tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25778808285897880892024-03-14T08:13:27.056+00:00A Certain HopeBrother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-75177359889707906702018-12-06T19:56:00.003+00:002018-12-06T19:56:28.055+00:00The Latin version of 'Shine, Jesus, shine'<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(It's surprisingly difficult to find this on the internet, despite the fact that it has been around for a number of years. So I thought I'd post it up here, as my good deed for the day.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Domine, lux amoris tuae fulget, </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">fulgens in medias tenebras; </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Jesu, Lux Mundi, nobis adfulge, </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">libera nos per veritatem quam nunc nobis adfers. </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Adfulge mihi, adfulge.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b></b><i></i><i></i><b></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><em class="text-italics" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Fulge, Jesu, fulge. Terram hanc Patris gloria imple. <br style="font-style: italic;" />Arde, Spiritus, arde. Corda nostra accende.<br style="font-style: italic;" />Flue, Flumen, flue gratia et misericordia gentes inunda. </em></span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em class="text-italics" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Domine, emitte verbum tuum et fiat lux.</em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Domine, veni ex tenebris in conspectum </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">numinosum tuumet in lucem tuam. </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Per sanguinem licet mihi ut splendorem tuum intrem. </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Me perscrutare, me tempta, tenebras meas totas consume. </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Adfulge mihi, adfulge.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em class="text-italics" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></em></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em class="text-italics" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fulge, Jesu, fulge. &c..</span></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Sicut splendorem regalem tuum contemplamur, </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">sic vultus nostri exhibeant imaginem tuam, </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">gloriam gloria mutantes, </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">vitae nostrae acta tua, hic reddita, narrent. </span><br style="background-color: transparent; clear: none; color: #333333; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; min-height: 0px; overflow-x: visible; overflow: visible; padding-bottom: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Adfulge mihi, adfulge.</span></span></span><br />
<em class="text-italics" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span></em>
<em class="text-italics" style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fulge, Jesu, fulge. &c..</span></em><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-28106922413423291272018-11-27T15:29:00.000+00:002018-11-27T15:31:43.797+00:00The Holy Land: strange and yet familiar<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It’s hard to
decide what was most important about my nine-month experience living in
Jerusalem. Was it the ways in which the Holy Land was strange or unexpected,
different from other places? Or was it the ways in which it was so ordinary, so
much like what I already know?</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClRTCKtdMhik6xs2Hg4XG-qlJT74b7bLl5bT5ckNK_mz97XO1Ge-xULbssmzY92qW7_wX5BsE-xwYgHu5U8Cm6tBqOdomVT17A0ReZ6ZfqesZAyK4ktenc3A_hF0rpmNNHbYw5mWK_npo/s1600/20180419_112739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClRTCKtdMhik6xs2Hg4XG-qlJT74b7bLl5bT5ckNK_mz97XO1Ge-xULbssmzY92qW7_wX5BsE-xwYgHu5U8Cm6tBqOdomVT17A0ReZ6ZfqesZAyK4ktenc3A_hF0rpmNNHbYw5mWK_npo/s400/20180419_112739.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A mustard tree overlooking the Kidron Valley</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfamiliar but
eye-opening to me was the physicality of the land: the ups and downs of
Jerusalem, where many of the streets are like staircases; the steepness of the
Mount of Olives, which my leg muscles still remember; the deep clefts of the
Kidron and Hinnom valleys; and the sight of Mount Tabor arising alone from the
plain of Jezreel (“one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains” – Jer
46:18). Then there was the shortage of rivers and streams, so strange to an
Englishman, and the closeness of the desert – you only need to go to the Mount
of Olives and look eastwards beyond Bethany to see the first barren hills of
the Judean wilderness. Oddly, because of the return of the rains after six or
seven months of hot drought, the autumn was a time of new life for the grass
and the flowers, a phenomenon that also brings to life the words of the psalm
about the autumn rain covering the bitter valley with blessings. Fiercely
strong midday sunshine meant that even in winter children could be seen playing
in the fountains. The gnarly olive trees are a constant and iconic feature, and
I got a quiet pleasure in using oil pressed from the olives of the friary
garden. I never enjoyed salad so much as I did in the Holy Land, where most of
it, along with the fruit and veg, is fresh and tasty. Last and smallest, but by
no means least among the natural features, were the mustard seeds: so much
smaller than the mustard seeds we’re familiar with, and growing well above
head-height into shrubs with trumpet-shaped yellow flowers, which attract the
shiny blue-black Palestinian sunbird to feed on the nectar.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I never got the
hang of bartering – I probably got ripped off a few times – but it’s a method
that requires you to enter into a relationship with the shopkeeper, rather than
mechanically paying a predetermined price. In the local culture the key factor
is not what you know but who you know. I eventually learnt which people would give
a good price to a poor Franciscan. Family relationships are also very strong
and important. Meanwhile, the obvious religious atmosphere was an unfamiliar
but welcome experience; talking about God is quite normal, and the Muslim calls
to prayer and the Jewish trumpets heralding the Sabbath still echo in my mind.
Going to Masses in Arabic, where God is invoked as ‘Allah’, was an eye-opening
experience. One of my favourite memories is of hearing ‘Laudato Si’ being sung
in Arabic in the Palm Sunday procession.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Less welcome
memories are of the prevalence of checkpoints and guns: it was quite normal to
round a corner in Jerusalem to see a dozen fully-armed police or soldiers
marching towards you. The hostile political atmosphere was unsettling; but I
did realise that it has a lot of similarities with the situation in the time of
the Gospel: then it would have been Roman soldiers patrolling the streets.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of these
strange experiences serve to make the Bible less strange. But there were other
experiences that were almost as strange in their familiarity. My previous
mental image of the Holy Land didn’t really include green fields; but in fact
for nearly half the year it is a ‘green and pleasant land’. During the wet
season the limestone hills of Judea are not dissimilar to the Pennines, and
Galilee in the winter is like the Lake District in the summer. Dry-stone walls and
flocks of sheep also served to remind me of our National Parks. I knew that the
Promised Land was supposed to be a fertile country flowing with milk and honey,
and John’s Gospel tells us that people sat down on green grass when Jesus fed
them with five loaves and two fish; but I wasn’t prepared for how much the
hills around Galilee could look so much like England or Wales. I also wasn’t
prepared for cold nights, needing several layers to keep warm while sleeping.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The people were
in many ways like people anywhere. Children could be seen playing on their
bikes or in the fountains, families would picnic in the parks, and of course
smartphones were everywhere. Staying a night in a Palestinian village, I played
noughts-and-crosses with the children. People enjoy the sunshine and stay out
of the rain if they can, and they laugh and grieve like other people do. Some
people were aloof, some were friendly, and some would go out of their way to
welcome a stranger and help him on his way. I especially remember an Arab, who
couldn’t speak any English, giving me and another friar a lift to the bottom of
Mount Tabor when he saw us waiting at the bus-stop, and even offering to buy us
something to drink. Traffic rules are much the same as at home, apart from
driving on the right.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All the nations
are flowing to Jerusalem, making it strikingly diverse at times; but even that
felt quite familiar to someone who had been living in multicultural London the
previous six years. West Jerusalem and other Jewish areas looked and felt very
much like European or American cities, while the Old City and the Arab areas
were more noticeably Middle Eastern in their culture. But even the latter could
feel very homely. I loved to visit Bethlehem: there was something wonderfully
comforting about the atmosphere there. And Nazareth, once a village of only 200
and now a small city, still feels cosy in its hollow in the hills. The ancient
houses, being half-cave and half-building, are somewhat reminiscent of hobbit
holes. The grotto of the Annunciation was part of one such home, and still
seems homely, despite the big basilica on top of it.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All these
feelings of familiarity make it seem more likely, more believable that miracles
can happen in my own country, if the great events of salvation can happen under
the same blue sky.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Kr1aIeMeYXHYWpR6eArE1l-lXwfT5dtEUjM-IeILFpxrLZ8Plt1ZpNjS7MhCK8_HUqPxACld8sJp93nIvzlEettQqDyueypQajWjw6eq0myg_n5MYD9vt7HyDsUkasvptLVpqR9kjjwL/s1600/2018-02-28-1834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Kr1aIeMeYXHYWpR6eArE1l-lXwfT5dtEUjM-IeILFpxrLZ8Plt1ZpNjS7MhCK8_HUqPxACld8sJp93nIvzlEettQqDyueypQajWjw6eq0myg_n5MYD9vt7HyDsUkasvptLVpqR9kjjwL/s400/2018-02-28-1834.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’m no nearer to
answering the question as to whether the strange or the familiar aspects of my
experiences were the most important. Perhaps they merge into one anyway, as the
initially strange became familiar to me over the nine months I was there. But I
find my thoughts turning again to the unexpected greenness of the grass, so
homely yet the scene of marvelous events. “The green earth, say you? That is a
mighty matter of legend, though you tread it under the light of day!”</span></span></div>
Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-4537991303854168642018-08-04T15:59:00.000+01:002018-08-04T15:59:04.186+01:00The Sabbath is a wonderful thing<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Friday afternoons here in West Jerusalem, the roads slowly get quieter, while behind people's front doors there's a last flurry of activity. Food is prepared for the next 24 hours, and timers are set to switch lights on and off at the necessary times. When the time of sunset arrives a siren sounds, and households light candles and welcome the Sabbath - or 'Shabbat' as it is pronounced in Hebrew.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">n the dusk the streets suddenly become busy again - not with cars, but with people walking to synagogue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's a great silence on Saturday morning, with only the occasional car driven by an Arab or some other Gentile. I've been told that you can safely sit in the middle of the road - but I haven't tried it! Jews walk to further synagogue services, but it's a more spread-out activity than the previous evening. Brits who are my age or older can remember when Sunday mornings were like this: a general quiet, with the only traffic being people heading to or from church (even in my childhood less than half the population would be bothering with that).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As afternoon comes on, things get busier, as families go out for walks or to frequent the parks. The shops remain closed, but some cafes and restaurants are open (staffed by Gentiles, of course!). Again, this is rather what Sundays used to be like in Britain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shabbat-observance isn't just about not shopping or working, however. It also involves switching off from TV, internet, and (gasp!) even your phones for the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of this adds up to make the Sabbath a day different from every other day. Which is a refreshing thing in itself, but is also a reminder of the One Who is totally different and helps to make space for Him for speak. Because of Jesus' criticism of overly-strict Sabbath-observance, we Christians tend to be more relaxed about how we observe the Lord's Day. But Jesus didn't reject the Sabbath itself, and His criticism was not unlike that of other rabbis. From our Jewish brethren we can re-learn something of making a day holy to the Lord. For one thing, I'm training myself to switch off from the internet on Sundays.</span>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-54154544757690107372018-07-28T18:59:00.001+01:002018-07-28T18:59:47.768+01:00The glorious pilgrimage<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm sorry to say, dear pilgrim, that I cannot take you all the way on this last leg of the rosary pilgrimage. But let us go as far as we can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Holy Sepulchre - the Resurrection</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We finished the sorrowful pilgrimage up in the Calvary Chapel, and from there it's only a short distance to the Tomb (or Sepulchre) of Jesus (cf. John 19:41-42), within the same large church. Go down the steps to the ground level and head on past the marble slab on the floor, which marks where Jesus' body was prepared for burial (John 19:40). Alternatively, if you've just entered the church, turn left at the aforementioned marble slab (I'm giving detailed directions here because so many pilgrims get a bit lost, there being no signs in the church). Bearing slightly to the right, you'll come to the 'Edicule', which houses the Empty Tomb.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJNbVTsLMudfiyMSshp5jk8gAXgnnv1C098ixBU7hw7yA7CfnhMplrEABes55JEAHHfBiMlH6tkl38a8gRPabn8cvbCOBAwmvyatfrZwJtg59bPTCpHLIeYHRnv-C01Uipc834qp1toPD/s1600/20180720_120016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCJNbVTsLMudfiyMSshp5jk8gAXgnnv1C098ixBU7hw7yA7CfnhMplrEABes55JEAHHfBiMlH6tkl38a8gRPabn8cvbCOBAwmvyatfrZwJtg59bPTCpHLIeYHRnv-C01Uipc834qp1toPD/s400/20180720_120016.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Edicule, which houses the Empty Tomb</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When the Christians were first able to build a church on this most important site, they didn't do what we would probably do today, which is to preserve the tomb in its original appearance. This was partly because the place had been damaged by the Temple of Jupiter the pagan Romans had plonked on top of it, but also because the ancients had different ideas from us about how to do honour to holy sites. So they quarried away the small hillside, leaving only the rock immediately surrounding the Tomb. This was then encased in an ornate construction, which like the church as a whole had to be rebuilt twice in its history. The result confuses some pilgrims - I've been asked several times, "Excuse me, what's in there?