Letter to the friends of Deir Mar Musa 2016
“I will have mercy and not sacrifice!” (Hosea 6, 6; Matthew 9.13)
With these words, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, began his discourse on the occasion of Lent 2016, saying: “In the bull of indiction of the Jubilee, I gave out this invitation so that Lent in this Jubilee year might be lived more internally as a strong moment to celebrate and experience the mercy of God.” (Misericordiae Vultus, 17). He went on to add that “the mercy of God is in fact an announcement to the world: but every Christian is called upon to make experience of this mercy in the first person.”
The successor of Peter began in his own person to bring to us believers and also to non-believers the good news of mercy: a mercy that he has experienced through his relationship with God and whose fruits can be seen clearly in his natural humility and in his love and care for the people in his flock. There is no doubt that the manifestations of the mercy of the Merciful One are without number, but we, as believers, sons and daughters of God, find in the Nativity of Jesus Christ the Saviour, the font of mercy and of hope in our midst, God is the Emmanuel! God with us.
This Christmas is the sign of the divine mercy that came as the good news of God for all of us human beings and which was accomplished when He sent his Son who died and was risen to save us and to lead us to the Father’s breast. To those who ask us how we manage to touch this mercy of God, especially in these very difficult times, we say: through the experience of the mercy that God has placed in the hearts of people, both near to us and far, who feel our suffering and who show solidarity with us through their prayers, the reception of refugees coming from our country, and providing generous assistance to them, to us and to our families.
The reference point therefore is our personal experience with God who has touched us personally through his mercy and his love. This is a matter of a unique and special experience which comes, in particular, from the fact that each one of us is unique in the eyes of God who has created us in his image and likeness. He has put his imprint on all of us and this enables us to choose a solid spiritual foundation for our life in every aspect. For us Christians, this imprint is the person of Jesus in his behaviour and his absolute love to all human beings. Love is the main ‘motor’ of our life, especially in its spiritual dimension. The more we take care of this foundation, the more it is reflected in our life and in the lives of those around us This manifests in our faces in a way that transmits to others the good news that God is merciful: people receive this when we welcome them into our lives, pay attention to their needs and do our best to understand them. Our duty and our role have their place in the deepening of our relationship with God in response to his freely given love for us and, through our commitment, our openness and our surrender to his will in our life.
The Shepherd of the universal Church continued by saying that it is for this that, in the time f Lent, he will send out the Missionaries of Mercy because they are all a concrete sign of the nearness and the forgiveness of God. The Pope urges us to be those apostles who have been sent by God in order to let the people feel His love and His closeness through the works of charity and the reciprocal tolerance of each other’s mistakes and weaknesses. We must ask the Lord for the grace of transformation, a grace that renews our existence and perfects our personality in order to become ever more human, more sensitive and supportive towards those who are poorer and more needy. This is the grace of the Holy Spirit which nourishes our lives, creates and renews his teachings in us and thus renders us new people who have the vision and the feelings of Christ. This requires a continuous examination of conscience in order to be sure of living and acting according to the wish of the Lord, with a new heart that understands others and is concentrated on them and not on ourselves. Without doubt, this requires collaboration and commitment to allow ourselves to be transformed in the Lord from one state to another and from one spiritual maturity to another in order to arrive at full maturity in Christ; to prepare a fitting place for him in our hearts in order to create, develop and change the flavour of life around us.
We pray and we invite you to pray with us for the Pan-Orthodox Synod which began last summer and is the first orthodox synod of this century. We pray that the Holy Spirit illumines the Synod fathers and the participants for the well-being of the Church and of the world. We also thank the Lord for the prophetic initiative by Pope Francis regarding the Lutheran Church during his visit to Sweden last October 30th. It is an important and powerful step on the road to unite the hearts and unify the body of Christ and her bride, the Church. We ask every conscience and every heart and everybody of good will to pray with us for unity and harmony in every community and between all the communities of the human family.
