By Cl. Finansius Venan Sidabutar, SDB

Jerusalem, Israel, October 19, 2015 - Wassalam! Shalom! During these weeks you have heard some awful news about stabbings in Jerusalem. There is a calling for us who live and study theology in Studium Theologicum Salesianum, Jerusalem to share with you our experience being in Jerusalem. Through our sharing we want to give another face of Jerusalem and we want to say that something good also is happening in Jerusalem. In Ratisbonne Salesian Community Jerusalem there are 5 Salesians from EAO region; Fr. Andrew Wong, rector of the community, former Regional Councilor of EAO, Finansius Sidabutar, 3 year (ITM); Philip Huang, 3 year (CIN); Duc Huan, 3 year (VIE) and Clement Yan Naing H (MYM). Below are our short reflections.

Finansius ( Venan ) Sidabutar – ITM Province

To be holy in the Holy Land

To study and to live in Jerusalem is one of the many blessings that I have received from God through Don Bosco. I was waiting for my Israeli Visa for almost 1 year. I thought that I would not get it. But on the very day of the feast of Don Bosco I got my Israeli Visa. Thanks God I am Salesian. To study theology is a personal encounter with God. Through this encounter God will reveal Himself. To Study theology in Holy Land is to encounter God through the stones in the holy sites that I visit in our archaeological excursions. To study theology in Holy Land is to see God in the face of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world who come to Holy Land with full of gratitude. To Study theology in Holy Land is to experience God in the face of all confreres from different countries (GC 27, No. 40). Despite all the differences (cultural, language, mentality, etc), we live in peace and in harmony ( cor unum et anima una) in the community.

Since God is Holy and I am his unworthy servant, like Moses in his encounter with God on the Mount of Horeb (Exodus 3:1-6), before I encounter Him, I have to take off all my sandal sinfulness and say, “who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”( Exodus 15:11). In short I could say to live and to study theology in Holy Land is to be holy. Not more than that. Being in Holy Land itself is already doing theology.

Finally, together with Psalmist who says: Im eshkachech Yerushalayim tishkach yemini, “If I forget you Jerusalem, let my right hand whither…” (Psalm 137: 5), I ask you to pray for the peace in Jerusalem and to pray also for me and I assure you my prayers. Toda Raba, shukran katir, Thank you very much!

Philip Huang, CIN Province

Studying Theology in the Holy Land

I had no plan to go to any particular place for theology studies when I was doing my last year of practical training, because the usual practice in the CIN Province was to send brothers to study in the Holy Spirit Seminary in Hong Kong. The news came to me quite surprisingly that the superior might send me to the Holy Land for theology. I really had neither plan nor preparation to go far away from familiar home province.

I came to Holy Land in September 2013. It was really very challenging for many reasons. First, I was not prepared to communicate and study theology in English. Secondly, I had no experience in this kind of big international community (more than 30 nationalities among the professors and students) especially I was quite an introverted personality. However, I had known a Pilipino brother when I was doing my novitiate in the Philippines who was already in the Holy Land for three years. So, it was he who gave a timely help to me to settle down at the beginning. He came with the economer to fetch me from the airport.

Living in this kind of international Salesian community is quite challenging and yet interesting. It is a wonderful universal picture of Salesians of Don Bosco when seeing Salesians from every parts of the world. Nevertheless, among those confreres there are different ways or expression of living the same vocation due to different tradition and cultural background. Asian Sdbs might be “conservative” to American; African might be strange to European.

Communication is never an easy job though everybody speaks English. There were crashes and misunderstanding from the beginning when people have to collaborate to do something. It really takes time to break prejudices and misunderstanding in order to know each other. In the end, people overcame the struggle and became real brothers. Whenever a batch of the brothers finish study and formation or fathers to transfer to other place during the farewell people could not resist to shed tears.

One of the great advantages to study theology in the Holy Land is that we can have physical contact to the very sites of biblical history and faith and feeling very close to our Lord Jesus Christ for we are staying actually in his “home country”. Our house is located just so close to the Church of Holy Sepulcher where the Paschal Mystery took place which takes only a 20 minutes walk. We are given a lot of opportunities to come those holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, especially Holy Sepulcher to pray and to meditate. If theology is “faith seeking understanding”, in here, the very place of our faith, we can draw a lot of inspirations to help us to understand better our faith.

Duc Huan, VIE Province

ONE IN CHRIST

Living in the Holy Land, one can have unique experiences, which they can find nowhere on, over the world such as: experience of Jerusalem city, Holy Sepulchre, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee lake... However for me, I am struck most by the diversity of Christian churches in Jerusalem.

There are some main religions in Jerusalem: the Catholic church, the Armenian church, the Orthodox church, other Eastern Christian churches, Protestant, ... The faithful of those religions come from many other countries with many tribes and peoples. They come to Holy Land, most properly, in order to strengthen and renew their faith rather than just to have tours. Therefore the Holy sites are usually full of people.

One of the places where is always crowded of people is the Holy Sepulchre, an area includes Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus. I often come here to pray every Friday afternoon. Thus, I witness the faith of people. They dress in their own traditional costumes and pray with their own styles. Some kneel all the time on the floor. Some stand and pray with joining hands. Others pray loud even cry. Praying in their own languages makes a prayerful environment, even though sometimes it is little bit noisy for the explanation and questioning from the groups of tourists. I felt troubled by these but one day, an old priest told me: “Holy Sepulchre is like a big family on Christmas day or New Year. All children come back home from other countries to wish their parents and to celebrate the events with one another. They speak, laugh, sing, shout... at the same time but their parent understand them all.”

Indeed, God knows his people even they are in different religions. The diversity of the Christian churches is the beauty and mystery of the Church of Christ. Therefore hatred must be replaced by love so that peace will be on earth and all will be gathered in Christ as one Body and Christ as the Head.

Clements Yan Naing Htun, MYM Province

Hi, I am Clement Yan Naing Htun, from the Vice-Province of Myanmar. I’ve arrived to Ratisbonne Community, Jerusalem last month. I am here for my priestly formation as well as a 1st year student of the Faculty of Theology, Jerusalem Campus. Although there are many conflicts in Middle-East and in Jerusalem, I can stay and study peacefully in my community. I’m really happy and always count uncountable graces that I receive daily in my community. May I wish all the EAO confreres: Happy and fruitful consecrated year.