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The proper answer to that question, of course, is "Nothing." Pilgrims come from all over the world to visit the Tomb not because Jesus is there, but because He isn't. If He was there, the Tomb would be no different from the tombs of prophets and holy men that Jews and Muslims visit, rather than the place where everything changed for ever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The queue to visit the Tomb always seems to be longer than that to visit the Rock of Calvary - I guess people prefer the Resurrection to the Cross. A good rule-of-thumb is that if the queue extends about halfway around the Edicule, it might take about an hour to get in. If you have the time and the patience for whatever wait is involved, you come first into an entrance lobby. In the centre of this lobby is a plinth containing a section of the rock that was rolled away from the door of the Tomb. Beyond, through a low opening (mind your head!) is the Tomb proper. A marble slab covers the limestone slab on which Jesus was laid and from which He rose to new life. You're only allowed a few moments there; but take at least one moment to give thanks for your baptism, by which you were buried with Christ and rose with Him to walk in newness of life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mount of Olives - the Ascension</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a climb of about 100m from the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, up to traditional place of the Lord's ascension into heaven. Although that idea of 'ascension' is not to be taken with spatial literalness, as if heaven was actually somewhere 'up there', the hike up the hill helps to underline the metaphorical truth of ascension. (But if you're not fit enough for it, you can take the 275 bus from near the Damascus Gate.)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKXMdUlEwJt6UoTuD1x6RVPHBJa_8vlKrf3VI7bhLd9oHGDC98AxuCQaNDB15qvr8pFlVCxHvsmUbotvNhMzhQ3p6FxPrGWiZYZb9kEu-icEL8Iac00Tl161yqd9Z9iWADABYFDQTp3l1/s1600/2018-03-25-2090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKXMdUlEwJt6UoTuD1x6RVPHBJa_8vlKrf3VI7bhLd9oHGDC98AxuCQaNDB15qvr8pFlVCxHvsmUbotvNhMzhQ3p6FxPrGWiZYZb9kEu-icEL8Iac00Tl161yqd9Z9iWADABYFDQTp3l1/s400/2018-03-25-2090.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going down the Mount of Olives on Palm Sunday</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The view to the east from the Mount of Olives rapidly becomes desert as the land falls towards the Jordan and the further lands of Moab and Ammon, so it was an important vantage point in time of war. To the west, however, is an iconic view of Jerusalem. The golden Dome of the Rock in the middle distance occupies the spot where the Temple stood in Gospel times - an uplifting sight for many a Jewish pilgrim, but a matter of grief for Jesus (Luke 19:41-44). That Temple of stone remained on earth while the Temple of Christ's body went into heaven.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlssDskoIlPDxKlM48xKGl18zgvO8qncjwlqk8vZFObC9pzGvaxZRS6pXe1_kim9FL8fIawIJn_pt9BstX_xuGiNGcsL-y0zxqoblV93FWUIfK2J4uu3htza0-yWh1-FKb43h0KuEjdLFz/s1600/20180517_165402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlssDskoIlPDxKlM48xKGl18zgvO8qncjwlqk8vZFObC9pzGvaxZRS6pXe1_kim9FL8fIawIJn_pt9BstX_xuGiNGcsL-y0zxqoblV93FWUIfK2J4uu3htza0-yWh1-FKb43h0KuEjdLFz/s400/20180517_165402.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Venerating the footprint of Jesus</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Chapel of the Ascension was taken over by the Muslims many centuries ago, and a small mosque still stands by the entrance; but it's open to pilgrims (and the entrance fee compares well with those charged by many Christian-owned holy places). Most of the site remains open to the sky, as originally designed, but the central Dome of the Ascension is closed over. Inside, and puzzlingly off-centre, a section of limestone is exposed. It supposedly bears one of the footprints that Jesus left behind when He ascended from that spot. Two thousand years of pilgrims touching it and kissing it, however, have left any original imprint rather unclear. (The other footprint, by the way, was apparently chiselled out and taken to the Al-Aqsa Mosque over on the Temple Mount.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can usually take as much time as you want to pray here, so long as you leave space for the other visitors coming in and out. This is the place where, in the words of the Exsultet, heaven was wedded to earth. The Ascension does not mean that Jesus parted from us - rather it means He is universally available.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Upper Room - the Coming of the Holy Spirit</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles "returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away; and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying"(Acts 1:12-13). Retracing this route involves going down into the Kidron Valley and then slowly up again to pass south of the Temple Mount and eventually to what is now called Mount Zion, with the dome and clock tower of Dormition Abbey as a landmark.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had previously visited the Upper Room to recall the Last Supper; but now we enter it after remembering the transformative events of the Death and Resurrection of Christ. Like the apostles and the other disciples, we have come to pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although today's Upper Room is almost certainly larger than in those days, the fact that about 120 disciples gathered there indicates that the original room certainly wasn't tiny either.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2y_WzXuTW0y0OMd2Bh1vrXT07NjA-aWTvNs36Q2BYWxykH3NeYSITaHtWLLgNJ4spmVNUQLvaiCbWisl0EoFKJVMx8tkUhvpDKGTWVUTeZz50vlobnND3qNNEqAzacPh9HhQ9j-WXtzd/s1600/20180520_164032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2y_WzXuTW0y0OMd2Bh1vrXT07NjA-aWTvNs36Q2BYWxykH3NeYSITaHtWLLgNJ4spmVNUQLvaiCbWisl0EoFKJVMx8tkUhvpDKGTWVUTeZz50vlobnND3qNNEqAzacPh9HhQ9j-WXtzd/s400/20180520_164032.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating Pentecost in the Upper Room</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before the 1948 War, the place was being used as a mosque, and it still has its <i>mihrab</i> (an alcove indicating the direction of Mecca). On the opposite side of the room is a model of an olive tree, with some branches lopped off and new shoots growing - it presumably refers to St. Paul's image of the Chosen People as an olive tree (Romans 11:17-24).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The day the Holy Spirit came is noted, among other things, for the way in which all the people gathered in Jerusalem at that time were able to hear the disciples praising God in their own language. That miracle is usually seen as signifying the fact that people of all nations would become disciples of Jesus Christ and that the Gospel would be proclaimed in every language on earth. That is now being fulfilled, and even on an ordinary day in the Upper Room you can hear different groups of pilgrims praying and singing in their various languages - an echo of that first Pentecost.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mary's Tomb - the Assumption</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just round the corner from the Garden of Gethsemane, on the way towards the Lions' Gate, the pilgrim can go down to the Tomb of the Virgin. The current church used to be the crypt of a larger church, and you have to descend some stairs even to get to the door of the church, and then down a longer flight of steps into the depths of the earth (as you'll have discovered by now, disabled access isn't really a thing in the Holy Land).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our Lady's tomb is to the right when you reach the bottom. As with her Son's Tomb, the surrounding rock has been quarried away and a small chapel built round it instead. And like her Son's Tomb, this tomb is empty.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKTwFiHqdVcPPpnHM5J7pHePKrhyphenhyphenjhBiFI1OjTY1y6aFOaHazI7TY-5fknC3U1eSio3DJoNeLzu-gmMZc4OeVjCPlnVsXn8erUPqmYkWN7BSW-CQJWdtAn7GaTfRmIpgCB084bhbxIVL6/s1600/20180728_102214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKTwFiHqdVcPPpnHM5J7pHePKrhyphenhyphenjhBiFI1OjTY1y6aFOaHazI7TY-5fknC3U1eSio3DJoNeLzu-gmMZc4OeVjCPlnVsXn8erUPqmYkWN7BSW-CQJWdtAn7GaTfRmIpgCB084bhbxIVL6/s400/20180728_102214.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilgrims praying at Mary's Tomb</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox churches all believe that both the soul and the body of the Blessed Virgin Mary were taken into heaven; but for the details of that there are some different traditions. Some believe that she went up to heaven without dying, like Elijah; but the majority tradition is that she did die first, like her Son. Again, some locate her tomb in Ephesus; but most have her death, burial, and assumption taking place in Jerusalem. My favourite story is the one in which St. Thomas is the only one of the Apostles absent when Mary dies and is buried. On his return to Jerusalem he asks for her tomb to be opened so that he can see her body - but they find the tomb is now empty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In any event, her Assumption is a reminder of how close she was and is to her Son. And it's also a reminder that one day all tombs will be empty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite other similarities, the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tomb of the Virgin is not as busy as that of Jesus, so you might be able to spend a few minutes praying in there. If not, however, there's a place you can sit just outside the tomb, with a partial view inside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Heaven - the Coronation of Our Lady</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our pilgrimage began with Mary, at her home in Nazareth. It will also end with Mary, at her new home in heaven. But not yet. I cannot take you there as I have done for the other places on our pilgrimage. God willing, however, we will meet there one day, when our earthly pilgrimage is ended.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has been good to visit the earthly Jerusalem, "but the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother"(Gal 4:26). "And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars"(Rev 12:1).</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-43004409953877347162018-07-20T13:23:00.000+01:002018-07-20T13:23:04.246+01:00The sorrowful pilgrimage<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now that we have visited the places associated with the joyful and the luminous mysteries, I want to guide you next through the sorrowful mysteries. These are the most geographically limited, only taking 1.3km from beginning to end, but of course their effects are without limit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Gethsemane - the Agony in the Garden</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are two parts to modern Gethsemane: the part which is still a garden, and the part which has a church built on it. Given that we usually the associate the garden with darkness (actual and metaphorical), it can be quite a surprise to come upon it looking pretty in the sunshine. The gnarly olive trees, some of them up to 800 years old, try to look suitably foreboding; but the prevalent sun shining on flowers like hollyhocks and bougainvillea make the place actually rather pleasant. We don't know what it was exactly like 2000 years ago; but there's no reason to suppose it wasn't just as beautiful - a little consolation for the human nature of Jesus in His suffering.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoksP938oGmTwpWJeZ4fg4ZzSYxqxD_R90wV_V7biwiJF5InDaXY3EDfnxrNKERf1u5LCkaU8VCJ_jY40K8fLgSa9p26SV3Gd4dHlsTvMaTDPqCEvM9zfKKrwQ-oV7t4ZoudytmadNlByq/s1600/20180517_175229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoksP938oGmTwpWJeZ4fg4ZzSYxqxD_R90wV_V7biwiJF5InDaXY3EDfnxrNKERf1u5LCkaU8VCJ_jY40K8fLgSa9p26SV3Gd4dHlsTvMaTDPqCEvM9zfKKrwQ-oV7t4ZoudytmadNlByq/s400/20180517_175229.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Garden of Gethsemane in late-afternoon sunshine</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a deliberate attempt to provide a grimmer atmosphere, the church is a darker space, with stained-glass windows that don't let much light through. In front of the altar is a large and mostly flat rock, which is supposed to be the place that Jesus prayed and sweated blood. When I had the privilege of celebrating a Mass there, for a group of American pilgrims, I attempted to startle them by saying that God is 'pro-choice'. But they didn't seem particularly perturbed as I went on to explain that God allowed the disciples to witness something of the agonising choice that Jesus made there in Gethsemane, thus implying the importance of the fact that He did freely choose to undergo His sufferings for our salvation. Behind this lies the mystery of the free will that God gave to all of us. It is the drama of every human story that we have the freedom to choose between good and evil, and it matters drastically which we choose.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Lions' Gate Road - the Scourging and the Crowning with Thorns</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Leaving Gethsemane and crossing the top of the Kidron Valley, we come up a steep road to the Lions' Gate (thus named from the lions carved upon it) to enter the Old City of Jerusalem. With the Temple Mount to the left of us, we continue up the road until we reach the site of the Antonia fortress - one of the main Roman fortresses in Jerusalem and the traditional site for Christ's trial and condemnation before Pontius Pilate. The main part of the fortress to the left is covered by a Muslim school, but to the right is the Franciscan Monastery (sic) of the Flagellation.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqfn5jfYtGyxOb76u-GD14TbhniQx5v4Q3r36jfWvme8dfcwzrukLehqzZkQN9_-tuAU0_ZrmPswgqgkoW17rfwLxTVqRxV9-U4X1Y4f7bULNtB2wDKrnfdjf36_XGAMGgdexqNTYTZ9_/s1600/20180720_111308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCqfn5jfYtGyxOb76u-GD14TbhniQx5v4Q3r36jfWvme8dfcwzrukLehqzZkQN9_-tuAU0_ZrmPswgqgkoW17rfwLxTVqRxV9-U4X1Y4f7bULNtB2wDKrnfdjf36_XGAMGgdexqNTYTZ9_/s400/20180720_111308.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">East window of the Chapel of the Flagellation</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Behind the altar of the church is a stained-glass window depicting the scourging of Jesus. This was a brutal method of punishment, intended to cause open wounds. The severity and duration of it could vary; but when it was a prelude to crucifixion, as in this case, the soldiers probably didn't hold back. Victims sometimes died just as a result of the blood loss.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The crowning with thorns probably happened in the same place as the scourging, so the third sorrowful mystery can also be commemorated in the Chapel of the Flagellation (there is a chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre that is dedicated to the crowning with thorns, but it definitely didn't take place there).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhbXsbg4NzsZkkj9CmGuBIoYcYGxSAEF7Xglb-0f9z_x2gWrWuNYrWBJfrEs9ghtITQ-T8KorGcAhOkjlz9YqijhZrGLnMtYul3V-bOz1wrPTyCySDuoijllfDzlEudH4iB27EWFgJTXK/s1600/20180720_111324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihhbXsbg4NzsZkkj9CmGuBIoYcYGxSAEF7Xglb-0f9z_x2gWrWuNYrWBJfrEs9ghtITQ-T8KorGcAhOkjlz9YqijhZrGLnMtYul3V-bOz1wrPTyCySDuoijllfDzlEudH4iB27EWFgJTXK/s400/20180720_111324.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ceiling of the sanctuary in the Chapel of the Flagellation</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Painful though the crown of thorns would have been, an essential element to this mystery is the mockery. Apparently being taunted by the soldiers and others was a normal part of the process: punishments like crucifixion were a social, not just a physical annihilation. In the nearby Ecce Homo convent there is a Roman stone pavement (about one hundred years too late to be the one mentioned in John's Gospel, however) with engravings on the stones that some people link to the mocking games soldiers would play with the prisoners.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Via Dolorosa - Jesus carries His cross to Golgotha</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFMxxXDhyphenhyphencZu0BwPIxfqXJOwRvxUnevr7KuDF4qtoFot-DrohqTyMSC5DZhDyW2NJ3p62NclK9cwTuaRiXhdPvAmFDUXwxhlW7v-_p_d8MNecYj6HYUOnoSA73R0Ti46wp7bQwfSXZO_p/s1600/20180720_100548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLFMxxXDhyphenhyphencZu0BwPIxfqXJOwRvxUnevr7KuDF4qtoFot-DrohqTyMSC5DZhDyW2NJ3p62NclK9cwTuaRiXhdPvAmFDUXwxhlW7v-_p_d8MNecYj6HYUOnoSA73R0Ti46wp7bQwfSXZO_p/s400/20180720_100548.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
