Appeal for Prayer from the Salesian Middle East Provincial
Fr.
Zakerian weighs his words carefully in the video he has released. Certainly,
because he speaks in Italian, a language that is not his mother tongue, being
originally from Syria; but above all, because he tries to convey fully the
suffering, fears and, at the same time, the hopes and desire for normality of
entire populations tried not only by the latest war events but, above all, by
years and years of almost uninterrupted conflict.
“Our
young people in the Middle East have been dreaming of days of peace and
stability for many years, just so they can live their lives normally. Alas,
this does not happen: one war ends in a Middle Eastern country, and another war
begins!” says Fr. Zakerian.
His
message is a simple one, aimed solely at expressing gratitude for the prayers
already offered to God to implore peace for the Middle East; and at the same
time, encouraging people not to stop doing so, so that those who live “in
anxiety, worry ... and fear” do not feel alone, forgotten and abandoned.
The complete video with the
message from the provincial is available in the original Italian version on
ANSChannel, the YouTube channel of the Salesian Info Agency.
Below
is the full transcript:
Dearest
members of the Salesian Family,
Many
of you have written to me and sent me messages to find out a little about the
situation we are experiencing in the Middle East at this delicate and difficult
time. I am speaking to you from Don Bosco House here in Lebanon, where the
situation is very serious, very difficult, and very delicate, as it is
throughout the Middle East. People are still frightened: there is a lot of fear
about this cruel war, this war that is causing suffering to young and old
alike. Here in Lebanon, there have been no classes for days, neither in schools
nor in universities, but there are many dead and many wounded. Throughout the
Middle East, bubbles of revenge, war and hatred are growing. It is something
that makes the heart weep; unfortunately, it is something very difficult. For
many years, our young people in the Middle East have been dreaming of days of
peace and stability, just so they can live their lives normally. Alas, this
does not happen: one war ends in a Middle Eastern country, and another war
begins.
For
this reason, I ask you for a special prayer, dear friends, on behalf of all the
Salesians in the Middle East and the entire Salesian Family: young people,
children and teenagers. Pray! The most beautiful thing you are doing and
continue to do is pray: let us pray for peace, as Pope Leo XIV asked us to do
and as the Catholic patriarchs and bishops of the Middle East have asked us to
do. Let us pray for peace, because in the Holy Land, our situation is very
difficult: frightened by so many missiles, all our homes and all the simple
people live in anxiety and worry. And then, in Lebanon, in Iran, throughout the
region, so....
This
message has only one purpose: to thank you for all the affection, closeness,
and prayers of the entire Salesian Family, and beyond; and second, please
continue to pray with us for peace, asking and saying: “Lord, give us your
peace, you who are the King, the Prince of Peace,” asking for the intercession
of Mary Most Holy, Help of Christians, Queen of Peace, Mary our Mother.
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