Saturday, 6-28-14
Last night we had
dinner in a Bedouin tent restaurant – it was air-conditioned, and we sat on
small benches with cushions and coverings (much like they would have lounged in
the times of Jesus). The view was stunning, though of what city, I cannot be
sure. I sat with a lovely group of people – Kim, Tracy, Marisa, Kristen,
Michael, Ryan, and Karen. It was very pleasant (food- and people-wise), and we
had some thought-provoking and reflective conversation.
It still amazes me how
much knowledge and insight everyone brings to the table. For example, Michael
and Kristen took an online archaeological class that covered Masada and Qumran
before coming on the trip. And Mary & Fr. Ken (and our guide, Youssef) are
like walking encyclopedias, in the best sense! We are all so very blessed to be
here…
And thus begins our
final day…
- - - - -
Post-excursion/Pre-dinner
Reflection:
I have to keep this
short because we need to be down to dinner in a few minutes. Today was our last
day, and emotions are mixed (understandably so!)…
We began our day at
the Mount of Olives and the Pater Noster (Our Father) chapel. It was neat to
see so many different inscriptions of the Our Father in many different
languages (much like the Magnificat and Benedictus) – Youssef said there were
over 160 languages!
Then, we walked the
Palm Sunday Road down to Dominus Flevit (“the Lord Wept”) – we could look out
over Jerusalem (incredible view of the Dome of the Rock!), and below us were
many many tombstones – the Jews believe that when the Messiah comes the final
judgment will begin at the entry of the Beautiful/Eastern gate (which was just
opposite us). It remains closed because it will be opened at the Final
Judgment…
While up there,
Youssef showed us the tree with the type of thorns that would have been used
for Jesus’ crown on Good Friday. Karen touched some of them, noting that the
dried out ones were very sturdy and hurt to touch. I can’t imagine them
cramming that on Jesus’ head!
The Garden of
Gethsemane was breathtaking and powerful. The olive trees (some of them) were
over 2,000 years old – therefore, they would have been around at the time of
Jesus. Youssef called them the “silent witnesses” – I thought that was
meaningful image.
We had Mass at the
Church of All Nations – it was designed and built by Antonio Barluzzi to appear
from the inside as if it were always nighttime (to simulate Holy Thursday
evening). For example, alabaster was used for the windows to block out some of
the sunlight.
I was blessed to
proclaim the Psalm – it was a little intimidating, though, because behind the
divider of where we said Mass (around the stone on which Jesus asked God to let
the cup pass from Him), other visitors and tourists had gathered to watch our
Mass. (I just stayed focused on our group – that made it better/easier.)
Time to cut this short
– off to our last dinner in Israel…
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