Following is the text of the homily delivered by Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan Bishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso  during the Holy Mass celebrated at St. Mary of Nazareth Church in Sweifieh, western Amman, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024 marking the diamond jubilee (75^th anniversary) of the Pontifical Mission in the Holy Land:

Dear brothers and sisters,

Dear Monsignor President of the Pontifical Mission,

 I am honored to preside as Apostolic Nuncio over this Eucharistic celebration on the 75^th  anniversary of the foundation of the Pontifical Mission, and I am glad to express my special greeting to the President, Mgr. Vaccari. I find that the verse we repeated after the first reading expresses well our attitude today: The Lord will not abandon his people.

 It is really like that: The Lord does not abandon us, his people. Many signs of the presence of the Lord lead us to this profession of faith, which I would like that we repeat in our hearts: The Lord doesn’t abandon his people. The Lord does not abandon me. To come to this faith and to profess this faith, we need the attitude described in the Gospel: to be little before the Lord. In fact, we can see the presence of the Lord in our life only if we look at it with the eyes of God. If we just pretend from the Lord, if we just ask for what we find important, if we consider just our plans to be the right ones for us, we cannot see how the Lord works in our life. This is what is meant by being "little": not to pretend, but to be confident, like every child is confident while in the hands of his parents.

Being little, we can see the many gifts of God. We can see his biggest gift, which is his Son Jesus Christ. In Christ, we see that God doesn’t abandon us, because he sent His Son for our salvation. Christ is the most important sign that God cares for us, that He wants to meet with us, that He loves us. In the death and resurrection of Christ, we see how God is ready to suffer for us, in order to give us strength, life and hope. Moreover, through our baptism we receive strength, life and hope, because our baptism is the way in which we participate in the death and resurrection of Christ. He is not just caring for us; he is living within us, thanks to the baptism. I would like to stress on “the gift of baptism”: God does not abandon us and is present within us. Pope Francis, in announcing the Holy Year 2025, stressed the importance of renewing our baptism. We in Jordan can rejoice that we have here the site where Jesus was baptized: a wonderful occasion to renew our baptism and the faith, that God doesn’t abandon us.

Because of the baptism, we are also one body in Christ, where one member takes care of the other. Therefore, we can celebrate today the fact that the universal Church 75 years ago wanted a special institution to help the Palestinian people after the events of 1948. We all know the sufferings of that time, involving also the Kingdom of Jordan. But we should remember with gratitude today that with Pope Pius XII the Holy See was concerned about the people in this region and for this reason created the Pontifical Mission, in order to help the people in their suffering and the local Church in its activity. This work lasted for 75 years and the Pontifical Mission continues today to support Christians and non-Christians in the whole region of the Middle East. This is a sign, that the Holy See doesn’t forget what is happening here and the difficulties we are living through.

Let me say in particular that after what we experienced on October 7 th and in the months after, Pope Francis and the Holy See in general always called for peace and reconciliation, for the release of hostages and prisoners, for the ceasefire and the end of war, for respect and international support for the Gazan population and in general for the Palestinian people and their right to have a proper State. What Pope Pius XII began continues today with Pope Francis. Let me quote in this regard Pope Saint Paul VI, who said 50 years ago: “The Pontifical Mission is one of the clearest signs of the Vatican’s concern for the welfare of the Palestinians, who are particularly dear to us”. In that way, we are grateful for the activity of the Holy See, both diplomatic and humanitarian, aimed at supporting all the Christians and all the people in the Middle East. Let me remember the words of Cardinal Secretary of State, who wrote in recent months that the Christian communities in the Middle East are a priority for the Holy See. Let us express today our special gratitude to Pontifical Mission for its care for the Middle East, and I’m especially thankful for the presence of an office here in Amman, where the Pontifical Mission, through its qualified staff continues to help in pastoral and humanitarian activity for Jordanians and for refugees. My heartfelt thanks. Your work is a stone in the construction of a peaceful Middle East!

All this is possible, because there are people around the world offering money and prayers for us. Here you see how important the tie with the universal Church is for us. Indeed: The Lord doesn’t abandon us. The Church doesn’t abandon us. Let us pray and hope that this occasion today may help us grow in our confidence in God’s love and in the affection of the universal Church. Amen.