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These pilgrims are just</div>
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leaving the Fifth Station</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From the Chapel of the Condemnation (also in the grounds of the Flagellation Monastery) to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is about 600m through the streets of the Old City. Not a long walk under normal circumstances; but of course an ordeal for someone who has already been scourged and lost a lot of blood and is expected to carry a big lump of wood. The route is marked at irregular intervals by chapels, or sometimes just a bronze plaque, for each traditional Station of the Cross. But because of changes in the buildings over the centuries, closing off the route at a couple of spots, the pilgrim has to back-track a little after both the eighth and ninth stations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The stations probably don't correspond to the actual locations of the events. But it's instructive to note, for example, that Simon of Cyrene is commemorated just at the beginning of a long uphill stretch. It's also instructive how the normal life of the Old City continues more-or-less regardless as we follow our Stations of the Cross: shopkeepers carry on their business and people keep squeezing past the groups of pilgrims on their own way somewhere. It was probably much the same when Jesus and two criminals were being led off for execution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Somewhere about the seventh station is where they would have passed out of the city walls on that first Good Friday, although it is now well within the current walls. Executions and burials had to be outside the city. But only a decade or so after the Crucifixion and Resurrection, King Agrippa expanded the city limits northwards, beginning the construction of what is called the Third Wall. After that, no more executions or burials took place where Jesus had been executed and buried.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Church of the Holy Sepulchre - the Crucifixion</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although the church as a whole is named after the Tomb of Jesus, it also contains the site of His death. Turn immediately right when you enter the church and go up the steep stairs to reach the Chapel of Calvary, which is built on the rocky outcrop where our Lord was crucified (it's not as big a hill as depicted in some films or paintings). The bedrock has been made visible on either side of the main altar in the chapel, and pilgrims can touch the rock through a hole underneath the altar.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfIhDNGDqUljW4VCbkDBYabDtJMXo1ILrJ0vz5ultaNmVU8GzPIS-fiWuYlS6LfRgLSnw8SbHRajsxOBRsvVYgxDFQw4gRa5vARlv-b9MF6dzuJOxmty5LE54batz1qCcx9038w4s_G05/s1600/20180720_120543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfIhDNGDqUljW4VCbkDBYabDtJMXo1ILrJ0vz5ultaNmVU8GzPIS-fiWuYlS6LfRgLSnw8SbHRajsxOBRsvVYgxDFQw4gRa5vARlv-b9MF6dzuJOxmty5LE54batz1qCcx9038w4s_G05/s400/20180720_120543.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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The Chapel of Calvary</div>
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(note the bedrock visible under the glass either side of the altar)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This process of venerating the rock of Calvary (or Golgotha, to give it its Hebrew name) is slightly slowed down by the photo-taking tendencies of the modern pilgrim; but an attendant Orthodox monk keeps that under control and there is generally a much more reverential atmosphere about it than in, for example, the Grotto of the Nativity. Only a few steps away, in other parts of the chapel, people are milling around and guides are explaining things; yet it remains the most sombre place of pilgrimage in the Holy Land, as one would expect, and it's a good place to pray if you can find a spot to do so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Christ's sufferings on the Cross lasted only a few hours; but in His Church He continues to suffer the wound of disunity, among other things. The main Chapel of the Crucifixion is under the care of the Greek Orthodox, while a few metres to the side of it is the Catholic Chapel of the Nailing to the Cross. The Armenian and Coptic Churches also have their stake in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, adding up to a certain counter-witness to the Gospel in the heart of Christendom. Relations between the Churches have improved in recent times; but we still have a long way to go to achieve the unity that Jesus prayed for before His Passion.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOy23ixyVOotDr2HYuilEEHSBlErAEZbF3St0N0V7cu-M3uaKUrugJQIo_oBzNQuri5_MPN8wiwBP5T4Xr6OQD3qvqFnh1DSCwkSTtnTqGOP8TJX5RiA56chTAlNsvL0lcx4z2I2jfH9m/s1600/20180720_121033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOy23ixyVOotDr2HYuilEEHSBlErAEZbF3St0N0V7cu-M3uaKUrugJQIo_oBzNQuri5_MPN8wiwBP5T4Xr6OQD3qvqFnh1DSCwkSTtnTqGOP8TJX5RiA56chTAlNsvL0lcx4z2I2jfH9m/s400/20180720_121033.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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The marble slab marks the spot where Jesus' body was prepared for burial</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-56697372576996519162018-07-14T09:06:00.000+01:002018-07-14T09:09:42.286+01:00The luminous pilgrimage<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ready for the next stage of the Rosary Pilgrimage? Today we visit the places associated with the luminous mysteries of the rosary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>River Jordan - the Baptism of Jesus</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's about 1200m almost straight downhill from Jerusalem to the bottom of the Jordan Valley. The land gets rapidly drier as you pass into the rain shadow of the Judaean Mountains, and it's effectively desert before you get to "The Inn of the Good Samaritan", which is roughly halfway down the road. So when we're told that "all of Jerusalem" went out to John the Baptist at the Jordan (Mark 1:5), that involved crossing this desert. It wasn't a casual journey. But at least they didn't have to contend with the minefields that now block off most of the river - only one road leads through them to the Baptism site.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNwnwNTv-CsEXdRljPSyK9Lcn4MnJZuYgPP-PU-Y1d5ZFCr_8Mc8TMxLVq-EXSxg2dNXUJKdpFOYwbJyApMOIiCjJTrVwyILzAoBf0QiVkB5cX3_-3QHA4OzKRU4z14C4QZdF1nq2pZnp/s1600/baptism-site-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="320" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNwnwNTv-CsEXdRljPSyK9Lcn4MnJZuYgPP-PU-Y1d5ZFCr_8Mc8TMxLVq-EXSxg2dNXUJKdpFOYwbJyApMOIiCjJTrVwyILzAoBf0QiVkB5cX3_-3QHA4OzKRU4z14C4QZdF1nq2pZnp/s400/baptism-site-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking across the Jordan to the pilgrims on the eastern side</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another difference from Bible times is that increasing water use by Israel, Palestine, and the Kingdom of Jordan has made the lower reaches of the Jordan River little more than a large drainage ditch. The resulting murky waters don't really communicate the idea of cleansing which is part of baptismal symbolism, and I for one did not feel inclined to take a dip. But many pilgrims do decide to re-enact or renew their baptism - and some are actually baptised here - so there are always at least a few white-robed people going into the water, either on the Palestinian or on the Jordanian side, if not both. One or two Israeli soldiers keep a discreet eye on what is, after all, an international border.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although the cleansing significance of baptism is somewhat obscured, the significance of the location remains. As I have noted before, the fact that Jesus was baptised at the lowest point on Earth is quite symbolic. The proximity of Jericho also reminds us that it was around here that the Israelites crossed over the river into the Promised Land, after journeying in the desert.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Kafr K</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">anna - Jesus changes water into wine</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7RW9aTvcuc01YiexNShOfNaV_EV0mwCHM63Rn2AfRagp4WilH9KdiksbtUnh_w6V6u3nto_SPCsPJmuZCCUejTmgheRpBq27IXF3mXOx58KmPHflXEO-J-oJzwqvmx_J8NkoQC5cP6dM/s1600/2018-02-10-1697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7RW9aTvcuc01YiexNShOfNaV_EV0mwCHM63Rn2AfRagp4WilH9KdiksbtUnh_w6V6u3nto_SPCsPJmuZCCUejTmgheRpBq27IXF3mXOx58KmPHflXEO-J-oJzwqvmx_J8NkoQC5cP6dM/s400/2018-02-10-1697.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A stone water jar</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is some dispute over the actual location of the town of Cana; but the current 'official' holder of the title (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qana#Biblical_controversy" target="_blank">so long as you don't ask Lebanese Christians</a>) is Kafr Kanna, only a few kilometres from Nazareth. Certainly it makes sense that it would be somewhere near Nazareth, given the presence of at least one Nazarene family at the wedding there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are two churches - one Catholic and one Orthodox - commemorating the miracle that Jesus worked at the wedding feast. I think neither church tries to claim that it's on the actual site of that party; the nearest they get to a direct link is that they both display first-century stone jars, as described in John's account of the event. Given that there were six of these jars and each jar held "twenty or thirty gallons"(John 2:6), it's possible to work out that Jesus 'produced' somewhere between 730 and 1,100 bottles of wine. So either it was a very big party or Jesus was being abundantly generous (I favour the latter interpretation).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The entrance to the Orthodox church is on the main road. The Catholic church is down a back street and is easier to miss; but you know you're getting near it when you see shops selling 'Cana wine'. Married couples on pilgrimage often renew their wedding vows in this church.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Capernaum and the Mount of the Beatitudes - the Proclamation of the Kingdom</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Jesus began His preaching ministry, He moved from Nazareth to make His base in Capernaum, on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. It is specifically mentioned as the location for some events in the Gospels, including the healing of Simon Peter's mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31). When you enter Capernaum now, the location of Peter's house is immediately apparent by the church poised above it like a UFO that has just landed. This slightly strange architecture is designed to leave the ancient ruins both intact and visible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not that there is a shortage of ancient ruins - large areas of the town have been excavated. It seems to have been only about 200m across, so it was probably not much of an exaggeration when we are told that "the whole city gathered around the door" of Peter's house (Mark 1:33).</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSn6vdXK2lHxlTXMmsIPuZ88MJigfnmQJ7Qn6Kr-p06IhO6U5RASyGARZsK60hlQW7hnkWUXZZ2vv8GLXGRnEwqDtlWZqJxVG1CPYZhxbIOYtB4jidyEXeTYJtOS7bNzTI-TtNrPpI9lT/s1600/20180410_164100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSn6vdXK2lHxlTXMmsIPuZ88MJigfnmQJ7Qn6Kr-p06IhO6U5RASyGARZsK60hlQW7hnkWUXZZ2vv8GLXGRnEwqDtlWZqJxVG1CPYZhxbIOYtB4jidyEXeTYJtOS7bNzTI-TtNrPpI9lT/s400/20180410_164100.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Capernaum synagogue - the darker stones at the bottom</div>
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are the foundations of the synagogue that Jesus preached in</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Standing out amongst the ruins is an impressive limestone synagogue. It was built in the fourth or fifth century; but at its base you can see the basalt foundations of the first-century synagogue - presumably the one in which Jesus preached. It was here, for example, that He identified Himself as the Bread of Life (John 6:24-59).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On one of my visits to Capernaum a storm from the east came across the Sea of Galilee, reminding us of the time Jesus calmed the wind and the waves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Sermon on the Mount, and the Beatitudes in particular, can be seen as manifesto or even a Constitution for the Kingdom of God, so the Mount of the Beatitudes is an alternative location for remembering the third luminous mystery. It's only a couple of kilometres along the Galilee coast from Capernaum.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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A possible site of the Sermon on the Mount,</div>
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overlooking the Sea of Galilee</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A church at the top of the hill, surrounded by beautiful gardens, commemorates the Beatitudes. But some think that Jesus actually gave His most famous sermon further down the hill, on a shelf of land that is high enough to fit Matthew's account of Jesus going "up on the mountain"(Matt 5:1), but also matches Luke's description whereby Jesus "came down and stood on a level place"(Luke 6:17). In any event, this location is among my favourites for its simple beauty and for the fact that a church hasn't been slapped on top of it, which makes it easier to imagine the original occasion. The space is big enough for a large crowd of people; but small enough that Jesus could be heard clearly, without a "Blessed are the cheese-makers" incident.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mount Tabor - the Transfiguration</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Standing somewhat apart from the other mountains of Galilee, Mount Tabor rises about 400m above the surrounding plain. Traditionally identified as the place of the Transfiguration, it certainly fits the description of "a high mountain [where they could be] apart by themselves"(Mark 9:2). I don't know what the vegetation was like in Gospel times; but now the mountain is mostly covered with trees, although they get a bit scrub-like towards the peak.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Buses and coaches are not normally allowed up the winding road to the top, so large groups of pilgrims have to be dropped off at a small bus station on the lower slopes, from where they can pile into the minibuses that shuttle up and down the mountain all day. Reasonably fit pilgrims with time on their hands can choose to emulate Jesus and the disciples and walk up instead - either along the road or by the footpath that goes straight up through the woods (as for most other paths in Israel, the way-markers are painted on the rocks).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Like many other churches in the Holy Land, the Basilica of the Transfiguration is of fairly recent construction (within the past century or so) but on the remains of older churches. It has a nice mosaic of the Transfiguration, and chapels dedicated to Moses and Elijah. Attached to the church are a couple of viewing platforms, from which one can see across a lot of Galilee and beyond. The wide plain immediately below the Mount is the Valley of Jezreel.