A Syriac Catholic priest and father in Bethlehem preaches on the Feast of the Holy Family

Yunan Frédéric, a Syriac Catholic priest living in Bethlehem with his Latina-American wife and their three children, preaches on the Feast of the Holy Family, even though the Syriac Church does not observe this feast in its liturgical calendar. For the past two years, he has served as the pastor of the Syriac Catholic community in Bethlehem; a small, largely refugee, Arab-speaking group of about 100 people. [Take a quick listener survey: Tell us what you love about “Preach” and what you’d like us to change] Yunan, shares his approach to preaching and contemplates the situation of war in which he lives. "It's like walking with a friend and talking together," he says. “I am very much listening as well. I am looking at the faces of the people. I’m trying to create a communion as we are one body during the Mass, and the homily is part of that communion.” As the conversation draws to an end, Yunan shares a prayer he has spontaneously found himself praying since war broke out, “O God, forgive us.” “When I was saying ‘us,’ I was including everyone. I was putting myself with the one who kills, and I was taking the one who killed into myself as well, as one family was human, one human family. God forgive us.” Read the full text of this week’s homily and Scripture readings. Do you have a preacher to recommend for Preach? Let us know here. Get daily Scripture reflections and support "Preach" by becoming a digital subscriber to America Magazine. “Preach” is made possible through the generous support of the Compelling Preaching Initiative, a project of Lilly Endowment Inc.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices