Dominican Sisters of Springfield are among the hundreds of women religious joining the Church of the Holy Land and people throughout the world in a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the Middle East on Tuesday, October 17, 2023.
In a letter sent to its membership On Monday, October 16, 2023, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) wrote:
” The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, on behalf of the bishops of the Holy Land has asked that people make Tuesday, October 17 a day of fasting, abstinence, and prayer. We encourage you to ask your sisters, associates, and partners in mission to consider participating.”
Their message included:
- An updated response to the crisis in the Middle East.
- This invitation to prayer from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
- A suggestion to use this version of the hymn Veni Sancte Spiritus—Come Holy Spirit—by young people from the Taize community
- This prayer service created by World Relief, an aid agency active in the region.
At a news conference during the synod assembly at the Vatican the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said he would be willing to exchange his life for those of the children being held by Hamas.