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise as seen from Mount Tabor</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On one visit I was privileged to stay the night at the Franciscan friary there. Once the gates are closed in the evening it becomes very quiet - the only habitations are the friary and the Greek Orthodox monastery just below the peak. I could understand why Jesus took the disciples there for a time of prayer, as the cool evening breeze blew past and the busy human world seemed far away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Upper Room - the Last Supper</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although it is currently a little way outside the Zion Gate, the site of the Last Supper was originally within the walls of the city. For some reason that no one seems sure of, the Ottoman rebuilding of the walls omitted to include the Upper Room - despite the fact that it was being used as a mosque at the time. The place itself has been thoroughly rebuilt at least twice during the last 2000 years, so nobody tries to claim that it is the actual room in which Jesus ate with the Twelve (that would have been rather smaller, for one thing). But it is almost certainly in the right place. And the surrounding buildings help to retain the feel of the original place, which was in a crowded suburb of Jerusalem.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to the Upper Room (or the Coenaculum)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are usually plenty of people in the neighbourhood, because there is also a synagogue on the ground floor, centered on the 'Tomb of David' (it almost certainly isn't his tomb, but never mind), which draws Jews and sometimes Muslims to visit. This is in addition, of course, to the Christian pilgrims visiting the floor above.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Due to the vagaries of history, the place is currently under the control of the Israeli government. Sadly, this means that the Eucharist cannot be celebrated in the place where it was instituted. Formal prayer services are allowed, however, on Holy Thursday, Pentecost, and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and informal prayer is allowed at all other times - so you can pray your rosary, no problem!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We will return to the Upper Room in a later post, when considering the third glorious mystery.</span>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-61911694515001742542018-07-09T13:38:00.000+01:002018-07-09T13:55:31.162+01:00The joyful pilgrimage<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The 'Rosary Pilgrimage' concept also provides a useful template for sharing some of my experiences of the Holy Land with you, dear reader. So in this blog post I'm going to say a little something about each of the places associated with the joyful mysteries of the rosary. The other sets of mysteries will be covered in following posts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Nazareth - place of the Annunciation</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back when the angel Gabriel appeared to a young lady called Mary, Nazareth was an obscure little town, of which someone said, "Can anything good come from there?"(John 1:46). The population was maybe 400 or 500. Now it is the largest city of Galilee, with a population of about 76,000 - mostly Arabs. At 347m it is considerably higher than the Sea of Galilee (-215m), but lower than Jerusalem (754m). Hence the Bible speaks of Jesus going up to Jerusalem and down to Galilee.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some remains of the ancient houses lie in the shadow of the huge Basilica of the Annunciation, and it can be seen that they were constructed on top of and/or in front of caves in the limestone rock. These help to make sense of the fact that the traditional site of the Annunciation is a cave - because such spaces were actually part of people's houses (it also makes me think of hobbit-holes, which is not entirely irrelevant). This particular cave or grotto is now part of the lower level of the twentieth-century basilica, and clustered about with some remains of the Byzantine and Crusader churches.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pilgrim praying in front of the Annunciation Grotto</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is a little disappointing, even if also convenient for the pilgrim, that there is rarely much of a queue to pray at the Grotto of the Annunciation - unlike the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which often has a queue of two or more hours. For most people the place of the birth is more significant; but it was in Nazareth that God first became a human being - an event in the history of the universe only comparable with His Resurrection thirty-something years later. Because of the relative lack of pilgrims, one can take time praying in front of the Grotto, contemplating the Incarnation, and adding a little note of thanks to the young lady who said "Amen" to God's loving plan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ein Karem - the Visitation</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In his account of Mary's visit to her relative Elizabeth, St Luke writes of "a town in the hill country of Judea"(Luke 1:39). Tradition has identified this town with Ein Karem, which is now a village just outside western Jerusalem. My first impression when I walked out there is that it fits the description of 'hill country'. In fact it's quite a pretty location, popular with Jerusalemites for an afternoon out.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hill country of Judea, as seen from the Church of the Visitation</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Church of the Visitation sits on a hillside a little way above the village centre, with a view across the valley that probably hasn't changed much since Mary (with Jesus on board) came calling. On the way up one passes "Mary's Spring": given that she stayed three months with Elizabeth, we can be sure she got water from it many times (assuming tradition has got the location right). Although pilgrims might content themselves with visiting the lower chapel of the church, which is supposedly the site of Elizabeth and Zechariah's house, the upper church is beautiful to see, and likewise its garden.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Bethlehem - the Nativity</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once again we find the key location is in a cave/grotto (and <a href="http://www.gkc.org.uk/gkc/books/everlasting_man.html#chap-II-i" target="_blank">G. K. Chesterton expounds on the significance of that</a> better than I ever could). But unlike what we saw in Nazareth, the place of Christ's birth is usually far from peaceful. The birth of a child is easier for people to relate to than the unseen moment of conception, so people flock in greater numbers to Bethlehem. The queue can often be two or more hours long. And once people have slowly shuffled forward for all that time, squeezing one by one through the bottleneck that is the grotto's entrance, the excitement cannot be contained and prayerful reverence is a lost cause. The pilgrims push forward to touch the star in the ground that marks the spot of the first Christmas, chattering to each other and asking each other to take photos of them (an extra complication that modern times have brought).</span></span><br />
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Entering through</div>
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the Door of Humility</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few feet away there is also the manger where the God-child was laid - a stone trough in a slightly lower alcove. For this as well the pilgrims push forward to touch it and to take photos (even when Mass is being celebrated in the alcove, as I discovered).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I console myself with the thought that this is reality and that Jesus didn't come to be in a nicely-controlled, pious environment. We often depict the shepherds kneeling reverently before the baby Jesus; but they just as likely burst in upon the scene shouting with excitement, before proceeding to make cooing noises at Jesus while competing with each other to tell Mary and Joseph about the angels that had appeared to them. But at least they didn't take selfies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Grotto of the Nativity aside, the church built over it can claim to be the oldest intact church in the Holy Land, and one of the oldest in the world. All the other churches in the region were destroyed in the Persian invasion of the early seventh century; but the Basilica of the Nativity was spared when the invaders spotted a mosaic of the Magi (aka the Three Kings) which depicted them in traditional Persian dress. My favourite feature is the Door of Humility: this main entrance was originally made smaller to stop the disrespectful from riding horses into the church, but the fact that one has to stoop low to go in has come to symbolise the humility of the Son of God in becoming one of us.</span><br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Temple Mount - the Presentation and the Finding in the Temple</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two mysteries of the rosary take place in the Temple: the presentation of Jesus as a first-born son, forty days after His birth, and then His truant episode about twelve years later. In addition, the Temple was of course the centre of Jewish religion and Jesus frequently visited it, prayed in it, and later also taught in it.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4C6-vjZD4mdBR0Xpx8CqbkCXlYEhuqCyA3AuKYjzlXxuf4XaatTauRePI1W29Vgg_YjnldAIRebWFL5vMJ8dkVYhvXID1gxwH6edjoqiE5utb8fHlO0aVDm76gDP2DyHa_thbWv002ulE/s1600/20180422_152407+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1600" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4C6-vjZD4mdBR0Xpx8CqbkCXlYEhuqCyA3AuKYjzlXxuf4XaatTauRePI1W29Vgg_YjnldAIRebWFL5vMJ8dkVYhvXID1gxwH6edjoqiE5utb8fHlO0aVDm76gDP2DyHa_thbWv002ulE/s400/20180422_152407+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A scale model of the Temple</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">After the comprehensive destruction by the Romans, and then the Muslim takeover of the site centuries later, all that remains of the Temple is some of the outer supporting walls - mostly famously the portion known as the Western Wall. The dimensions of the site, however, are much the same as they were, and it is a large, beautiful, park-like space. The central positioning of the iconic Dome of the Rock roughly corresponds to the Holy of Holies, with an inner plaza and a surrounding outer area roughly corresponding to the holier inner courts of the Temple and the outer Court of the Gentiles. So with a bit of imagination one can visualise the two events we are considering. (<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">A caution for any pilgrim who wishes to pray these mysteries of the rosary on site: any overt non-Muslim prayer is forbidden.)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The presentation of Jesus probably took place in the Court of the Women, that being the closest that Mary could get to the Holy Place. The finding of Jesus among the teachers of the Law may well have been somewhere in the Court of the Gentiles, perhaps among the outer colonnades where people could conveniently gather to talk and debate. Even now it is common to see groups of Muslim children with their teachers.</span><br />
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<br />Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-81449753990447137672018-07-03T19:00:00.001+01:002018-07-03T19:00:25.113+01:00The Rosary Pilgrimage Route<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To set myself some sort of interesting target for my nine months here in the Holy Land, I decided early on that I wanted to visit all the locations of the mysteries of the rosary and pray the relevant decade in each. In order.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That would be very difficult to achieve on an ordinary pilgrimage, because it involves going up and down the country at least twice.* A</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">s it happened, I needed three different trips to Galilee to get through the joyful and the luminous mysteries.</span><br />
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At the Church of the Transfiguration,</div>
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on Mount Tabor</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On my first visit north I was able to start things off by praying a decade at the grotto of the Annunciation in Nazareth. But only on returning to Jerusalem could I do the next mystery, at the Church of the Visitation in Ein Karem just outside Jerusalem. Then it was Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus, and the site of the Temple for the mysteries of the Presentation and the Finding in the Temple.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On my second visit to Galilee we went via the baptism site at the Jordan River, meaning that I could kick off the luminous mysteries. But we didn't visit the three relevant sites in Galilee in the necessary order, so I had to content myself with praying the second luminous mystery in Cana. It was only when I accompanied my parents to Galilee that I could do the third and fourth luminous mysteries (at Capernaum and Mount Tabor, respectively).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The remaining luminous mystery, all the sorrowful mysteries, and most of the glorious mysteries took place in or near central Jerusalem, so the rest of this Rosary Pilgrimage seems easy. I did all the sorrowful mysteries this morning, in one mini-pilgrimage. The only practical difficulty is the final glorious mystery, which takes place in heaven... So I can't completely finish my pilgrimage in this life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I said, doing the rosary in the right order would not be feasible for an ordinary pilgrimage. But the mysteries of the rosary provide a good list of holy sites to visit - in whatever order is practical. Many pilgrimages try to fit in too much, and this is one way of focussing on what's really important in the story of our salvation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">*</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">For those who aren't familiar with the 'mysteries' of the rosary, here they are (with their locations):</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Joyful mysteries - the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary (Nazareth), the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth (Ein Karem), the Birth of Jesus (Bethlehem), the Presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple (Jerusalem), and the Finding of the boy Jesus in the Temple (Jerusalem).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Luminous mysteries - the Baptism of Jesus (Jordan River), the Wedding Feast (Cana), the Proclamation of the Kingdom (Capernaum and/or the Mount of the Beatitudes), the Transfiguration (Mount Tabor), and the Last Supper (Jerusalem).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Sorrowful mysteries - the Agony of Jesus in the Garden (Gethsemane, Mount of Olives), the Scourging of Jesus (Jerusalem), His Crowning with Thorns (Jerusalem), the Way of the Cross (Jerusalem), the Crucifixion (Jerusalem).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Glorious mysteries - the Resurrection (Jerusalem), the Ascension (Mount of Olives), the Coming of the Holy Spirit (Jerusalem), the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven (Gethsemane, Mount of Olives), and the Crowning of the Virgin Mary as Queen of heaven and earth (Heaven).</span></div>
