A Great Cloud of Witnesses: The Catholic Church’s Experience in the Holy Land, by Jeffery Abood
This educational resource book by Sir Jeffery Abood, Knight of the Holy Sepulcher, has been written as a way to help strengthen the voice of the Palestinian Christians throughout the world.
The book opens with a letter of support from His Beatitude, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal: “This publication does a valuable service in providing a compendium of articles that offer enlightenment and inspiring reflections ranging from on the past and present life of Christians in the Holy Land. I encourage you to read these informative articles and pray that they will be a springboard from which you can dive into a deeper understanding of past history and contemporary issues, thereby becoming a greater advocate of truth and justice in the pursuit of a sustainable peace in this once Holy Land, that is now devastated by hatred, fear and violence.”Seeking to understand the Holy Land and the Christian’s life in it, can at the outset, seem a confusing, possibly even daunting task. There are any number of voices seeking to influence one’s perception of the Christian situation in Palestine and Israel. Yet, it is the voice of the Church that speaks the clearest.
Each day, the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, through the personal experience of her social service agencies, hospitals, schools and parishes, witnesses the human consequences of the ongoing troubles that plague the land of Jesus’ birth. They have gone on record as a way of sharing those experiences with the larger Church.
“A Great Cloud of Witnesses: The Catholic Church’s Experience in the Holy Land” is the voice of the Church in its own words. It is not the voice of politicians or pundits or ideologues. It is the uncensored authentic voice of the Church and it continues to faithfully call out to us. This book is a compilation of the words of Popes, Patriarchs, Cardinals, clergy, teachers and the everyday Catholic in the street. It is uniquely, the Christian experience. It has been consistent, truthful and unfortunately, too often ignored.
As the Christian population in the Holy Land has decreased from historically around 18 per cent to less than 2 per cent today, it is imperative we correctly understand the situation of our brothers and sisters to help them remain in the place where,”God entered into history and stayed with us forever” (Saint John Paul ll). This is a book that compiles for the first time in one place, a series of official Church statements, documents, articles, and interviews from over a seventy years time span.
The book can also be downloaded for free here.
The Christians in the Holy Land have a saying, that “we live in a land that has experienced the Resurrection, so as Christians, we always have hope.” Part of that hope is us. Our prayer is that the readers will hear what the Church is saying and join their voices to those of this “great cloud of witnesses.”
Official Biography: Sir Jeffery M. Abood, KCHS
 |
| Sir Jeffery Abood |
Jeff has been knighted by the Vatican in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. He currently serves as his Section’s Education Master, as well as, Co-Chair of the Education Committee for the North Central Lieutenancy. He has also authored and edited various articles on the Holy Land. He annually compiles a literature review on the Church’s perspective, regarding the current situation of the Christians in the Holy Land.
He has also received a certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for his leadership in working with the Palestinian Christian communities in the Holy Land.
Jeff is former Advocacy and Outreach Director of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF), which is based in Bethesda, Maryland and Bethlehem, Palestine.
Jeff can be reached at [email protected].
The book can also be downloaded for free here.