Amid the ongoing war in Gaza and continuing violence across the Holy Land, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa urged Christians to cling to hope, stressing that the power of evil can never overcome life rooted in Christ.
Preaching during the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary at the Benedictine Monastery of Abu Gosh in Israel, the patriarch said the conflict’s scars will endure even when fighting stops. “The end of the war will not mark the end of hostilities and the pain they will cause,” he warned. “The desire for revenge will persist, and we will have to struggle with the consequences of this war on people’s lives for a long time to come.”
His words carry weight, as his diocese includes Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, where violence has devastated communities for nearly two years. CNA reported that the patriarch has often spoken of his firsthand witness to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, urging “true words of peace” instead of “sugarcoated and abstract” speeches.
Reflecting on the Book of Revelation, which depicts the dragon symbolizing the power of evil, Cardinal Pizzaballa said the Holy Land, where Mary gave her fiat, Christ was born, and rose from the dead, seems paradoxically to be the very place where “the Ancient Adversary” rages with particular force. Yet, he emphasized, “The dragon cannot prevail in the face of a mother who gives birth, who generates life. The dragon cannot triumph over the seed of life, the fruit of love.”
For this reason, the Church, he explained, is called to be “a seed of life in the world,” persevering even as evil continues to wound humanity. “We know that sooner or later the dragon will be defeated,” he said, “but today we are called to endure, united to the blood of the Lamb.”
As CNA highlighted, Cardinal Pizzaballa linked the Assumption of Mary to this promise of victory: her full sharing in Christ’s triumph is also a foretaste of the destiny awaiting all believers. “Even in the dramatic events of today, the dragon will not prevail,” he affirmed, “for our life is bathed in God’s infinite love.”
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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