</span>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-85527628773689190182018-06-08T08:28:00.001+01:002018-06-08T08:28:52.230+01:00Going underground<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the late 8th and early 7th centuries B.C., Jerusalem was threatened by invasion from Assyria. So to prepare for the expected siege, King Hezekiah had a tunnel made to take water from the Gihon Spring into the city. Which sounds simple enough, except that meant his men had to chisel their way through 500 metres of rock with nothing in the way of powered equipment. Two teams followed a winding route towards each other and met in the middle, adding the extra puzzle of how they managed to keep tunneling in the right direction without so much as a compass. It's also impressive that the difference in height from one end to the other is only 30cm - another sign of precision work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However the Jews of old did it, the tunnel is still there, and the waters of the spring still flow through it. For the small cost of an entry ticket, tourists and pilgrims can follow this underground stream to the Pool of Siloam. It is somewhat surprising that visitors are left to do this unsupervised. The tunnel gets quite narrow at some points, and it could be quite problematic if someone had a panic attack or some other accident somewhere in the middle, 250m from any help. Perhaps they rely on the fact that there are always people passing through.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hezekiah's Tunnel</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, I'm not complaining - it was good fun to wade the length of Hezekiah's Tunnel, in the company of Br. Pawel Teperski (who took this photo of me). It took us about half an hour - surprisingly long, but wading slowed us down, as did a group of Israeli schoolchildren whom we caught up with. There wasn't anything much more Indiana-Jonesey than that, I'm afraid: no blades suddenly protruding from the walls, no rolling boulders, no crocodiles, not even any snakes. But I recommend it as an interesting diversion from the normal round of holy places and ancient ruins that a Jerusalem pilgrimage involves. Just so long as you're not prone to claustrophobia.</span><br />
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Pool of Siloam</div>
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(rather smaller than in Biblical times)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-45174039770002085482018-06-06T08:13:00.000+01:002018-06-06T08:13:31.883+01:00Speaking in many tongues<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For the past couple of weeks my laptop has been languishing in the dread grip of <a href="http://www.thecomputercellar.com/windows-10-1803-upgrade-issues-the-black-desktop-of-death-and-how-to-fix-it/" target="_blank">'The Black Desktop of Death'</a>. So now that I've wrestled free from it (albeit with the loss of most of my apps and settings), I have some catching up to do on computer-related matters, including this blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">More than a fortnight after the event, therefore, I'm reporting on the experience of Pentecost here in Jerusalem. As with many other liturgical events here, the real buzz is in getting to celebrate it in The Place Where It Actually Happened. In the case of the Cenacle (aka, the Upper Room) it's extra special because the Israeli authorities only allow Christian services there on a few occasions in the year - Pentecost unsurprisingly being one of them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another bonus this year was the coincidence of the Catholic observance of Pentecost with the Jewish observance of the same feast - although they call it by its Hebrew name, Shavuot. At the time of Jesus the feast was a celebration of God giving the Law (the Torah) on Mount Sinai, which is why so many Jews had gathered in Jerusalem on the day when the Holy Spirit came and gave us another, even bigger thing to celebrate.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Old Law was written on tablets of stone; but the New Law is written on human hearts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The current Upper Room is probably bigger than the one that the disciples of Jesus were gathered in; but it's still not a large space and probably less than two hundred of us were there for the permitted celebration - Second Vespers of Pentecost - late on the Sunday afternoon. There was a lot of singing and processing around (the Franciscans of the Holy Land like to make the most of these occasions), but the best bit for me was when we prayed the Lord's Prayer, each one of us in our mother tongue. The resulting babble of languages, all raised in prayer to God, was a non-miraculous sign echoing the miraculous sign of that Pentecost day nearly two thousand years ago. On that occasion the Holy Spirit made it so that all the visiting Jews heard the disciples of Jesus speaking in their own native languages. Now the Holy Spirit gathers from the nations disciples of Jesus, each with their mother tongue. Both events are a sign that the Gospel is for all peoples of the Earth.*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Overall, an uplifting experience. But I must mention one discord: some Jews were unhappy with our celebration. There was one venerable-looking Orthodox Jew standing outside the entrance with a little poster telling us that holding our services in the room above a synagogue "is forbidden". The ground floor of the building, you see, was transformed into a synagogue in 1948, on the basis of a medieval tradition that the tomb of King David is there. When this aggrieved Jew heard me speaking English, he backed up his poster by pointing back down the lane and saying, "You have a church down there - please go and pray there. We've suffered enough from you." Luckily for me, I happened to have been speaking to a more ecumenically-minded Jew, so I was able to leave the two of them remonstrating with each other. But it was yet another reminder of the jockeying for space that mars life in the Holy Land, and something of a counter-sign to the universality of the Gospel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">* </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial","helvetica",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">nd possibly for peoples of other planets, if such peoples exist and are in need of redemption. But that's a story for another day.</span></span></span></span>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-52998561146387456262018-05-15T15:44:00.000+01:002018-05-15T15:44:15.453+01:00The High King<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was going to simply write something about the experience of celebrating the Ascension at the place where it happened. But I am grieved by yesterday's massacre of Palestinians at the Gaza border and by the triumphalist theatrics accompanying the new American embassy here in Jerusalem, so I'm bringing that into my musings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unlike those parts of the world where the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus is transferred to the Sunday, we celebrated it on the Thursday, its proper day. I went up there by bus, because I was going with someone for whom the climb up the Mount of Olives would be too much. And the fact that Jesus chose to ascend from a high place is not insignificant in itself, because He could just as easily have ascended from down in the valley. Because the disciples were able to travel the first bit of the Ascension with Him, it reminds us that we are also on our way up to heaven - we're just taking a bit longer about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives was taken over by the Muslims centuries ago; but this once a year they allow us to celebrate Masses there. I was there for the main Mass, celebrated by the Franciscans of the Holy Land. I hadn't arranged to concelebrate; but as it turned out there wouldn't have been room for me anyway, because all the concelebrants had to pile into the small chapel, leaving the rest of us out in the courtyard. As it turned out, however, I appreciated being under the open sky while we remembered Jesus going up to heaven. In fact, in Byzantine times the chapel was open to the sky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many homilies/sermons on the Feast of the Ascension dwell on the fact that Jesus going into heaven was not a going away from us, but in fact making Himself available to all. As I once heard it put, if Jesus had stayed on earth, we'd only get to speak to Him by phoning His secretary for an appointment!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In ancient thinking, the heavens were not a place disconnected from earthly affairs, but rather a place to have influence on earthly affairs. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me," Jesus said to the apostles (Matt 28:18). Everything and everyone comes under his kingship.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which brings me to the political and tragic situations here in the Holy Land. As with any other cases of death and suffering caused by human injustice and hatred, it is hard to see where in all this Jesus is exercising His kingship. But as He said to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest"(John 18:36). Which is not say that His kingdom does not include this world, but that it is not the worldly kind. Kingdoms and nations as we know them keep order by force; but Jesus eschews that. Even now, with all His authority in heaven and on earth, He does not forcefully bring an end to war, nor does He correct unjust political situations. Even now, it seems, His approach is the same as it was on the Cross - to let it all happen and thus transform it. In all these things, the Resurrection is our only hope.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">God is not uninterested in political situations. It is part of His will for us that we should work together for the common good, and through the prophets He is critical of injustice and of failure to help the poor. St Paul tells us, however, that when God determined the boundaries of the nations, it was "so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him"(Acts 17:27).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">From the perspective of eternity, nations and political systems barely exist. But human souls are immortal, and they are the primary interest of our High King. He works in the souls of those who make peace and who love their enemies. That is where His kingdom is growing, and we can see glimpses of it in the acts of goodness and kindness amongst the evil and suffering.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To conclude, in the context of yesterday's massacre at the Gaza border, I am reminded of </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">something from "The Last Battle" by C. S. Lewis: in the scene where the inhabitants of Narnia's world all come up to the stable door, where they either go in or shy away in fear from Aslan, it is briefly mentioned that one of the people who goes in was a dwarf who had participated in a massacre of the Talking Horses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Musings, just sorrowful, incomplete musings. I have some related musings about "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar...", which will appear in the not too distant future.</span></div>
Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-70332983856900839222018-05-11T12:18:00.002+01:002018-05-11T12:18:16.072+01:00The call of the desert<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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The patient beast that bore the</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best experiences are often the unexpected ones. Like when one of the Salesians contacted me with the question, "Paul, are you doing anything this Sunday?"... That's how I found myself on a bus with a load of Filipinos going down to the Negev desert near Beersheva. They needed a priest to accompany them on their day-trip and celebrate Mass for them after a camel ride, and how could a dutiful Capuchin refuse such a pious request?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The country slowly got drier as we went south, and after a couple of delays (one of them caused by half the bus deciding to make use of a checkpoint's solitary toilet) we arrived at the camel ranch a little way outside the town of Dimona. I'm pretty sure that the animals we were introduced to were technically dromedaries; but the owners consistently referred to them as camels, so that's what I'll call them as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Having got us all mounted, the rancher and his crew led us off along one of the ancient camel trials, for a back-and-forth ride of about an hour. At a couple of points we stopped and circled the camels so that he could explain some things about the beasts and about the land. On one of these occasions he cheekily asked me if I'd read the Bible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The c</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">amel is traditionally called 'the ship of the desert', which I think is not just because they are such a naturally effective form of transport across the desert, but also because of the swaying motion which might make one seasick. I felt comfortable enough; but I was kind of saddle-sore for a few days afterwards - and that was after only an hour's ride.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once we were back at the ranch, we retired to a picnic area where we celebrated Mass, <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 'roof' of our desert 'church'</td></tr>
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under the curious gaze of the pregnant camels in their stable next to us. It was a beautiful place under a tree (the ranch is in a kind of oasis) and of course it's significant that the priesthood of the Old Covenant was instituted in the desert. I preached about how the Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city, but in between the story often passes through the desert. The Israelites and many key individuals (including of course Jesus Himself) spent time in the desert. It's an important environment to meet God, because distractions are reduced and you also become more aware of your smallness and neediness before the Almighty Creator. We all need to find our own 'desert' for this personal meeting with God; but the story is not supposed to end there, because the next stage is to meet God incarnate, to meet Him in human beings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We did, of course, return to the city, and not just any city but the iconic city of Jerusalem, a reminder of the new Jerusalem where the Bible story ends. But before that we had a shared lunch and time to explore a bit - including a walk up a nearby hill to survey the stark beauty of the land.</span></div>
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Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-11576458704540270502018-05-08T12:09:00.002+01:002018-05-08T12:09:18.391+01:00Qumran<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given their significance, it's remarkable that the first of the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered less than 72 years ago. And given that the Bedouin who found the scrolls and those to whom they initially showed the scrolls didn't realise what an amazing find they were, we can be thankful that they survived to inform our understanding of the Bible and of Jesus' times.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNPqiWGQmS1bLJV5Gd38lNV0VMRIRSaHebCH2n0HGODKy5FhIUexi5lrKrbjeXCIbGt7TdDMWZKYyghzUuXzIxss9muUZwcBtHEai_H5BIC1yaxydBSyipg47oVKNlAoVCB-V5Lmo4dNj-/s1600/2018-03-22-1988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNPqiWGQmS1bLJV5Gd38lNV0VMRIRSaHebCH2n0HGODKy5FhIUexi5lrKrbjeXCIbGt7TdDMWZKYyghzUuXzIxss9muUZwcBtHEai_H5BIC1yaxydBSyipg47oVKNlAoVCB-V5Lmo4dNj-/s400/2018-03-22-1988.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
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Looking down at Qumran from a cave</div>
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in the hill above, with the Dead Sea in</div>
