After the bad weather the previous night, our itinerary changed to shorten the trip as to where we would be going. In essence though, we were able to sleep in a little at the nice motel we were at have a relaxing morning swimming in the pool or relaxing in our rooms before heading back for the long bus ride back to Jerusalem.
On our way back to Jerusalem, we stopped first at the Makhtesh Ramon Nature Preserve where we saw the beauty and splendor of God’s creation within the desert. After viewing such a spectacle and walking through it, one wonders how anyone can not think that there is a God who created such beauty in nature. The area was not strictly a Biblical area, but the immense beauty could not help but draw your mind to God.
After the stops in the nature preserve we began the long bus ride back to Jerusalem and after about 4 hours or so we arrived home to ponder our experiences from the previous 2 days of travel in the desert wilderness of Israel.
Apart from classes in the morning, the focus of our day was an afternoon visit to Ratisbonne, a Salesian seminary located in the heart of modern Jerusalem. The rector, a distinct faculty member, and a select group of seminarians opened the doors to us when we arrived. Introductions were made and immediately a number of us commented on the evident diversity of our groups. As you probably already know, the pilgrims from Mundelein are from all parts of the world and represent (collectively) five of the seven continents. The Salesians were quite diverse as well, hailing from all four corners of the globe, yet managing to live and study together in a multi-cultural community. (These men will return to their home provinces when their four-year formation program is completed.) After an explanation of Ratisbonne’s history in the Holy Land, the seminarians gladly gave us a tour of the entire complex. The afternoon concluded with an informal social gathering during which we were able to mix and converse with our new friends. On a personal note, I was happy to discover that one of the Salesians seminarians, who was originally from Haiti, had spent three months with a Salesian community in Columbus, Ohio – my hometown! This made for a good icebreaker, and the two of us spent time discussing our experiences in seminary formation. Overall, it was refreshing to see a robust Roman Catholic religious community alive and well in the heart of Jerusalem.
Today we went on a trek with a guide down to what was the City of David, the pool of Siloam and the Western Wall. In the City of David we saw where his palace would have been and then went down to walk through the way the water would travel from the natural spring to the pool of Siloam. Rather than taking the water trail and getting wet, we followed a dry tunnel excavated underground through the rock down to the Kidron valley. Then we made our way around to recent excavations which have uncovered where the pool of Siloam was in the time of Jesus. This was the place where Jesus cured the man who had been blind from birth by making a paste and placing it on the eyes of the man and telling him to go and wash in the pool.
After that we headed back up the hill and made our way back into the Old City to the Western Wailing Wall, where many of us have already visited to watch the Jews pray on Friday evening. This time however, we had a guide to share some of the intricate details with us.
Today was quite possibly one of the longest days, packed with activity from morning until evening. We began the day with field trips all morning. We saw the Russian Orthodox Church of the Ascension, which has a small chapel dedicated to John the Baptist where, at one time, St. John’s head was buried in a jar. The hole is still seen and venerated. We also saw another Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene, which has impressive golden onion domes on its top. The interior of these churches were quite beautiful and inspiring with iconography and murals.
On the way down the Mount of Olives we also stopped at two Catholic Churches, Dominus Flevit, which is where Christ wept over Jerusalem and the church is shaped in a teardrop. And, finally, we stopped at the Pater Noster Church, which commemorates Christ teaching the Apostles the Our Father and at this church, the Our Father is printed on murals all over the place in over a hundred languages. Everyone in our group found our native language and took pictures of it.
To top the morning off, we drove in the bus to the Shrine of the Book Museum which has many of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were found on display. Also, in the courtyard there is a 1:50 scale model of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus with a very impressive and detailed model of what the Temple might have looked like. Then it was back to Notre Dame for lunch before beginning the next phase of our day.
After lunch, we had 3 ˝ hours of classes. Now, we won’t say that we were not paying attention in class, because our brains somehow absorbed information, but our eyes seemed to be closing at regular intervals throughout the afternoon. Oh well, it is about sacrifice!
Finally, it was time for Mass and then dinner. Our heads hit our pillows not too long after that to rest up for the next day.
A less hectic day today. We started out with Mass in the mid-morning at the Church of All Nations, which is at the foot of the Mount of Olives, next to the Garden of Gethsemane. We had the church more or less to ourselves and celebrated Mass inside the sanctuary, around the rock where Jesus prayed to the Father during His Agony. It was a powerful moment to be there, especially reflecting on how we will (God willing!) be ordained and shoulder our own cross in imitation of Christ.
After Mass we went to the Sisters of Zion, who are the caretakers of the Lithostrotos. The Lithostrotos is a section of road that has been preserved from the time of Jesus. One of the sisters (who was extremely friendly & outgoing) gave us a brief history of the community and then showed us the road below the building. You could still see the engraving where soldiers played their games, which largely revolved around how to abuse their prisoners. We prayed there for a while.
After that we had the day to ourselves, first returning for lunch and then heading out around the city to get in some quality time with the various sites as we approach our final week here.
Today was a free day. Some of the guys used their time to visit some of the last remaining locations on their list of “must see holy sites in Jerusalem.” Others began preparing for finals.
One of the communal highlights of the day was dinner at the Notre Dame Center. Our hosts kindly provided us with shawarma, delicious veal-stuffed pitas which are a staple of Palestinian cuisine. After ten weeks in the Holy Land, our palates have come to appreciate these tasty treats.
Today was a rather rainy day on which we headed out to visit the tomb of Samuel, a Benedictine Abbey, where we went for Mass (and one of the places which is thought to be the historical Emmaus), and then to a place where the Ark of the Covenant was said to be kept.
When we went to visit the tomb, it was pouring rain and many of us got really wet. From there we went to the monastery for Mass, which was an incredible experience. The liturgy was all sung in chant style in an original crusader church from the 12th century. Fr. Martis would have been very pleased, not only because the whole Mass was chanted, but because it was mainly chanted in French. Many of the guys commented on how beautifully celebrated the liturgy was.
After Mass we went to lunch and then found out that our leaders decided to have mercy on us and cut short, because of the rain, all the sites we had planned on visiting. We did make a last stop at a convent where there is a church believed to be the site where the Ark of the Covenant was kept for three months before David finally brought it to Jerusalem. It was a nice church, but is falling into ruin because of the lack of funds to keep it maintained
Thanks be to the powers-that-be who decided to make the day after Superbowl a free day. After staying up late (the game started here at about 1:AM, today), we needed the time to catch up on rest and then go out & about!
Today was a 95% free day!
Bright and early in the morning, at 5:45 a.m., we made our way to the beginning of the Via Dolorosa to pray the Stations of the Cross on the path that our Blessed Lord took on the day of His death. We ended up at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where we had a chance to be there and absorb the prayerful atmosphere in the morning.
After that, we were free! Free! Free! except for those who had oral exams this morning. This week begins the exciting yet sorrowful process of preparing ourselves to leave on Monday, so it is good to have some free time to help with this endeavor.
Yesterday we had class in the morning and our finals continued throughout the day. We are coming towards the end of our time here in the Holy Land which means we are finishing up with classes and taking finals. We are also in the midst of our time where we get together and have our overviews of the pilgrimage with Sr. Kathleen and Fr. Larry.
However guys are also using these last few days to go around to all the places they would like to visit one last time and spend time in prayer.