“Apostleship Mass” for the Catechetical course graduation
BETHLEHEM – On Friday morning, February 17th, 2023, in Bethlehem University’s chapel of the Divine Child, Mgr William Shomali, Vicar General of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, presided over the graduation Mass for the Catechists of the governate of Ramallah.
The Mass, - titled the “Apostleship Mass” to resemble Jesus Christ’s commissioning to his disciples, was concelebrated by Fr. Eyad Twal, Executive Vice President of Bethlehem University, Fr. Yacoub Rafidi, the General Director of the Latin Patriarchate schools in Palestine, Fr. Rimon Haddad, president of the Catechetical office, Fr. Peter Du Brul, Fr. Ibrahim Nino, and was also attended by Mr. Sami El-Yousef, Chief Executive Officer of the Latin Patriarchate, and Graduates' families and relatives.
In his homily, Mgr William said: "Each one of you is like a mother who raises a child. I do not say you are a Catechist, but rather I ascribe to you the title of a mother. Because you accompany your students in their journey and life of faith. You, a Catechist, give life to the faith through your meetings with the student." Then, he shared ten points “The Catechist must be aware of, to be successful in the completion of their mission” with the graduates and urged them to be “a role model for the believers, not only by their words, but also through their actions”.
During Mass, Mgr Shomali, and Fr. Twal, distributed the certificates to 28 parishioners from the Latin parishes located in Northern Palestine (Ramallah, Birzeit, Zababdeh, Taybeh, Ain Arik, Nablus and Aboud), who completed the Catechetical course given by Bethlehem University professors and Theology educators at the Seminary of Beit Jala.
This initiative, which aimed to raise the efficiency of Christian religion teachers in Palestinian schools and provide an opportunity for the faithful who reside in Northern Palestine to obtain a diploma in Christian education, was coordinated by the Catechetical office of the Latin Patriarchate, in partnership with the Religious Studies Department of Bethlehem University, and funded by the Patriarchate.
Mrs. Abeer Basharia, who graduated from the course, shared with us saying: "When I heard about this opportunity, I rushed to register because it is a chance of a lifetime, as there is no university in our province that provides Christian education. Through these lessons, I got to know the different church doctrines and our faith in depth." Mrs. Mervat Al-Naber from Taybeh’s Latin parish, who is a Catechist teacher, added: "I thank everyone who provided these lessons for us, because they enabled me to learn more about the liturgy and the teaching of the church, and now, I can share this information with my students."
