Amman (Jordan), 12/03/2019, Sr. Elizabeth Mary Chakkiath and sisters of the Community of Amman (Srs. Nejla Thomas, Nancy Jaimes Rodríguez & Rajni Indwar).- Our community in the Italian Hospital, Amman, Jordan, began their celebration of the feast of the Presentation of Mary giving thanks to God, for Mary and asking for the grace to live our commitment as She did it. Our celebration was in the morning and our guests mainly constituted of priests and religious of the Diocese and the Nunciature who arrived early to participate in the feast.
Mons. Alberto Ortega Martín, Apostolic Nuncio for Jordan and Iraq, was our special guest for the occasion. Recently, Pope Francis has assigned him to Chile and we wanted to take this opportunity to thank him and say good bye to him. Mons. Alberto is loved by all for his humility, closeness and love for the poor. He has helped us through projects for refugees in Amman and the poor girls of Al Karrada in Baghdad.
The celebration was beautiful as the parish offered their best choir and vestments. Mons. Alberto Ortega celebrated the Mass in English while the choir sang in Arabic. In the homily he encouraged us to continue giving ourselves generously, to be kind to the poor and smile at them who approach us daily in the Hospital. Stories of the refugees are heartbreaking, and we work together to help all our brothers and sisters who arrive at the hospital from Syria, Iraq and other countries.
After the Mass, we had a feast day meal prepared with love and dedication by the kitchen staff. In the end, a memento was offered to Mons. Alberto Ortega by the sisters and by the directors of the Hospital, in gratitude for his services. Our staff who were from the Muslim community offered their services at the Hospital while 3% of Christian employees attended the Holy Mass. All joined for the meal and shared the joy of the day. We really live a family spirit with all in the hospital which everyone admire and we are proud of it. I hope and desire that we can continue this mission with a generous attitude and service in the future.
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