THE COMMUNITY
This year the Lord has blessed us with a special grace of an authentic ecclesiastic dimension that left in our hearts a profound spiritual sign. On May3rd, some of the monks and all of the sisters of the Community were received in a private audience in the Vatican by Pope Francis. The programmed time was to have been about 15 minutes, but the Pope arrived a quarter of an hour early and he stayed with us for about one hour. He listened to each one of us with attention and love, he expressed his solidarity with the victims and the afflicted of a war whose violence has increased and been sustained by the trade of arms. Our arms, he told us, are prayer, humility, forgiveness, reconciliation and the offering of ourselves. The Pope touched us very much when he told us: “Your testimony makes me humble because I am here in a safe place while you give your testimony under danger.” He encouraged our mission, commending the commitment of the Community in Syria, despite the difficult situation. He advised us to pray constantly, saying: “I encourage you to lose your time in prayer.” This visit touched us because of the humility of this man; he did not allow us to feel any difference between us but he expressed his profound love for the Syrians and for Syria which he always calls ‘beloved Syria.’
We want to express our deep thanks to the monks and sisters of the confraternity of Jerusalem and to the Donati Study Centre of Pistoia, for having nominated our Community for the Giorgio di Pira peace prize. This recognition was motivated by our commitment to and our faith in dialogue between differing religions, especially between Christianity and Islam, for the good of all people and by the humanitarian commitment of aid for the victims of the war. We do not remark on this prize because of pride or to boast, because “ let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (II Cor. 10,17.) This prize does not mean that we are ‘heroes’ but it shows that what we are doing means a lot to other people and therefore it is worth doing in other places: it is our duty that comes principally from our humanity and from our baptism. The one who is baptised does not have the right to rest while his brother, any human being, is suffering. In fact, we read in the Gospel: “And in this way, when you have done all that was commanded you to do, say: We are worthless servants . We have done what was ours to do.” (Luke, 17,10) This prize was not only for us but for wounded Syria, for all the Syrians who have worked to help the needy and the displaced, for all those who in this time of crisis have been messengers of peace and doers of good. We share this prize with the Jesuits, with Caritas, with all the parishes and the consecrated men and women of all Christian confessions. We share it with all the foundations and the charity associations both Christian and Moslem who collaborate in the humanitarian work. Nor can we forget all our friends, all over the world, who sustain us in their prayer, their donations and their commitment to the common good and to peace. We remember in particular the Association of the Friends of Deir Mar Musa in Italy, France and Switzerland and all the ecclesiastical and civil institutions that help and sustain us. To you, our thanks and our love.
This long war has completely exhausted and changed us. This is seen in our daily life: human relationships become ever more difficult, we don’t always manage to tolerate each other easily, and even the more profound relationships are threatened because our patience is limited and tiredness and anxiety predominate. We must intensify our prayer in order to receive from God the grace of patience and openness so that our hearts may be kept empty of violence and are rendered immune to the hate and superficial reactions which are not constructive: hearts orientated to the intercession of God that He may remove this black cloud from our country and give us years full of well-being, hope and blessing. We ask to receive a Christmas that renews our relationship with Him, with ourselves and with the others, offering up our tiredness and our efforts so that peace may reign in our country and in the world.
DEIR MAR MUSA – Nebek – Syria
Since the beginning of last summer, encouraged by the safety and the relative sense of calm in the region around the monastery, people, in families or in small groups, have started to visit us again every now and then. These visits have brought us great joy and consolation.
His Excellency, the bishop Mar Teosofo Philip Barakat, our dear friend, came to us for the feast of St. Moses, patron saint of the monastery; he was accompanied by a number of priests and deacons of the diocese and many of our friends from Nebek. This was his first visit since his episcopal ordination, last May, for the Eparchy of Homs, Hama and Nebek and dependent territories. During this visit, we celebrated the Eucharist and then had lunch all together: it was a very lovely feast. The return of visitors, after such a long time, was a great sign of hope, a little return to normality.so we try to be always ready to receive the visitors who come to the monastery in search of a refuge where they might enjoy a little respite, tranquillity and peace.
