Third Anniversary of Death of Br. Yohanan Elihai

It has already been three years since our brother Yohanan completed his race on earth, but as a community we feel that we have not really separated from him.

At the Lord's Supper, Fr. Beny mentioned how much his spirituality (based on the legacy of St. Charles de Foucault) influenced the identity of the Hebrew-speaking Catholic Community in Israel, and in particular in Jerusalem, where Yohanan lived for decades.

The primacy of presence over action, the desire to be a loving and discreet presence among the Jewish people and the avoidance of active proselytism were the attitudes that characterized Yochanan's life, and they continue to serve as a compass for the community in Jerusalem and its priests. Yohanan taught us to live the Gospel instead of just talking about it, and to realize it through our lives, a life of friendship and closeness to every person wherever he is.

The day chosen to commemorate Yohanan coincides with the inauguration of the renewed Moadon after an intensive month of renovations. At the end of the Mass, the Community gathered in the courtyard for a short blessing and the official opening. Everyone went in to see the new and beautiful Moadon. There, after refreshments, community members of all ages gathered to share personal memories of Yohanan and sing some of his songs.

Everything was done in a very intimate and family atmosphere, in a joint discovery that a fruitful life of giving, creating, and witnessing never dies.