Notes from the Holy Land Feb 24, Tuesday
This morning we left the hotel at 5:30am in order to be at the Church of the Nativity by 6:00am.
We had a little rain overnight so the Manger Square was especially clean and shiny with the sunrise.
With the church bells ringing, we bowed down and walked through the Door of Humility into the 4th century church built over the cave where Jesus was born.
As we approached the entrance to the grotto, there was a Greek Mass being celebrated with a priest and a few faithful facing the ornate iconostasis adorned with centuries old images lit by candlelight.
We proceeded down to the place that marks the place where Jesus was born where we found only 2 other pilgrims in prayer.
I knelt down to touch the stone and say a prayer for family and friends and for pilgrims traveling here and to Holy Places around the world.
We were so blessed to have time to pray and reflect in a place that is usually packed with people, sometimes waiting over an hour in line just to have a few seconds before being ushered out.
We walked next door to St Katherine’s Church which is built over several caves, one of which is now the Chapel of St Gerome, the fourth century priest who translated the bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin.
We walked through the cloisters and back out to the Square and returned to the hotel for a hot breakfast and coffee.
After breakfast we headed to Ein Karem where Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth.
He was gracious enough to meet with us to talk about the shrine and the safety of Pilgrim‘s traveling to the area on camera, but only if I conducted the interview in Spanish, lol.
At the Church of the Visitation we met with Fr. Rafael Subé, originally from Guadalajara, Mexico.
So I hope people will forgive me if they can’t quite understand me, especially the Spanish-speaking community, but I know they will definitely understand Fr. Rafael when he enthusiastically invited pilgrims to come to the Holy Land and assured everyone that the areas visited by groups are very safe.
From here, we drove the short distance to the Church of St. John the Baptist.
Upon Mary’s greeting to her elderly cousin Elizabeth. the unborn child, the prophet John the Baptist, leapt in Elizabeth’s womb, signaling his recognition of Jesus even before birth.
At this church there is a seminary with a current enrollment of 26 seminarians and novitiates, some from the United States.
We were invited to have lunch with Fr Severino, director of the Casa Nova Guesthouse in Ein Karem, and onetime personal chef to Pope John Paul II.
After such a delightful lunch, we took a much needed siesta before regrouping in the early evening to join the local Catholic Journeys team for a fantastic dinner in a local restaurant near Shepherds Field dedicated to St Charbel.
Now it’s time for a good night’s sleep, to be ready for another exciting day tomorrow.
Shalom,
Jimmy
