Pentecost vigil in the Jerusalem kehilla

The vigil prayer was composed of readings from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, which tells the story of the development of the early Church, singing hymns and times of silence and intercessory prayer. The variety of participants was a beautiful reflection of the variety in the Church and readings and prayers were heard in Hebrew, Arabic, English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Towards the middle of the vigil prayer, Father Rafic, responsible for the Jerusalem kehilla, delivered a short homily, stressing that Pentecost is the feast of communication. As members in the Body of Christ, each one is called to open his or her self to understand the other. The Spirit empowers us to do that.

The beautiful singing was animated by Vicariate seminarian Benny and Brother Tiago from the community of the Brothers of Sion.

At the end of the vigil, each participant was invited to select a card, designed by the children from the Saint Rachel Center, in the shape of the tongues of fire, with a scriptural passage inscribed on it.