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the distance</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The site where the scrolls were found, and which also turned out to be the location of a long-lost Jewish 'monastery', is called Qumran, and we visited it on the way back from Masada (see my previous post). Although also on a plateau, Qumran is considerably lower down than Masada, being more on a foothill of the mountains that surround the Dead Sea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">As with Masada, the desert location makes it impressive that a large community of people could live in such a landscape. It's all the more impressive in the case of Qumran, because the Essenes living there were a Jewish sect for whom ritual purifications were a very important part of life. So in addition to needing water for drinking and agriculture, they also needed a constant supply of water for their baths. In these lower reaches of the mountains, however, there begin to be more springs, as the water that seeped into the limestone of central Israel and Palestine finds it way out again. Still, the Essenes needed to make the most of what was available.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP12VWmFVGBVz_slT0sHV6ugkn51fxQH3EWykclXicFnmUz7okpOsd2YaYpZv0ZswvPf3JJwD30czQXL7hUoGluI9-z2_lwr7qNNdl8GJUyKpi6K6ffcokXBYbQ2U4zkztt0g9500bZrAG/s1600/2018-03-22-2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP12VWmFVGBVz_slT0sHV6ugkn51fxQH3EWykclXicFnmUz7okpOsd2YaYpZv0ZswvPf3JJwD30czQXL7hUoGluI9-z2_lwr7qNNdl8GJUyKpi6K6ffcokXBYbQ2U4zkztt0g9500bZrAG/s400/2018-03-22-2005.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Note the steps going down into this ritual bath and the steps going out on the other side - a similar design to the baptismal fonts of early Christianity</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The comparative inhospitableness of the place was an advantage for the Essenes, in that they wanted to separate themselves from the corruption (as they saw it) of mainstream Judaism at the time. The sect seems to have emerged as a result of the Temple priests compromising with the political powers. Calling them a 'sect' might give the impression that they were a small group; but although the Qumran community itself was fairly small, the Essene movement in general was a big presence in the Judaism of Jesus' time. This factor is one of the things that makes the Dead Sea Scrolls so significant.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3teULkHAiEbi_VTLqxc54pphQoruiByTEBsqrgGkypFK1I-GSewDtw4Bg8Gv1OaZc5k9OCfBpsv_lPeG5o90l7CMU99PTTdJ7QaRLyN3hhCcm9HYcvMtzl5Pcm602z_1zov0gH7zeH9UI/s1600/2018-03-22-2000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3teULkHAiEbi_VTLqxc54pphQoruiByTEBsqrgGkypFK1I-GSewDtw4Bg8Gv1OaZc5k9OCfBpsv_lPeG5o90l7CMU99PTTdJ7QaRLyN3hhCcm9HYcvMtzl5Pcm602z_1zov0gH7zeH9UI/s400/2018-03-22-2000.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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The caves, as seen from Qumran itself,</div>
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in which most of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The scrolls include, for example, a liturgical calendar that differs somewhat from the 'official' calendar of the Temple in Jerusalem, and some difficulties with the chronology of the Gospels can be solved if Jesus celebrated Passover according to this Essene dating. This seems all the more likely now that we have also found that the traditional site of the Last Supper is in what was the Essene quarter of Jerusalem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This would not be to say that Jesus was an Essene (nor even that John the Baptist was, although the similarities are stronger in his case). He clearly differed from that sect in various ways: most obviously in that the Essenes were keen on separating themselves from the 'unclean', whereas Jesus was noted for associating freely with 'sinners', etc. But the common threads with groups like the Essenes or the Pharisees help us to realise more deeply that the Gospel didn't emerge from nowhere - God had prepared His people for it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Another significant element of the Dead Sea Scrolls is the collection of Biblical texts, including a complete scroll of the Prophet Isaiah. These are by far the oldest documents of Scripture that we have, and their similarity with the later texts give all the more credence to the reliability of the Bible's transmission through the centuries.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlFVdLRo3EWzhmJZzXcRuEmO435LZcW4SC9ZKon78-MhpyOVPHRuJFfYMfyYmTYU4ZQ0JCosbOyyDxz23uGe1Fd7mFxfSPDMLQDHeGurVdigCeA7NQyVIWHkH8qXcOeYTqjzwXoKFxOYg/s1600/2018-03-22-1991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlFVdLRo3EWzhmJZzXcRuEmO435LZcW4SC9ZKon78-MhpyOVPHRuJFfYMfyYmTYU4ZQ0JCosbOyyDxz23uGe1Fd7mFxfSPDMLQDHeGurVdigCeA7NQyVIWHkH8qXcOeYTqjzwXoKFxOYg/s400/2018-03-22-1991.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coming down to Qumran from the hills behind it</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ruins of the Essene 'monastery'</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhaPSrj8A8tnAz1ff33krNfSeUICQirceQPDNaw5HmtYFcVI7WTBP8BAe1t2eN5VFiVuS9xICCHMGdpU0IEg0KVkXsYUj1F08lYg7Q7nrOZxzfJV3ku6L8-tAXaa3u_bXRKFMNdnvRaZvQ/s1600/2018-03-22-1982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhaPSrj8A8tnAz1ff33krNfSeUICQirceQPDNaw5HmtYFcVI7WTBP8BAe1t2eN5VFiVuS9xICCHMGdpU0IEg0KVkXsYUj1F08lYg7Q7nrOZxzfJV3ku6L8-tAXaa3u_bXRKFMNdnvRaZvQ/s400/2018-03-22-1982.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wadi leading down to the caves</td></tr>
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Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-37965707009089474052018-05-03T13:15:00.000+01:002018-05-03T13:15:16.922+01:00A desert fortress<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my first post in quite a while, but that's because I've been particularly itinerant since Easter Week, and so I have various little adventures to update you on, dear reader. To start with, there was a trip to Masada and Qumran: this post is about the former place, and it'll be followed by a post about Qumran.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Herod the Great built many fortresses up and down the land, but probably his most impressive was the large fortress of Masada, on a mountaintop overlooking the Dead Sea. One of the oddities of that part of the world, however, is that the peak of this mountain is only about 30 metres above normal sea level, although it towers hundreds of metres above the plain.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7yACHmYonkbTDwZhUlNRpk3UV-KP170X21FVz30mKPswPEQAx8n0LyiRQHdhtFqE1SCuZ3zo4i3iOntI36bb1ueOhhy2Zyzq4zHymU3jAU7y5LP4LCvCzZcJ4T6A-_f4575l16JRI4imO/s1600/2018-03-22-1924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7yACHmYonkbTDwZhUlNRpk3UV-KP170X21FVz30mKPswPEQAx8n0LyiRQHdhtFqE1SCuZ3zo4i3iOntI36bb1ueOhhy2Zyzq4zHymU3jAU7y5LP4LCvCzZcJ4T6A-_f4575l16JRI4imO/s400/2018-03-22-1924.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back down from the cable car</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Masada is mainly remembered as the last holdout of the Jewish Zealot revolt against the Romans, which is usually considered as ending with the capture of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, although Masada was taken two or three years later. Given how it ended, with the remaining Zealots in Masada killing themselves when it became inevitable that the Romans would take the fortress, I was slightly surprised at first that it's the place where Israeli soldiers come to take their oath. I didn't like to think that they were upholding the tragic folly and eventual suicide of their forebears as a good example for their military. Apparently, however, the thinking is something like, "This is where a previous attempt at an independent Jewish state finally failed; we won't let it fail this time." Nonetheless, many Israelis do see the story as one <a href="https://www.touristisrael.com/masada-dead-sea/848/" target="_blank">"of courage, heroism, and martyrdom"</a> (which is not a reading I would endorse).</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPr2chwEVeyG_RVGSseW9DdT_NdjtzbCDWn2Tv0XSrXrZnL45oizAX3u3lZRROahHIg0mcLAQDz2RFVg0ZBegUoP30SSf3oS7QZl3c997dmNa9rNQDBnRLM_vkyzrTUi1GxIpYMYP-GZ1/s1600/2018-03-22-1943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFPr2chwEVeyG_RVGSseW9DdT_NdjtzbCDWn2Tv0XSrXrZnL45oizAX3u3lZRROahHIg0mcLAQDz2RFVg0ZBegUoP30SSf3oS7QZl3c997dmNa9rNQDBnRLM_vkyzrTUi1GxIpYMYP-GZ1/s400/2018-03-22-1943.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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In the centre of this photo you can see some of the ramp that the Romans built</div>
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to reach the walls of the fortress - a massive undertaking.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In the intervening centuries, the site has been largely unused. But in Byzantine times there was a church and a small community of monks living there. The story is told that they had a vegetable garden down near the Dead Sea (presumably in a place where there was a spring) and a donkey who would fetch vegetables from there. All they had to do was put the saddle-bags on the donkey and by itself it would walk down the steep, winding path to the plain, where the gardener would load the bags, and then it would faithfully go back up to the mountaintop to the monks. I hope it got a good share of the vegetables in return for its efforts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here follow some other photographs of the place.</span></div>
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Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-54543847651701811762018-04-05T16:22:00.003+01:002018-04-05T16:22:19.686+01:00Walking to Emmaus<div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Easter Monday, along with a group of more than thirty other people of various nationalities, I walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Unlike Cleopas and the other disciple on the original occasion, however, we got the bus back to Jerusalem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I say that we walked to Emmaus; but perhaps I should say we walked to <i>an</i> Emmaus. Because there are no less than three places claiming to be the original Emmaus. This one, however, is the furthest away - about 30km - so at least we couldn't be accusing of skimping it. It's called <a href="http://beatitudes.org/en/the-community-of-the-beatitudes-around-the-world/46-fr/les-beatitudes-dans-le-monde/50-community?l=en&c=19" target="_blank">Emmaus Nicopolis</a>, and is under the care of the Community of the Beatitudes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Quite apart from the Biblical significance of the walk (see Luke 24:13-35), much of it was through beautiful and rugged countryside. (The following photos only show the group from behind, because I was appointed as the rearguard, or 'back traffic' as Student Crossers would say.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just like Jesus broke bread with the disciples in Emmaus, so when we had finally arrived there we celebrated the Eucharist, along with many other people who hadn't walked but still wanted to remember that important Resurrection appearance nearly two thousand years ago. And then, as previously noted, we went back to Jerusalem by bus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking back to the beginning of the walk, I ought to mention that as we came out from the Jaffa Gate we met a man who asked where we were going. When I told him that we were walking to Emmaus and that it was about 30km, he spontaneously decided to join us, just as he was. And he did in fact walk the whole way, in his suit and shoes. It was only the next day that it occurred to me that he might have been Jesus, just casually tagging along with his disciples.</span></div>
Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-82211561454471458462018-04-05T15:19:00.001+01:002018-04-05T15:19:24.376+01:00The Great Three Days<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I am only halfway through my time in Jerusalem, it's probably safe to say that one of the best things about being here is commemorating the Death and Resurrection of Jesus in the very place they happened. The surrounding Jewish culture also provides an enlightening context, being in significant ways similar to the culture in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. In particular, this year the celebrations of Passover and Easter came together very well. The account of the Passion in John's Gospel seems to imply that the Day of Passover fell on a Saturday that year, and that was the timing we had this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Holy Thursday</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">First up, however, was the celebration of the Last Supper. Unlike the other major events, we couldn't celebrate Mass in the actual place, because the Upper Room is under Israeli control and they only allow occasional prayer services there. There was such a prayer service in the afternoon - but another problem is that the space is comparatively small and I was stuck outside with a large crowd of others. Still, I got to go in afterwards and even getting to visit the place of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday was special in itself. (NB. The original building unsurprisingly no longer exists, but it seems pretty likely that the current building was erected on the same site as the Upper Room of the Last Supper and Pentecost.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Backtracking a little, it was in the morning that I went to Mass of the Lord's Supper in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Yes, it's odd timing; but unfortunately all the Triduum services there had to be held in the mornings, due to the fossilized arrangements with the other Christian churches that share the place. We combined Mass of the Lord's Supper with the Chrism Mass, which at least was at its proper time, so the washing of feet and the renewal of priestly vows both took place in the same celebration, which is not inappropriate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It's also not inappropriate that we commemorated the institution of the Eucharist in front of the Tomb, the place of the Resurrection, because the Sacrament is life-giving precisely because of the Resurrection.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Archbishop's homily and also some photos of the occasion are available <a href="https://www.lpj.org/homily-archbishop-pizzaballa-for-holy-thursday-2018/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In order to satisfy my preference for liturgy at the proper time, however, and also because I like to experience Mass in a language I understand, I also went to an English celebration of the Lord's Supper at Ecce Homo Basilica in the evening. I did similarly on the other days, meaning that I effectively had a double Triduum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Good Friday</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This was quite a full day, starting with Tenebrae at 5am, then Commemoration of the Lord's Passion at Mount Calvary (in the Holy Sepulchre Church) at 8am, Way of the Cross at 11.30am, and Commemoration of the Lord's Passion at Ecce Homo at 3pm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The 8am Commemoration was of course very significant for being in the right place, i.e. in the Calvary Chapel, built on the very rock (probably) where Jesus was crucified. Unfortunately the right place also had limited space, so once the main procession had gone up to the chapel there was a lot of pushing and shoving as other people tried to get their places there. I was seriously impressed by how many people did in fact manage to fit up there (and I openly speculated that maybe the chapel had TARDIS-like properties); but I was content to wait down in the main body of the church along with the greater part of the congregation, "watching from a distance"(Matt 27:55). We could only follow part of what went on up in the chapel (luckily they sung the Passion narrative, which meant we could hear that). I looked around at the people gathered from many nations and languages, all of us peering up at Mount Calvary, not entirely following what was happening, but knowing we had to be there, before our dying Lord in solidarity and in supplication.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Way of the Cross was similar to those that take place every Friday, except that the numbers were greater and the atmosphere more sombre. The weather was cooperating with the liturgical mood by being cold and wet - quite a surprise after a month of warm sunshine. And the impressive presence of heavily-armed Israeli police echoed (presumably unintentionally) the presence of the Roman soldiers at the original Way of the Cross.