Day 10, January 28, 2014 … After breakfast we drove up to the Mount of Olives overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, the mountain on which Jesus is said to have ascended and where it is predicted Christ will come again. Jeff gave a little teaching on the route Jesus took during his last two days. For just a moment as we watched, the wind and rain formed a rainbow across the valley encircling the Temple Mount. It was a most amazing sign as we began our pilgrimage along the “Way of the Cross”… Today We walked for most of the day … in the early morning it was quite cold and blustery (though not like MN winter, I realize!) But once we got into the Old City, it was a cool but wonderful day for walking. The Kidron Valley, where the Garden of Gethsemane is located, separates the Mount of
Olives from Jerusalem, and is also the place where King David built his city.
We then motored down the hill of the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane with its 2,000-year-old olive
trees and the Basilica of Our Lord’s Agony (Also called the Church of all Nations) where we were reminded to join our physical and emotional sufferings with the passion of Christ. Then, because the weather is nasty, we rode the bus to the entrance of the Old City at the Lion’s Gate.
The Old City is divided between the Christian, Muslim, Armenian, and the Jewish quarters. We walked to the beginning of the Via Dolorosa, The Way of the Cross, following the Passion of our Lord, through the Stations of the Cross along the route Christ followed. We had a large wooden cross that was carried by four people in the group, changing people at every station. Prayers were said at every station and we sang songs along the route to the next station … an emotional experience! We ended at Golgotha and were able to touch the rock on which the cross was placed, and at the tomb, where we were able to enter and pray at the beautiful alter of the Holy Sepulcher, the empty tomb. We had Mass at one of the side chapels. There are no words to describe walking the same route as Jesus, touching the places he touched, just being blessed to be in this Holy place. It’s going to take a while for me to digest all of this, but taking it all in is very emotional. All along the way, special prayer request were made.
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| Walled City of Jerusalem (Dome of the Rock on the right, middle) |
The Old City is divided between the Christian, Muslim, Armenian, and the Jewish quarters. We walked to the beginning of the Via Dolorosa, The Way of the Cross, following the Passion of our Lord, through the Stations of the Cross along the route Christ followed. We had a large wooden cross that was carried by four people in the group, changing people at every station. Prayers were said at every station and we sang songs along the route to the next station … an emotional experience! We ended at Golgotha and were able to touch the rock on which the cross was placed, and at the tomb, where we were able to enter and pray at the beautiful alter of the Holy Sepulcher, the empty tomb. We had Mass at one of the side chapels. There are no words to describe walking the same route as Jesus, touching the places he touched, just being blessed to be in this Holy place. It’s going to take a while for me to digest all of this, but taking it all in is very emotional. All along the way, special prayer request were made.
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| The Olive Garden |
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| Walking the Via Dolorosa |
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| Alter inside the Tomb |
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| Calvary |
After Mass we walked through the Jewish quarter of the Old City to the museum of the Burned House. Archeologists have unearthed ruins of a house in that vicinity that was burned by the Romans when they destroyed Old Jerusalem in 70 AD. They had a movie about the why and how of that event … interesting. Afterwards we were set free for lunch. We ate at a Jewish café … delicious tomato soup and sandwich and fries … yum!
Everyone gathered back together and we walked through more archeological ruins of the Jewish Quarter of Old Jerusalem. During the
War for Independence, in 1948, only the Jewish quarter was totally demolished by Jordan and the people living there were taken as prisoners of war. When Jerusalem was finally liberated in 1967, people/business began to rebuild. However, in digging the foundations for the new buildings, ancient artifacts and ruins and houses were found. The Israeli Antiquities Commission fiercely protects all ruins and historical material. So it was agreed that the buildings would be built elevated above the ruins, allowing archeologists to continue to dig under the buildings … and these were some of the ruins we saw today … one being of a wealthy family around the time of Jesus with over 6,000 square feet of housing … so interesting.
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| The Jewish Quarter Jerusalem |
Next we walked to the Western Wall, which is the only portion of the wall surrounding the Temple mount that has always been exposed. The Jews consider this a very Holy Site, and we were required to pass through security to enter (though there are no restrictions as to who can enter). People are there 24 hours a day to pray … men on one side; women on the other. We added our prayer petitions to the wall!
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| The Western Wall (often referred to as the Wailing Wall) |
Back on the bus for a short trip up to Mount Zion to the house of Caiaphas the High Priest who condemned Jesus and sent him to Herod. Jesus probably was held in the cave cell below the house for the remainder of the evening; and it is also the site where Peter denied Jesus three times. I lit a candle and wrote some special intentions for Masses to be said at this church.
We are back to the hotel early this evening … time to relax with a glass of Israeli wine before dinner. Tried to get on the Internet but wasn’t able to. We will try the Wi-Fi on the bus tomorrow. It’s been a long day of mostly walking with a lot of steps. Nothing in Jerusalem is on level ground! But I am surprisingly feeling great … and, again, I do not have the words to explain the emotions of the day. Am thinking of and praying for all of you at home … family and friends.
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