Donations aid shrines in Holy Land

On Good Friday, March 25, Catholics the world over are asked to contribute to an annual collection that aids various Christian ministries in the Holy Land.

The donations will go towards the maintenance, support and promotion of hospitals, clinics, centers for social assistance, shrines, churches, and holy sites that mark the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus.

Monies collected will also go to educate young men preparing to serve in missions in the Holy Land, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus, Rhodes and Egypt; to feed refugee children; and to house pilgrims.

In a pulpit letter read in Albany diocesan parishes last weekend, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard urged Catholics to give to the appeal.

"The annual Good Friday Collection, as it has become known, aims to promote among the Christian faithful a love for the land of the Lord," he said. "For the Church to survive there, it must rely upon a loving and nurturing solidarity on the part of each Christian, a solidarity which bears witness to faith in Him who was born in that land, who preached the Gospel there, and who also died and was resurrected there.

"I thank you for your continued support in this effort to assist our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. May our gracious God bless you and your parish family with abundant grace, peace and renewal as you approach Easter."

(3/24/05)