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Doubling up again, I went to the Commemoration at Ecce Homo, which was held in on the Lithostrotos - a Roman stone pavement in the basement. It's about a century too young to be the Gabbatha mentioned in John's Gospel. But its antiquity and the low stone arches of the space gave the service a catacomb atmosphere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Probably the most important experience of Good Friday, however, came apart from the Christian liturgies. It was less than an hour after returning from the Ecce Homo commemoration of Jesus' death, and I heard horns sounding. At first I wondered if they were sirens warning us of, for example, a rocket attack from Gaza. But then I realised with a thrill that they were sounding the horns to mark the start of the Passover - just shortly after the slaying of the Lamb of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>"Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast..."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Holy Saturday</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTB1566Y5MWIdWvmXiJB7bZ3hgweTLQL2vB8XxR2zpS9wFlzbIzMbJsQFyQSYs3taOJ2IxyFPmw9UHUPYml8Xcx8prYoMVYRpX3lq2WQuQHWJ1kFKjYwVco_tyrfmN6hHvUkQ7kXhD_Pu/s1600/2018-04-01-2146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTB1566Y5MWIdWvmXiJB7bZ3hgweTLQL2vB8XxR2zpS9wFlzbIzMbJsQFyQSYs3taOJ2IxyFPmw9UHUPYml8Xcx8prYoMVYRpX3lq2WQuQHWJ1kFKjYwVco_tyrfmN6hHvUkQ7kXhD_Pu/s320/2018-04-01-2146.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">The early timing of the Holy Sepulchre liturgies was especially odd on Saturday morning, given that we were celebrating the Lord's Resurrection about 12 hours too early. Someone did try to convince me that the celebration of the Easter Vigil at the Tomb in Jerusalem ought to precede even the celebrations in places like New Zealand, but I think that was just trying to make a virtue out of a necessity. One can either be upset by this liturgical incorrectness, or just be amused by it. I chose the latter, and enjoyed looking up at the bright blue sky, visible through the cupola above the Tomb, while the deacon sang, "This is the night..."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was lucky enough to get a place close to the centre of the action this time. Theoretically we Capuchins weren't even supposed to be concelebrating; but some of the expected priests didn't turn up, so our Franciscan brethren kindly snuck us in at the last minute. As often happens in liturgical processions, "the last shall be first", and I ended up with a seat only a few metres away from the Archbishop. More importantly, of course, I was only a few metres away in the other direction from the place where Jesus rose from the dead. Which of course gave the whole celebration a special atmosphere. <a href="https://www.lpj.org/homily-of-archbishop-pizzaballa-the-paschal-mystery-of-the-resurrection-2018/" target="_blank">The Archbishop preached about the need to approach our 'tombs' without fear and with faith</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The rest of the day felt like a kind of half-Easter. I could hardly still be in Lent after the joyful celebration at the Holy Sepulchre; but force of habit and my liturgical sensibilities meant that I didn't feel like Easter had truly begun until the celebration of the Easter Vigil at Ecce Homo. This celebration began with the Easter fire on their rooftop terrace, with the stars above and views of the Mount of Olives and the Dome of the Rock.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>"Now not day only shall be beloved, but night too shall be beautiful and blessed and all its fear pass away."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Postscript: Let us keep the feast</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The coordination of Easter and Passover this year means that the Easter Octave and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are almost exactly coincident. This adds to the atmosphere - the city's streets and parks are full of festive Jews and Christians. I hope the Muslims don't feel too left out... or maybe they should.</span></div>
Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-33230741507887891952018-03-28T12:13:00.000+01:002018-03-28T12:13:38.347+01:00Better Palm Sunday video and photos<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you have 9 minutes to spare, here's a better-quality video of the Palm Sunday procession:</span><br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pppHXNrA90o/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pppHXNrA90o?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are also better-quality photographs <a href="https://www.lpj.org/christians-celebrate-palm-sunday-in-jerusalem/" target="_blank">on the Latin Patriarchate website</a>, along with the text of the bishop's sermon.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<br />Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-75671726099124207752018-03-28T09:42:00.000+01:002018-03-28T09:42:08.098+01:00A Palm Sunday procession like no other<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can claim that fairly confidently, because while there might be other Palm Sunday processions that match it in joyful, multilingual internationality, none of them follow the same route (more or less) as the original Palm Sunday.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjlOopwTuoWRmsDbZmQ-kfQehzFC04QcBpzL7rGf-C8T-wIbufNce_VPNM-HpSsoCz7kuaDr0DWRFS1YGO-780h_YSDs7Gp3rDpQOsSU_XLKmqOJbzgFgtNTQ948PFIx5qF_-lRthOExQ/s1600/2018-03-25-2089.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjlOopwTuoWRmsDbZmQ-kfQehzFC04QcBpzL7rGf-C8T-wIbufNce_VPNM-HpSsoCz7kuaDr0DWRFS1YGO-780h_YSDs7Gp3rDpQOsSU_XLKmqOJbzgFgtNTQ948PFIx5qF_-lRthOExQ/s320/2018-03-25-2089.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We began at the church in Bethphage, built on the spot where Jesus is supposed to have mounted the donkey (and its colt, if you follow Matthew's version), and we then went up to the top of the Mount of Olives, where one gets an iconic view of Jerusalem. Coming down the hill, we went past the Garden of Gethsemane, across the top of the Kidron Valley, and into the Old City via the Lion Gate. We didn't go onto the Temple Mount - I guess the Muslims aren't too keen on having 5000 noisy Christians invading their patch - but otherwise it followed the route Jesus did, allowing for a few changes in road layout over two millennia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The local Christians - mostly Arabs, but also some Hebrews - were well-represented; but there was a mixed rabble of different nationalities, some who were visitors to Jerusalem, some who work here. As we went along, the different groups sang songs in their own languages - which probably sounds chaotic, and it was, but it kind of worked, as this video hopefully illustrates:</span></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JiRtV3jvS2Q/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JiRtV3jvS2Q?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Dancing also featured in some cases, including this African-led group:</span></div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZVQtZ2ygEXE/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZVQtZ2ygEXE?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At this point we'd been going for two hours; but people were still buzzing with energy. It was a joyful and happy occasion. Even <a href="https://youtu.be/fjk5mTj6sm4" target="_blank">the Franciscan friars were jumping around</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/0h6b_eTMO2Y" target="_blank">the Arabs were singing their own version of Laudato Sii</a>, and of course <a href="https://youtu.be/mxLdscwNWNg" target="_blank">the Palestinian marching bands had to get in on the act</a>. But enough videos from me. Here are some photos to complete my account:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPomciD4i6ve1qrtshk8dOsCt4v-bIhcLw4d1_I6QSoMY-u0rVovsnE4KBJmNnP4mMiWJluSk1nEesv0MoYzYjQhP31Z-v2addbQn6eK4hSgqrP9UcJbQMqYvtszpp4lV3Tmnx55aoiS5f/s1600/2018-03-25-2044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPomciD4i6ve1qrtshk8dOsCt4v-bIhcLw4d1_I6QSoMY-u0rVovsnE4KBJmNnP4mMiWJluSk1nEesv0MoYzYjQhP31Z-v2addbQn6eK4hSgqrP9UcJbQMqYvtszpp4lV3Tmnx55aoiS5f/s320/2018-03-25-2044.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gathering in the church courtyard at Bethphage</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CvRRTdkFxfvhAteWjRQhJ-HPYbB2sQfFaOCu9xOuDZMpJZi7qotT2cpjd4dHuPwXESPKhUFJb5RvtNFYbT6e6RA7LcmlPNDthYTQRsSFprp9X4d4X_ahNT6_dDoIHDnoUl9TQcHlX52k/s1600/2018-03-25-2054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CvRRTdkFxfvhAteWjRQhJ-HPYbB2sQfFaOCu9xOuDZMpJZi7qotT2cpjd4dHuPwXESPKhUFJb5RvtNFYbT6e6RA7LcmlPNDthYTQRsSFprp9X4d4X_ahNT6_dDoIHDnoUl9TQcHlX52k/s320/2018-03-25-2054.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Franciscans are recruiting from an early age, it seems</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKRsa8-G9LKm7PDQfetSInFuGJq9vzIQ_CF8ytR9wHgM1UYdz6F8w2ZUn9rkIrjNKmgK5f1bocJuixDyYewqeLPmWmpEEYAyUqWxuJjbr-DR26SP-pEM9P-jPRoZz2DK7WCwQGXLMHSCb/s1600/2018-03-25-2060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKRsa8-G9LKm7PDQfetSInFuGJq9vzIQ_CF8ytR9wHgM1UYdz6F8w2ZUn9rkIrjNKmgK5f1bocJuixDyYewqeLPmWmpEEYAyUqWxuJjbr-DR26SP-pEM9P-jPRoZz2DK7WCwQGXLMHSCb/s320/2018-03-25-2060.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Off we go...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdp0K19GZv9v6OnGPKxHRkfYGTTEbWGyxM_3sypTE4UlTMD-LzIlJR819vAEVGjOyVagRgTM-8IHORn-y_sZHnOBzyOfXbCx3_Xlo6NYS9zumy_QbbCW5xV4-_SSc4O_KXwQ0nHet5jf1c/s1600/2018-03-25-2064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdp0K19GZv9v6OnGPKxHRkfYGTTEbWGyxM_3sypTE4UlTMD-LzIlJR819vAEVGjOyVagRgTM-8IHORn-y_sZHnOBzyOfXbCx3_Xlo6NYS9zumy_QbbCW5xV4-_SSc4O_KXwQ0nHet5jf1c/s320/2018-03-25-2064.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view southwest</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDfwzTl3HTnY-PTKNqN0XoI2uBXVXpZjXjQw6Wkghtr5HCUeaYHni7CB0N6AobqyTDe3vH_MIUyRXJg1B1OBprXfZLfcSlA7L9SG9B64uichALQeqhsdaaD1Gq56UZ5OYXi8Y98wIKaPV/s1600/2018-03-25-2067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDfwzTl3HTnY-PTKNqN0XoI2uBXVXpZjXjQw6Wkghtr5HCUeaYHni7CB0N6AobqyTDe3vH_MIUyRXJg1B1OBprXfZLfcSlA7L9SG9B64uichALQeqhsdaaD1Gq56UZ5OYXi8Y98wIKaPV/s320/2018-03-25-2067.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
Nearly at the top of the Mount of Olives</div>
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(the Dome of the Ascension can be seen behind the lamppost)</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPevPCvn8BtTPATp3tsjzP2eZ2mx3Ek1dGn7mqicczFwa14pjQG70uv2_Qc0FniyFy44SYYkirN3t7609iO2NvVvkDppScJ-g4xbqIfbhJll4ZdEP_22C873Eq5Mc59JXub7s3_8sFHPVP/s1600/2018-03-25-2077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPevPCvn8BtTPATp3tsjzP2eZ2mx3Ek1dGn7mqicczFwa14pjQG70uv2_Qc0FniyFy44SYYkirN3t7609iO2NvVvkDppScJ-g4xbqIfbhJll4ZdEP_22C873Eq5Mc59JXub7s3_8sFHPVP/s320/2018-03-25-2077.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going down...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_Wav7RI0xhQXg5Y7Fr8rXqX69OV-7WyvZyIlWADGjuPo25KPCjaBw1aX_6_HRpyS8QIIbV09GivJ9S8GBM5Lm-_4SCQD1Zfis6pwEIMHXmAH0WbqbggVc9kyCc71ZsG9X4XmXAWfxuWO/s1600/2018-03-25-2083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg_Wav7RI0xhQXg5Y7Fr8rXqX69OV-7WyvZyIlWADGjuPo25KPCjaBw1aX_6_HRpyS8QIIbV09GivJ9S8GBM5Lm-_4SCQD1Zfis6pwEIMHXmAH0WbqbggVc9kyCc71ZsG9X4XmXAWfxuWO/s320/2018-03-25-2083.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First views of Jerusalem</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjueD9pTjmmdGnInQXxOnsZ3lGPZesxb6xfZCeHnngFhTWEmrK5x3N2dfgijmU3hzn6xEVMaPhAQ1q7yvG5j47MrrfF4jhtXCYDHg3j6KefCa3wABhhMqIuasN8bc-tD0L4ikI-aQ9TW_CX/s1600/2018-03-25-2092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjueD9pTjmmdGnInQXxOnsZ3lGPZesxb6xfZCeHnngFhTWEmrK5x3N2dfgijmU3hzn6xEVMaPhAQ1q7yvG5j47MrrfF4jhtXCYDHg3j6KefCa3wABhhMqIuasN8bc-tD0L4ikI-aQ9TW_CX/s320/2018-03-25-2092.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting closer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeeQfxMSR8YfRu-1sDHzzn_YwF2zrBmg5DeQVYZU4zqlPnLhSkSIX5b8L1HnV64H0UjMQc9ob7XrwHIFpg5FBxVdREIHfBPt1f04jTkWxc35-ptkvrkM-HL1galrA7sVndSksZTFh6l23/s1600/2018-03-25-2097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeeQfxMSR8YfRu-1sDHzzn_YwF2zrBmg5DeQVYZU4zqlPnLhSkSIX5b8L1HnV64H0UjMQc9ob7XrwHIFpg5FBxVdREIHfBPt1f04jTkWxc35-ptkvrkM-HL1galrA7sVndSksZTFh6l23/s320/2018-03-25-2097.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lion Gate</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7JyjmFwshwQCZyvUxODtrwGu_78bPKOjBmrA8B6mx-tiHJeZ2c6Ba3yf89g3wwstN1DKoA5ewOqwRqvgizv3a5n3k4uXpm8IzL6WgKqXo0cV-YCW90mGFVy6eFAntLGqK4Atr3y_CXcy/s1600/2018-03-25-2105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7JyjmFwshwQCZyvUxODtrwGu_78bPKOjBmrA8B6mx-tiHJeZ2c6Ba3yf89g3wwstN1DKoA5ewOqwRqvgizv3a5n3k4uXpm8IzL6WgKqXo0cV-YCW90mGFVy6eFAntLGqK4Atr3y_CXcy/s320/2018-03-25-2105.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drummers warming up (and drowning out the bishop's sermon)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /></div>
Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-63372496206058948922018-03-21T13:10:00.000+00:002018-03-21T13:10:30.342+00:00The wider family<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a follow-up to the previous post about the Capuchins who live here in Jerusalem, it makes sense to introduce you to the other people living in the same compound. We Capuchins live in the largest building, which has capacity for about 50 guests; but there are smaller buildings and wings that are inhabited by other religious orders or put to ministerial use.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Firstly, there are the <a href="http://www.orsolinesancarlo.it/israele/" target="_blank">Ursuline sisters</a>, living in a wing on the other side of our church. Sr Claudia (the taller one) runs a centre for immigrant children - of which more in a later post. Sr Sandra works at the offices of the Latin Patriarchate.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEljVx5l7MJ7qqx4RhH73U_w5iUrXIgXyQpnUJyk-1hoLbTpdLNcf_UlzX7e0dgNs44QkvDz5OxENrNCFqA5_0YiTRdhakYvcQqggV4Z-ZM8aTOTmuf24V9vsbnJLxbbqu_URBGltoRlxS/s1600/2018-03-18-1911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEljVx5l7MJ7qqx4RhH73U_w5iUrXIgXyQpnUJyk-1hoLbTpdLNcf_UlzX7e0dgNs44QkvDz5OxENrNCFqA5_0YiTRdhakYvcQqggV4Z-ZM8aTOTmuf24V9vsbnJLxbbqu_URBGltoRlxS/s320/2018-03-18-1911.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Living in a house at the bottom of the garden, a house which was for a long time the friary, are the <a href="https://fsecommunity.org/joy-in-mission/our-centers/#holy-land" target="_blank">Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist</a>. Sisters Monica, Naomi, and Mary David (left to right) assist a project for traumatised children in Bethlehem, which was founded by their congregation, but they also work for the Latin Patriarchate and the Franciscan Custody in Jerusalem. (Sharp-eyed Coventrians may notice their cross of nails; but apparently it has a separate origin to Coventry Cathedral's cross of nails.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTMYsXQrDAE_UVDXrETNRxTt3UGwhJSUIaZMc2ObaITUdttIToL_lNId4KnnqCltZ71s8VA6HV_TwFMvOw2X8D1nKJE3T1ozzVrPqnNz3Hl20lS7WVT90jqw3isxZ2nA2nora-wgcco58/s1600/2018-03-17-1907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTMYsXQrDAE_UVDXrETNRxTt3UGwhJSUIaZMc2ObaITUdttIToL_lNId4KnnqCltZ71s8VA6HV_TwFMvOw2X8D1nKJE3T1ozzVrPqnNz3Hl20lS7WVT90jqw3isxZ2nA2nora-wgcco58/s320/2018-03-17-1907.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, in a corner of the property is a small house used by the Josephites (a congregation inspired by Blessed Charles de Foucauld). The current resident is Padre Giovanni Paolo.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_M8nyIPP5MpVzIM0KsP_DizT9AevZS71PGYqLaZm5FTeXjX4G-3YXjTuk0O1-9wsoqiw9gt1rUFUdBgk36TFG1182CYnhl-XoQFy3KlQzvzH2aX7YkCA7kVv_QI8MSqz8arjI49tesSTg/s1600/2018-03-21-1918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_M8nyIPP5MpVzIM0KsP_DizT9AevZS71PGYqLaZm5FTeXjX4G-3YXjTuk0O1-9wsoqiw9gt1rUFUdBgk36TFG1182CYnhl-XoQFy3KlQzvzH2aX7YkCA7kVv_QI8MSqz8arjI49tesSTg/s320/2018-03-21-1918.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-78784615442511927932018-03-14T14:44:00.001+00:002018-03-14T14:44:28.893+00:00The Capuchins in Jerusalem<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I have shared a lot about my experience here in the Holy Land, I have somehow omitted one of the most important parts of that experience - the men whom I live with. So herewith I introduce the Capuchin fraternity of Jerusalem.