Still in the context of the feast of St. Moses, the Syriac-Catholic parish of Nebek has received its new parish priest: Father Said Massouh, a young and enthusiastic priest. We are happy to collaborate with him in the parish activities, both for the children and for the adults and in helping the parishioners.
Activities of humanitarian work
In the course of the last year we have tried to concentrate our activity on young people and children as they are our future. For this we have tried to sustain projects that guarantee work positions for some young people in such a way that they might live with dignity and abandon the idea of emigration.
At the same time, for some young students, we have tried to guarantee the possibility of study, either in this country or abroad. Some young people have received, thanks to the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, scholarships to attend their courses: it is essential to raise the cultural level in preparation for a future of peace.
We have been able to conclude the work of housing for young families, a project that we had already started in 2008. This summer, three couples were able to move house and have a home just for them.
A fourth building has been completed, together with a vast underground space and a large water cistern, thanks to the support of various private donors but in particular thanks to the support of some European Christian organizations. We maintain that this housing project is important in order that our young people stay in Syria and do not flee from the country. This would be the time to buy an old abandoned house and in its place to build a small apartment block for renting at very reasonable prices to young couples of low income. Some of the apartments could even be given to very poor families with children.
Now, about the children: with a group of young university students, who in this way were able to work and receive payment, we organised in the parish various programmes of culture and entertainment, also a five-day camp at the beginning of the summer. The camp included lessons of music, art and sport, with the aim of discovering the ‘young talents’. We bought musical instruments for a large number of children so that they could then follow music lessons given by specialised teachers during the year. We hope that these activities help the youngsters to combat the climate of pain and violence in which they have been living in these years of war. The first result of this activity was a concert, during the feast of Mar Musa, in Nebek, attended by the bishop.
The community also endeavoured to obtain financing from two Italian NGO’s for the purchase of a generator for the hospital of Nebek. The arrival of this generator now allows the hospital to be completely operative even during the numerous periods of black-out. This intervention by the community to help the population of Nebek has been much appreciated and has consolidated good relations between Christians and Moslems of the region.
Thanks to the help of various Italian organizations (a project still to be completed) it has been possible to restore and re-open the diocesan nursery school of Nebek which was severely damaged and in a serious state of deterioration and abandon. The little children began to attend the nursery in September and the community of Nebek has received great benefit from this intervention. In addition, this has created a number of jobs.
Naturally all this has been done by continuing to see to the provision of basic needs amongst the people of Nebek: fuel, didactic materials, heath assistance, medicines and contributions for therapy (in particular, treatment for tumours) and for surgical operations. The same assistance is also offered to the refugee families from Qaryatayn who are living, for the moment, at Zaidal and Fairuze. For these families, other help is also added such as food for the children and rent for the houses. The help is given without discrimination between Christian and Moslem families, beginning with the poorest ones. We are not able to cover all the costs but we always endeavour never to send away the poor empty-handed. In this, we collaborate with the diocese, the Jesuit Fathers and Caritas. However, the large part of these projects goes ahead thanks to the support from various European Christian foundations and organizations.
We wish to make note of the great moral support given to us by the Siro-Catholic diocese under the guidance of our dear bishop, Philip Barakat, by his availability and help in assisting our projects. In this field, the Jesuit Fathers of the Middle East are our partners and our main brothers who take every opportunity to help and support us, of course along with MAGIS in Italy and the Jesuit Mission in Germany.
In these days, with the approach of winter, we have decided to dedicate time in the afternoons for personal spiritual reading. Two afternoons in the week will be dedicated to the deepening of our monastic vocation, starting with one or two rules of our Community.
