Pilgrimage: Jerusalem

Our day began at Saint Steven's Gate - so called because tradition holds that Saint Steven was martyred nearby.   (The photo is of our parish seminarian from Saint Andrew - Steven Arena - outside the St. Steven's Gate.) Entering the Old City, we go to the Pool of Bethsada where Jesus healed the lame man (John 5:1-15).  There we pray a prayer of healing: O God who are the only source of health and healing, the spirit of calm and the central peace of this universe, grant to me such a consciousness of your indwelling and surrounding presence that I may permit you to give me health and strength and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

We then walked the "Way of the Cross" through the old streets of Jerusalem.  Along the way a woman didn't like what we were doing - took off her shoes, banged them together yelling "I shake the dust from my feet - may Abraham curse you."  But it was OK - as they persecuted Christ, they will persecute us, too.  We completed the Way of the Cross inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcre and there celebrated Mass in the Crusader Chapel.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher - the church which contains three sacred places: the site of the Crucifixion, the place where Jesus' body was anointed before burial, and the empty tomb from which He rose from the dead.  

• Excavations have revealed that the place of the crucifixion actually is outside the old city walls, but close to one of its gates - so it would have been a good location for a crucifixion. 
• The structure which preserves the location of Christ's tomb is called the Edicule.  Though the cave here was carved away by a Muslim ruler 1000 years ago, a clear history remains that this has been the revered location of the tomb.  Al-Hakim's efforts to destroy the tomb (and Christianity) in 1009 were not the first.  Earlier the Roman emperor Hadrian erected a large platform of earth over the whole area for the construction of a temple to Venus.  Saint Jerome adds to Eusebius' statement that a statue of Jupiter was on the site for 180 yeas (140-320 AD).  When Constantine converted the empire to Christianity, he had the pagan temples dismantled, the earth removed and a church built over the spot.
• The best evidence that the tomb of Jesus was in this area is the fact that other first-century tombs are still preserved inside the church.  Called the "Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea," these burial shafts are clearly from the time of Christ's death and thus attest to some kind of burial ground in the area.  Combined with the evidence from Tradition, this church is most likely the true location of Christ's death and resurrection.

As the pilgrims visited the place of the crucifixion, many placed their hand in the hole - touching the stone of Golgotha.  We prayed: Behold, O Good and sweetest Jesus, I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul I pray and beseech Thee to impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, with true repentance for my sins and a most firm desire of amendment: whilst with deep affection and grief of soul I consider within myself and mentally contemplate Thy five most precious Wounds, having before my eyes that which David, the prophet, long ago spoke in Thine own person concerning Thee, my Jesus: They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones (Psalm 21)

And, as each pilgrim entered the small Edicule, each took a moment to pray: Christ is Risen: the world below lies desolate.  Christ is Risen: the spirits of evil are fallen.  Christ is Risen: the angels of God are rejoicing.  Christ is Risen: the tombs of the dead are empty.  Christ is Risen indeed from the dead, the first of the sleepers.  Glory and power are His forever and ever.  [attributed to Saint Hippolytus - AD 190-236]

Following Mass we walked to the Western Wall (formerly called the Wailing Wall).  Did anyone get up to see us?!  You are welcome to leave comments for us here!  The Western Wall is the most holy place in the world which is accessible to the Jewish people.  Prayers are offered up at this wall - which was built by King Herod in the 1st century BC.  Three times a day the Jewish people pray - and they do so with phylacteries tied around their forehead and wrist and with blue and white prayer shawls.  Tonight is also a special day of prayer and fasting for the Jews - as tomorrow (beginning at sundown tonight) is the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD. (The photo is the men of out group at the Western Wall.)

Here members of our group took some time at the wall (after going through a checkpoint and putting something on our heads (the men at least).  We each went to our side of the wall (men and women are segregated.  Perhaps some put in the ancient cracks a prayer scribbled on a piece of note paper.

Then we moved to Bethlehem, after going through a checkpoint into Palestinian Territory.  There we had a pleasant lunch and then visited a store where many purchased beautifully hand carved olive wood item.  We then went to the Shepherd's Field where there is a church - and inside sang "Gloria in excelcis Deo" - we all know that Christmas song!   Then we moved on to the Church of the Nativity and visited the cave where Jesus was born - and there we all sing "Silent Night" (what we are doing in this photo).  Then we moved on to the "Milk Grotto" where, tradition says, Mary fed Jesus and some of her milk fell to the floor - turning the walls of the cave white.  Then it was  back to the bus - another pass through the checkpoint back into Jerusalem (yes, they entered the bus with their machine guns) and then to the hotel for dinner and some rest after another long day.  (The photo here is Betty Powers touching the very spot where Jesus was born in the cave of Bethlehem.)