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjoGZayisGvmVWZdtp5mB5fEfIKNESEmRafbs6wSafXO2xfNATTHmt4O_8368udah28WVtHXPr9FXFZ00mpxCVqTVs7PwEQupyCB7dQdioIH6sfWE4HpcIfKdI2zeEcQC2XJpChakLPaH/s1600/kevin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjoGZayisGvmVWZdtp5mB5fEfIKNESEmRafbs6wSafXO2xfNATTHmt4O_8368udah28WVtHXPr9FXFZ00mpxCVqTVs7PwEQupyCB7dQdioIH6sfWE4HpcIfKdI2zeEcQC2XJpChakLPaH/s320/kevin.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Br. Kevin is from Tamil-Nadu in India. He has a degree in botany (hence he is our expert in the garden) and another in information science, and he worked for a pharmaceutical company before joining the Order. During formation he volunteered to be a missionary and soon after ordination he was sent to Zimbabwe. After 15 years there, during which he served two terms as Custos (the minister for all the Capuchins in the country), he agreed to be assigned to Jerusalem as guardian of the friary. He has now been here nearly two years, getting the place well-organised.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtcs1sFID3CKUAROnkIWKHsvha3HzSPvxwr84UAFf1P01p2mCELbiNcRjHd-GLUo5f9JRAN7_gNUhf2AGnh2GoTU8sLuh-QqsueX82YdzmTA1ZSJqltrDzjntVJ9TwOTw9jjj-nabctrqa/s1600/chipaya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtcs1sFID3CKUAROnkIWKHsvha3HzSPvxwr84UAFf1P01p2mCELbiNcRjHd-GLUo5f9JRAN7_gNUhf2AGnh2GoTU8sLuh-QqsueX82YdzmTA1ZSJqltrDzjntVJ9TwOTw9jjj-nabctrqa/s320/chipaya.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">Br. Chipaya is from Zimbabwe, where his father was the chief of his home village. His Capuchin life has been almost entirely in Zimbabwe; but last year he agreed to come to Jerusalem to help out Br. Kevin in running the friary. He is currently sweating hard over learning Hebrew.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Br. Yunus (no photo, sorry!) is the longest-standing member of the fraternity here - he has been in Jerusalem for nearly 10 years, studying and slowly working his way towards a PhD in early antiquity archaeology (which he will complete this June). He is originally from Turkey, of Armenian descent, but joined the Capuchins in Italy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Br. Santosh is from Karnataka Province in India, but ministered for 12 years to tribals in Mizoram in the northeast of India. He has been in Jerusalem about 2 years, working as a chaplain to immigrants of his own language (this ministry means he keeps us supplied with Indian food). He sometimes also acts as a guide for groups of pilgrims to the Holy Land. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Br. Gian Nicola was born in New York to Italian parents, and the family moved back to Italy when he was 13. It w<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhCrE1nlFqLXlWKKo0ddvJXqFxkRWyBpZ3NkUAm01kimi_M88-EgD7y7_S3zPshiznc3w52JTnUSGePnIbPV3MyC76Zi056Q3e3ebI6gQE1dnE7gs_Zz_-QNN0DeFaxj3q2kzYyhU1sCy/s1600/nicola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhCrE1nlFqLXlWKKo0ddvJXqFxkRWyBpZ3NkUAm01kimi_M88-EgD7y7_S3zPshiznc3w52JTnUSGePnIbPV3MyC76Zi056Q3e3ebI6gQE1dnE7gs_Zz_-QNN0DeFaxj3q2kzYyhU1sCy/s320/nicola.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhCrE1nlFqLXlWKKo0ddvJXqFxkRWyBpZ3NkUAm01kimi_M88-EgD7y7_S3zPshiznc3w52JTnUSGePnIbPV3MyC76Zi056Q3e3ebI6gQE1dnE7gs_Zz_-QNN0DeFaxj3q2kzYyhU1sCy/s1600/nicola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhCrE1nlFqLXlWKKo0ddvJXqFxkRWyBpZ3NkUAm01kimi_M88-EgD7y7_S3zPshiznc3w52JTnUSGePnIbPV3MyC76Zi056Q3e3ebI6gQE1dnE7gs_Zz_-QNN0DeFaxj3q2kzYyhU1sCy/s1600/nicola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>as there he joined the Capuchins, but he oscillates between identifying as Italian or as American, depending on his mood or other circumstances. He is in the early stages of a PhD in Biblical studies at the Hebrew University.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Br. Ebin is from Kerala in India. Unlike the majority of Capuchins from that state, he is of the Latin rite, not the Syro-Malabar rite (this fact is very important to him). He is in Jerusalem to study for a licentiate at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Br. Rakesh is from Andhra Pradesh, India; but while still studying for the priesthood was sent to Switzerland, as part of the reinforcements for the Capuchins there. He is now in Jerusalem to complete his studies for ordination, for which purpose he goes to the Salesian College; but he will eventually return to Switzerland, where he now feels at home.</span></div>
Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-49094529862388028032018-03-10T14:30:00.002+00:002018-03-10T14:30:18.881+00:00Earthquake in Papua New Guinea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgseHD3ZUQm7UkIaUyCXRzPs9HOoevoo9BIwduK02K5TA9jSXJchO_SCu3IUtsHbg-VP0ooaaZ_lV_UVDUTkXsBw68AENkZHt4HSs9f4hGi39Jq-ojLGhI02jFd7RHS41HxoS8ms7p-Xdtq/s1600/PNG+Highlands+104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgseHD3ZUQm7UkIaUyCXRzPs9HOoevoo9BIwduK02K5TA9jSXJchO_SCu3IUtsHbg-VP0ooaaZ_lV_UVDUTkXsBw68AENkZHt4HSs9f4hGi39Jq-ojLGhI02jFd7RHS41HxoS8ms7p-Xdtq/s320/PNG+Highlands+104.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is a bit of a diversion from my posts about the Holy Land; but as many people already know, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101868291486049.1073741830.36813042&type=1&l=a80fb8797c" target="_blank">I have visited the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea</a>. What you might not know, because it has had little coverage in the news so far, is that <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43297145" target="_blank">the same area has recently been hit by an unusually large earthquake</a>. Many people live in remote villages, some of which have been completely swept away by landslides.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It breaks my heart to think of the suffering of these poor people, who were always so welcoming and friendly. The normal aid agencies don't seem to be involved (as yet); but one way of sending help is to the Diocese of Mendi, which covers the affected area. The bishop (a Capuchin) has provided <a href="http://www.mendidiocese.com/index.php/news/item/157-earthquake" target="_blank">an initial assessment of the damage</a>. I've been waiting to hear from him about the best way to send funds directly to the diocese; but communications are intermittent, it seems. In the meantime, <a href="http://www.mendidiocese.com/index.php/giving" target="_blank">this page</a> provides some guidance about donating to the diocese.</span>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-49900329075632408602018-03-03T12:48:00.000+00:002018-03-03T12:48:08.924+00:00Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">...they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">...even Solomon in all his glory...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59dhNbm0pzdshC2OMv8eOk8_E1DRe2yQd0H6wAI3wAAU8BoURkXUJQTSovEDsy9_4XOt_4ZDf9SHDS8nZXV_qsVs9wWt2FnfvhqIvQ96JArs6kZZhpf4_DDDEA4L2z_DxCEugWuGcNYRt/s1600/2018-02-28-1833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59dhNbm0pzdshC2OMv8eOk8_E1DRe2yQd0H6wAI3wAAU8BoURkXUJQTSovEDsy9_4XOt_4ZDf9SHDS8nZXV_qsVs9wWt2FnfvhqIvQ96JArs6kZZhpf4_DDDEA4L2z_DxCEugWuGcNYRt/s400/2018-02-28-1833.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">...was not clothed like one of these.</span></div>
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<br />Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-44739319680131663442018-02-27T16:05:00.001+00:002018-02-28T06:30:01.765+00:00Is this the actual place?<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">The sad news from Jerusalem, which has understandably been overshadowed by the ongoing slaughter in Israel's northern neighbour Syria, is that <a href="https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2018/02/27/church-officials-holy-sepulchre-remain-closed/" target="_blank">the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been closed indefinitely, in protest at changes in Israeli policy that will(intentionally or unintentionally) damage the Christian presence here</a>. Huge claims for tax (<i>arnona</i>, the equivalent of British 'council tax') have been suddenly slapped on the various churches, with some bank accounts being frozen so that the municipality can seize the monies, and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">then in addition a bill was being proposed that would either enable the government to expropriate some church properties or at least make it more difficult for the churches to sell property in the future (depending on what reports you read).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">***UPDATE: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has now been re-opened, thank God. It seems the Israeli authorities have backed down.***</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The closure of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a big deal for two reasons:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">1. Several different Christian denominations (Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox...) jointly manage the church, so the decision to close it was an example of concerted Christian action from groups that traditionally have found it hard to agree on anything. So thumbs-up to the Israeli authorities for promoting the cause of Christian unity :-{)}</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">2. For most Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, the church is the primary holy place to visit, because it contains both the hill (actually just a big piece of bedrock) of Calvary, where Jesus was crucified, and the place of His tomb, where He was buried and then rose again from the dead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many news articles will</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> say something like "the church is considered by many Christians to be the site of Jesus' crucifixion, tomb and resurrection" - and in fact most reports, books, and guides will make similar conditional statements, like "traditionally supposed to be" or "reputed", about sites associated with Jesus' story or other Biblical events. Because in most cases we can't know for sure if it is the actual place, after 2000 years of successive destructions and rebuildings, etc. With regard to Jesus' place of crucifixion and burial, however, we can be as sure as one can ever be that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the actual place it purports to be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The reason for this, ironically, is the Roman empire's attempt to wipe out the Christian faith. When Jerusalem was rebuilt as a Roman city under the Emperor Hadrian, they deliberately built a temple of Jupiter over the place venerated by the Christians as the tomb of Jesus and they likewise set up a statue of Venus on top of Calvary. So, although the first Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built a full three centuries after the death and resurrection of Christ, the places had been conveniently marked by pagan idols. All St Helena (the mother of the Emperor Constantine) had to do was get the temple of Jupiter demolished and the tomb of Jesus was discovered underneath. Some of the basilica that she built still forms parts of the current church.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">OK, you might say, but how do we know that the temple of Jupiter was built in the right place? The Emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina a full century after the time of Christ, and some people might be sceptical about how the people would still know where Calvary and the tomb were; but that is only a short time in terms of oral tradition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">To use an example from my own life, I know the house in Coventry where my maternal grandmother lived as a girl. I've never been in the house, because the family moved out before I was born; in 40 years time, if I'm still alive and have my memory, I'll be able to point the house out to my sister's and brother's grandchildren and tell them about how Grandma and her family watched the bombing of Coventry during WW2. And that will be over 100 years after the event.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So if that could happen with something as insignificant as one family's house, how much more likely is it that the Christians in Jerusalem would remember a place of such huge significance as the tomb of Jesus? That is why I tend to be fairly accepting of traditional claims about holy sites, so long as the tradition can be traced back to within a couple of hundred years of the actual events.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It's also worth noting that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfMaY1JjXiE" target="_blank">Christianity is an avowedly historical religion</a>, in that it is based on things that actually happened in particular times and places. Even if we can't always find the exact spot of some event (e.g. Emmaus seems to be hard to identify), we know that we at least have some idea and that we're probably pretty close.</span></div>
Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-91116194893682860042018-02-22T13:07:00.000+00:002018-02-22T13:07:28.278+00:00The Sea of Galilee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks to the hospitality of the Benedictine sisters in Tabgha, I was able to spend three days by the Sea of Galilee. Some things are obviously different from when Jesus walked around (and on) that lake - such as the banana and mango plantations - but the landscape and climate is otherwise much the same. It was considerably warmer than Jerusalem, being about 1000m lower, and the rains of winter made it much greener than my previous imaginings. In many ways it was reminiscent of Wales or the Lake District in summertime. Apart from the palm trees, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The main purpose, of course, was to visit the sites of the Gospel stories. It was fascinating to be in places where I know that Jesus and His disciples walked, talked, and ate. They've even built a church on top of one of their breakfast tables, as well as building another one over St Peter's house.</span><br />
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This is the aforementioned breakfast table,</div>
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where Jesus and the disciples ate some fish and bread (John 21:9-14)</div>
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The view outside the church (the water used to come up to the rocks,</div>
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but years of low rainfall and increasing use of water mean that the level has dropped significantly)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The church over St Peter's house in Capernaum</td></tr>
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This rock marks the place where Jesus fed 5000 with five loaves and two fish (Mark 6:35-44)</div>
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Not everything had a church built over it: this is the view from the Eremos,</div>
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a small cave where Jesus sometimes prayed</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is one possible site of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)</td></tr>
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No particular connection to Jesus; but this rock hyrax (Proverbs 30:26)</div>
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seemed to be posing for a photo, so I duly obliged</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2577880828589788089.post-11476329453328041952018-02-19T08:45:00.004+00:002018-02-19T08:45:41.741+00:00J.R.R. Tolkien sings<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not very well, admittedly. But this example of his singing Galadriel's Lament (Namarie) is of geeky interest for something other than its quality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The other week we had a dinner guest, Fr Guglielmo Spirito OFMConv., who is part of a research project looking at the influence and role of music in Tolkien's work. He has acquired the music sheets used at the various churches in Oxford that Professor Tolkien attended, and was pleased to discover that in this recording he is singing Galadriel's words to the same tune that the Dominicans in Blackfriars used to sing 'The Lamentations of Jeremiah'.</span>Brother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16321229958648491970noreply@blogger.com0