The Hungarian Parliamentary Prayer Group had an extraordinary guest at the prayer breakfast on January 18, 2024. His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, honored the prayer group with his presence, so the members had the opportunity to get to know one of the most important senior pastors of the Catholic Church.
Imre Vejkey, the leader of the prayer group, and prayer group member Márta Mátrai, the Master of Chambers of the Parliament, welcomed and greeted His Beatitude upon his arrival. Paying tribute to the Holy Crown, Imre Vejkey said that following the offer of King St. Stephen, Hungary has been under the protection of the Virgin Mary for a thousand years now, while Christian values are an integral part of the Hungarian Fundamental Law.
At the beginning of the prayer breakfast, Imre Vejkey spoke about the founding of the prayer group and the main challenges of the period since then, and then presented the goals of the prayer group and its daily operation. As he said, the members - regardless of political or religious affiliation - pray together. He emphasized that in today's time fraught with danger and full of war conflicts, the creation of peace in Jerusalem is the most important task.
The daily gospel part was related to the coming of the Lord, in which Jesus spoke about his return to his disciples through the example of a wedding ceremony. According to his teaching, the task of all of us is to wait alertly and prepared for the Lord so that we can come before him.
In her welcome speech, Chair of the Board of Trustees Katalin Tóth spoke about the power of prayer, which means communion and dialogue with the Lord. She explained that the Hungarian people's love of peace rests on historical foundations, and that praying for peace is just as important today as it was in the past.
As she said, His Beautitude's self-sacrifice, when he offered himself in exchange for the Israeli hostages, earned the sincere respect of the Hungarian people, since with this selfless offering he would have testified to his faith with his blood.
In his response, His Beatitude praised the activities of the prayer group and spoke about peace in Jerusalem, which is a particularly difficult task to create. As he said, according to the teaching of the New Testament, the heavenly Jerusalem descends from the sky, like the bride who is presented to the bridegroom. The coming of the Lord will bring peace and comfort to those who follow the teachings of the Lamb. Our task is to follow the teachings of the Lamb and be prepared to await His return. In his prayer His Beatitude gave thanks for Hungary and for the support provided in helping the persecuted Christians. He thanked for the Hungarian saints and asked for their intercession so that they could set a good example for Hungarian and European youth. The visit ended with a joint prayer.