We are trying to find how best to receive our dear visitors after this long period of absence, and we maintain the monastery in a climate of silence and prayer. We are aware that everyone is tired and exhausted but in our hospitality we want to keep alive the essence of our vocation and pay attention to the needs of our guests who often find themselves in a difficult psychological state; we therefore concentrate on what is essential for our life and for their well-being. The doors of our hearts and of our monastery will always, God willing, be open and we trust in our prayers that our vocation may be lived with honesty and generosity.
Work and other projects at the Monastery
We work constantly in the nursery garden in the valley at the foot of the monastery: this patch of ground gives us our vegetables and fruit for the whole summer and the olives give us our oil. Our main concern is that of maintaining the existing plants and the trees for which we have worked hard for thirty years. We have finished the new garage, which is big enough to shelter not only the car but also the agricultural machinery.
We continue, patiently, the restoration and the maintenance of the monastery and surroundings, including the restoration of the ceiling of the library, because there had been a lot of humidity caused by leaks coming from the nearby water-tank. For this reason, we transferred the books from two rooms and from the reading room ‘Remo Orseri’ to Nebek. So we have combined, with the help of an Italian cultural association, one of the restored houses with a library. This year, we want to create a canal for the flow of water between the garage and the nursery garden. We also want to repair the manual cable-lift then level and make safe the place on the mountain where the road arrives and the cable-lift leaves, so that in becomes accessible by tractor and other means without danger. We want to thank the Lord for the group of our collaborators, Christian and Moslem, who have wanted to work with us notwithstanding all the difficulties, showing constantly their faithfulness and their love for the monastery and for the Community. All this which concerns the daily life of the Monastery goes ahead thanks to the donations of friends all over the world while everything to do with the nursery garden and agriculture is thanks to the support of a European Christian organization.
DEIR MAR ELIAN – Qaryatayn – Syria
The monastery has fallen almost completely into ruin in the last year. After the ISIS militants destroyed the ancient monastery and the tomb of Mar Elian, the successive fighting in the area completed the destruction. The monastery is in a state of abandon, the church and the rooms burnt and destroyed… Also the parish church in the town with the canonical annex has been burnt and damaged in many parts. People are beginning to return to Qaryatayn after the departure of ISIS but this is still limited in number. In the month of September, 200 families returned and some have said that this number will increase up to 700 families with the re-opening of the school. Amongst these, only one Christian family has returned. It seems that the Christian families are still afraid because they do not know what their future will be in the region. The overwhelming majority of the Christians are living in the two villages of Fainze and Zaidal near Homs. Our community is very involved in getting help to these internal refugees, who are in need of everything.
Concerning the monastery of Mar Elian, we are making great effort to carry on with the agricultural project to save what is saveable: irrigating the olives which are still more or less alive and the vines, most of which have died; unfortunately all the fruit trees have withered and dried. Sadly, we have not found anyone ready to help us in this work because of the fear of working that area.
DEIR MARYAM AL-ADHRA – Sulaymaniyah – Kurdistan Iraq
The monastery has returned to a relative state of calm after the transfer of the displaced families into prefabricated houses. The monastery has, in fact, created two ‘caravan villages’ next to the church in order to guarantee a greater autonomy and privacy to each family. The monastery, however, fills every day with children and adults coming also from various parts of the city in order to take part in the courses which are organised in its precincts. Courses of English and various activities per the children, obligatory courses of Kurdish language for the children and optional for the adults, sewing courses for Christian and Moslem women, theatre courses… Amongst the teachers there are some of the refugees from the caravans and also volunteer Kurdish and foreign teachers. There is a teacher who comes regularly from abroad to train and supervise the language teachers. We have just begun to build, with European financing, a building next to the church which is intended for the nuns and for accommodating women guests. We are beginning to put together a library: the space is available, but books are needed.
We are grateful to all the European Christian and lay organizations that support us in this mission in Iraq, without forgetting the paternal concern of His Excellency Mons. Youssef Toma, the Chaldean bishop of Sulamaniya. The situation is however uncertain, because we expect the arrival of other refugees coming from the areas of Iraq involved in the ongoing conflict (Mosul etc.)
