Love for Israel

In the Community of the Beatitudes, the specific vocation of prayer for Israel is one of the essential and central components of the communitarian identity, like the welcoming of the poor, the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the life of prayer and the reception of sacraments.

The spiritual inclination of our heart for Israel and his heritage is prophetic : it is neither an optional devotion nor a personal exotic practice of piety, nor an original Jewish touch reserved to some initiates.

This inclination engendered by the Holy Spirit is originated and developed in the Heart of the Church who is nurtured by the same Spirit. While searching her own mystery (Declaration Nostra Aetate of the Second Council of Vatican, n 4), the Church opens nowadays the doors for a genuine communication with Israel, a communication which touches the deep roots of her identity, thus transforming and giving her a new face. As is recalled in our Book of Life, each member has to be inclined to love Israel as God does, Him who does not take back his gifts or his call (Letter to the Romans 11, 26), Him who incorporated himself to Israel to the point of shielding him, caring for him, guarding him as the apple of his eye (Deuteronomy 32, 10).

We are expressing our prayer through the contemplation of the divine plan of God for Israel, which leads us to desire ardently this resurrection from the dead, (Letter to the Romans 11, 15), i.e. the gathering of the children of the first covenant and those of the new covenant in Jesus. This vocation is also incarnated by a contemplative study of the living tradition of Israel and of the texts of the Church concerning our relationship with the Jewish religion. We also have a place in our liturgy to remember this specific call, especially by the celebration of the entrance in Shabbat on Friday night (in Hebrew), the use of Hebrew songs, and the celebrations of the most important Jewish feasts.

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