkness
It was indeed a moment of darkness, but a moment in which the light of God never left us alone. The God who is the Good Shepherd, who does not abandon His sheep, stood with us, not an observer but through His passionate, active, and intimate love. A love that suffers with us, that stays with us, that never gives up on us, even in our fears, anxiety and struggles. The Sacred Heart of Jesus beats for each one of us – I experienced this love of Jesus watching over me. Such deep love from the heart of God, your prayers and support, enabled me to hold in my one heart and at the same time; fear and courage, weakness and strength, doubt and trust, uncertainty and conviction, disbelief and faith, despair and hope – a hope that never disappoints (Pope Francis).