We do our best to put at the centre of our life and of our activities our vocation of dialogue and we try, beside the humanitarian work and assistance for the fugitives, to improve relations with the Moslem environment that surrounds us.
SAN SALVATORE MONASTERY – Cori – Italy
The ordinary life goes on in our nascent monastery at Cori, following the rhythms of university study and based on the number of monks and nuns who are there, according to the time of year. Various guests come singly throughout the year to spend a few days of peace, prayer and sharing the monastic life. We have had the joy of welcoming here in May the final vows ef Sister Friederike; this event was also an occasion to organize a meeting with our friends from the French and Swiss associations of the Friends of Mar Musa. The monastery has never been so full! We successfully organized at the end of the summer a week of prayer which we call ‘Open Doors’ in the spirit of Mar Musa. We thank our Lord for this success that increases year by year. Also a day of prayer was organized that was attended by Christians and Moslems in commemoration of the ‘people of the cave’ or ‘the seven sleepers of Ephesus’. This day was an opportunity to share and reflect on the mystery of the Resurrection and to pray for the awakening of many of those who are asleep in the darkness of the caves. We continue the appointments for the deepening of biblical knowledge, once a month in collaboration with our consecrated Syrian friend Mariana who is faithfully committed to carry out this service for our community and for a number of friends. We hope that this monastery becomes always more a point of reference for all the Community and its friends in Europe.
The need to accommodate ever more guests coming from all over the world and who now and unfortunately for several more years have difficulty to be at Mar Musa, and to have a meeting place open to inter-religious dialogue… all this has convinced us to try and enlarge the living spaces of the monastery. We are working towards this with the eventual purchase of a house near to San Salvatore with the help of the Associations of the Friends of Mar Musa. With some friends of Cori and of Rome, we are going ahead with the internal reconstruction of the church of the monastery; after the work of reconstruction and strengthening the foundations and the external walls and of the resurfacing of the ceiling in 2002, the church has remained unusable because of the lack of attention to the internal reconstruction. The flooring is non-existent and there is neither lighting nor heating, the walls and interior spaces are in need of urgent restorative intervention to protect the cultural and artistic patrimony with the frescoes of the XVI and the XVII centuries. With the help of some friends of Cori, one of the oil paintings has been restored and this is now kept in the little chapel of the community that was originally a bedroom.
We thank God for the friendship of the Bishop of Latiina Mons. Mariano Crociata and for his support and paternal interest in the community. He has encouraged the restoration and he has involved himself with us to contribute to this project. The Bishop has made it clear to us that this interest comes from an ecclesiastic reason: the presence of the community that lives in the monastery and the possibility of the rebirth of the centre of the town, which slowly is becoming empty. Also for this reason, he approves of our choice to enlarge the space for the accommodation of the monastery so that it may go ahead with its vocation of hospitality and encounter.
THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY
Sister Huda carries out her committed work as superior of the monastic community and she plays this role in a delicate way that leaves space for the development and liberty of all of us. She supervises everything, to the best of her ability, and takes care of everyone. She also follows patiently, assisted by some members of the community, the humanitarian projects in which we have been involved since the beginning f the war. She listens to each person who comes asking for help or who simply wants to share with her their worries, especially the women of Nebek.
Brother Yacop (Jacques) , after being miraculously saved from the hands of ISIS, thanks be to God and to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, gives his testimony by participating in numerous meetings in Italy and other countries abroad. His testimony of faith and love gives spiritual support to many of our friends. Jacques spent a period of time at our monastery in Sulamaniya with Brother Jens and Sister Friederike and he assisted them in the sacerdotal service, taking care of the ‘parish of the monastery’ consisting of Chaldean and Syriac-Catholic displaced people from Mosul and the plain of Nineveh. The experience of suffering and of grace lived by our brother constitutes a point of strength and blessing for all the members of the community.
