We harvest fruits of peace in the garden called Gethsemane.

//We harvest fruits of peace in the garden called Gethsemane.

We harvest fruits of peace in the garden called Gethsemane.

The olive harvest season has started in the Holy Land. Fruits of peace are harvested in the garden called Gethsemane.

“..he sent his servants to collect his fruits” (Matthew 21:33)

It is time for the olive harvest in the Holy Land and at the foot of the Mount of Olives. This year, too, as it happens every year, the keeper friars of the Sacred Garden, invited volunteers and local people to spend a few hours or a whole day with this symbolic fruit in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed the night of Holy Thursday.

Fr. DIEGO DALLA GASSA, ofm
Hermitage at Gethsemane
“We are glad that so many people responded to our call; we just invited them a few days ago. We feel the need for a breath of fresh air and the need to gather ourselves around the Lord.”

Fr. DIEGO DALLA GASSA, ofm
Hermitage at Gethsemane
“Nowadays we need to collect the fruits of peace: we will be able to do this by gathering around the Lord, by experiencing the same events that happened over 2300 years ago.
The Mount of Olives has always had olive trees and the olive harvest has been taking place since then.”

Many people have accepted this invitation, even in this state of tension that pervades the Holy City: there are 15 different nationalities, of all ages and backgrounds – as Father Diego pointed out – that the Lord gathered here.

MADDALENA LOMGOBARDI
Volunteer
There is a sense of deep emotion here, while we pick the olives from the trees, together with many other brothers and sisters, because here the Lord suffered, He cried, He entrusted himself to the Father…here, in this garden.
He has led the way and now we can follow: this is a gesture of peace, a desire for peace.

MANUELLA AFFEJEE
Volunteer
“Although this is a tense time for us and we know that peace is not at hand, the fact of coming here to harvest the fruits of peace is something truly significant and symbolic for me.”

PAULO ROBERTO FRANçA
Representative of Brazil in Palestine
“…this is a message of love, a message of peace. What we do here, it is something that the Palestinians and the people who live in these regions have been doing for thousands of years and even Jesus did, in this holy garden.
I believe that we are showing the world that it is possible to work together.
Peace, love, tolerance and justice are values that we all have to embrace.”

FRANCISCO J. BERNALES
Representative of Chile in Palestine
“Although this is my third olive harvest, this year it is the first time that I can really do it.
When they invited me, I was happy to accept, because Gethsemane takes on a profound importance.”

It is a ritual that has the taste of tradition. The collection of the fruits from the 300 olive trees in the garden where Jesus cried before His conviction will continue in the coming weeks.

Fr. DIEGO DALLA GASSA, ofm
Hermitage of Gethsemane
“This morning, during the introduction, I explained that the verb “to gather” describes our tradition. Jesus said many times: ‘I have gathered you as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings…’
This is a very beautiful and current prayer.
Jesus calls us here and he invites us to gather around him.
By picking the olives, we feel like we are gathering around the Lord.”

2015-10-23T20:06:16+00:00October 23rd, 2015|Categories: News from the Holy Land|0 Comments