Last Christmas, all of the children, youth and teachers in the parish received an olive wood cross as a gift from our Church pilgrimage to Israel. At the time, I sent a card to each atrium and class, which told a bit about the crosses and included some pictures from our trip. In a conversation with a parent recently, I realized that I never shared this information with you, and that many parents may not know the story behind these little crosses. So I thought I would share it with you here.
Dear Children, Youth, Catechists and Teachers,
As you know a group of parishioners traveled to Israel in October. While we were there we thought of all of you so often and we wanted to share a small token of our trip with you. These little crosses were purchased for you in Bethlehem, and each one has been blessed by Rev. Peter.
The crosses are made from the wood of the Olive Tree which is a native tree common in Israel. Olive trees have been important in Israel since ancient time. Olive oil was commonly used for cooking, lighting lamps, and ointments. In the Hebrew Scripture olive oil was used to anoint Kings, and used to light the lamps in the Temple. In the Christian Scripture, Jesus prayed on the Mount of Olives, and he went there to the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper just before he died and rose again.
Your little cross could be carried in your pocket, or kept on your nightstand to hold while praying. You are also welcome to chose a string and make your cross into a necklace.
We hope you enjoy this little cross and that it is a blessing to you!
We hope you enjoy this little cross and that it is a blessing to you!