Jacques left his prison with a heart open to forgiveness, more open and supportive of the Moslem world wounded by extremism and in reality the first victim of this latest situation. Thanks to the friendship with the Moslems of Qaryatayn, Jacques was able to return safe and sound and after him, also all the Christians who had been seized. While we praise the Lord for the salvation of our brother, we do not lose hope and we continue to pray for our spiritual master and our founder, Father Paolo, for the two bishops and two priests taken hostage and for all those disappeared persons about whom the families know nothing.
Brother Jens takes on with patience and considerable commitment the administrative responsibility of the monastery in Sulamaniya; he has shown a notable maturity and spiritual growth in his monastic life, alongside a great capacity for facing the humanitarian emergencies. Brother Jens has worked extremely hard to organize the accommodation of the displaced persons and he has wisely insisted on the need to development the teaching of the Kurdish language to children in order that they may integrate into the society if they are not obliged to emigrate with their parents. He also serves the local church in various ways, including the celebration of the Holy Mass in English, for the English-speaking community that works in the city (Indians, Philippines and Europeans). He has established excellent relations with local institutions.
Brother Boutros at Deir Mar Musa takes care of the receiving of guests; he carries on the production of cheese and the cultivating of plants which have assumed a special place in his monastic life. He is a good cook and he takes care of the chickens which allow us to enrich our Sunday breakfast with fried eggs. He is constantly occupied with the study of the readings. All the brothers and sisters of Boutros have left to various places in the world, except for his mother and one sister who are now in Lebanon, waiting for visas to emigrate.
Brother Jihad continues his course of study and scientific research at the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome. His is currently writing his doctoral thesis in biblical theology, specifically on the Arab Christian patrimony. In addition, he helps to organize the projects of the Community when he is in Syria and he is involved in Italy in the organisation of San Salvatore and the reception of guests. He often takes part in encounters to speak about the experience of the Community and of the commitment and importance of inter-religious dialogue.
Sister Deema helps in preparing the reports about the administrative work and the projects carried out by the monastery in Nebek. Also she contributes to the cooking at Mar Musa, an expert in the preparation of certain special dishes. She took part, during her time in Italy, in some meetings and conventions, including a month-long workshop on Oriental Christians and inter-religious dialogue, organised by the University of Munster in Germany. She has also participated in the week ‘Open Doors’ at Cori. She continues to write her monastic diary.
Brother Yause has become expert in the art of candle-making. He produces them for our church and for other churches and some abbeys in our region. Through this activity, he has made many new friends and he has become a font of creativity. Of course, he takes part in the daily work of the monastery.
Sister Carol steadily manages our monastery in Cori, where she lives in this period to teach Arabic at the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies in Rome. She is concerned with the organization of the house and of the reception of groups and single visitors. She has also begun, with God’s help, a doctorate in Islamic Studies at the same Institute. Carl takes part in various meetings about the vocation of the community and has made numerous interventions and conferences at conventions organized by some pontifical universities such as the Gregorian and the Urbiniana on Islamic-Christian dialogue in this year of Miseericordia. She collaborates with the parish life of St. Mary, every Sunday visiting the elderly to take them communion and is the spiritual guide of the local Scout leader community.
Sister Friederike has crowned her noviciate by offering herself fully to the Lord with her perpetual monastic vows on May 5 2016 in the monastery of San Salvatore. The bishop His Excellency Mariano Crociata celebrated the Eucharist in the presence of almost the entire monastic Community, of the mother of Friederike, of relatives and many friends coming from different parts of the world. The period prior to the vows was an occasion for a sharing within the Community. In addition to the meeting with the Pope two days before the vows, the members of the community then present (Houda, Jacques, Jens, Jihad, Deema, Carol and Friederike) passed some important moments of sharing after many years of distance from each other. We are thinking of organizing a regular monastic meeting every two or three years for all the community members for a period of two weeks in order to discuss the various aspects of our life and our vocation and to share the joys and the efforts of the mission. Friederike is currently with Jens in Sulamaniya where, in addition to collaborating in the daily management of the monastery, she organizes special activities in a theatre workshop for Moslem and Christian children and young people of the quarter.
