Dear Members of St. Michael Parish and Auburn Catholic Campus Ministry,

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and Holy Father Pope Francis have invited all Christians to join the small and vibrant Christian community in the Holy Land for a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the Holy Land on Tuesday, October 17, 2023. 

As Pastor, I ask all of us to take this invitation seriously and offer throughout the day prayers and spiritual disciplines to pray for:

• an end to the bloodshed presently taking place throughout the Holy Land, both in Israel and Gaza,
• the protection of the small Christian population throughout the region that always find themselves under threat and caught in the middle of the fighting and bloodletting, and
• the protection of the Christian Holy Sites, particularly Bethlehem and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

We will have the Blessed Sacrament Exposed for Adoration at Frassati Chapel from 3 PM to the beginning of the 6 PM Mass at Frassati on Tuesday afternoon. Also, following the 6 PM Mass on Tuesday evening, the Blessed Sacrament is Exposed for 48 hours, as a usual practice during the academic year, and this provides further opportunity for all of us to pray before the Lord, for an end to violence and war in the Holy Land. 

For families with young children, it may be good to bring them to the Chapel, if only for 15 minutes, to be with the Lord.  

So, again, I invite you to participate through intentional fasting and prayer for the Holy Land on Tuesday and be in spiritual union with our Christian brothers and sisters in the Holy Land, as well as all persons of  good will. 

We also pray for the victims of this violence and war and for an end to bloodshed.

Of course, let us pray for so many hearts filled with hatred and vengeance to encounter the One True God.   

Sincerely in Christ,
Reverend Msgr. Michael L. Farmer
Pastor