The novice Nabil Hawil has passed three years with us, searching the will of God in his life and he has been profoundly dedicated in the life of prayer and of manual work. After a period of discernment, he has decided, however, to leave the community and to leave with his family to Australia. We keep him in our prayers and we wish for his well-being and success. With him, we remember all the men and women who have passed through the monastery, especially those who wished to try the monastic life and then continued their work in other communities or have followed a different vocation in the family or in humanitarian work in all its dimensions We always pray for them and for their future and we thank God for each and every one of them for the good that they have given the community.
Brother and friend Yousef Bali has lived with us for ten years and has become one of the closest and most special persons not only to the members of the community but also to our families and to many of our friends in Syria and abroad. He helps us in the daily work of the monastery, he takes part in the life of prayer and he brings to the community meetings a certain gentleness and humour.
GREETINGS AND GOOD WISHES
Dear friends, we thank you for your commitment with us in these years, thank you for participating in our dream of a better world and for working, each in his or her own specific way, for reconciliation, justice and equality amongst all people. We thank you for your prayers and your solidarity with Syria and our suffering people. We ask you to continue to support us because without you we cannot help the needy nor continue our projects and activities. The beautiful thing in all this is the generosity of so many who we cannot thank enough. We keep you always in our prayer together with your families and your departed ones. Once again we ask to be forgiven by all the donors who we have not been able to thank personally, both because of difficulties in communications and because sometimes some donations arrive without an address or even the name of the donor. We ask you to let us know, by email, each time that you send help indicating the bank or postal account to which you have sent your donation: in this way we can confirm the receipt and thank you. Any amount, however small, is precious and conceals within it so much love.
Dear brothers and sisters, we will not surrender to fear or to hatred and we do not justify the logic of the necessity and of the division. We will continue to love our enemy and to help the poor. We will continue in hope and optimism to work for peace. We will continue like this as we were, as we have started and as we have been called to be: to love the Moslem world and the Moslem people. We will persevere along the path with he who wishes it among them, among the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth and among all the human beings, towards the universal fraternity and the peace in justice… Together hand in hand towards the Orient… onwards!
Happy Christmas!
the Monastic Community of Deir Mar Musa
How you can help us
You can gently use one of the next possibilities according to your intentions, please do not mention Syria in your money transfer otherwise the donation will be blocked.
1)
Through the MAGIS www.magisitalia.it in Italy the tax deduction is possible if you donate through the Magis.
Here is absolutely necessary to indicate “Mar Musa” in your donation.
If we donate for the Monastery of San Salvatore please specify “ Mar Musa/San Salvatore”
a) POSTALE ACCOUNT : n. 909010,
Account name: MAGIS Movimento e Azione Gesuiti Italiani per lo Sviluppo
Via degli Astalli, 16 – 00186 Roma
b) Current bank account
Account name: Magis – Movimento e Azione Gesuiti Italiani per lo Sviluppo
Via degli Astalli, 16 – 00186 Roma
Banca Prossima per le Imprese Sociali e Comunità
Piazza della Libertà, 13 – 00192 Roma
Iban: IT25 D033 5901 6001 0000 0130 785
Swift: BCITITMX
2)
Through our Association “Amici di Deir Mar Musa” - Italy
Banck Account:
Account name: AMICI DI DEIR MAR MUSA
Via delle Colonne 14
04010 CORI (LT)
Bank name: BPER, dipendenza 0178 Roma succ.N.
IBAN : IT62F0538703212000001908336
BIC : BPMOIT22 XXX
For specific donation in favour of San Salvatore Monastery please write “ San Salvatore”, in the subject. For a specific communication related to your donation please write to:
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