Sent by Father Joe:
We began the day traveling from our hotel in Jerusalem to Mount Zion to see the following sights: King David's alleged tomb, the Upper Room of the Last Supper and the Abbey of Dormition. The last site commemorated the end of Mary's earthly life.
We then walked into the Old City of Jerusalem through the Zion gate. We walked through the Armenian quarter to the Jewish quarter. We saw the Cardo, the main thoroughfare from the Byzantine times and we saw the remains from the first temple period city walls.
We ended up in the Western Wall Plaza. It is the opportunity to pray at the only remaining wall from the temple. This is a sacred place for Jews as evidenced by the large number that were there on Monday morning.
The pilgrims separated into men and women sections to approach the wall. We also witnessed families celebrating Bar Mitzvahs. We then went to the church of St. Peter Gallicantu, it commemorates Peter's denial of Jesus and the imprisonment of Jesus at the home of the High Priest Caiphas.
After lunch we went to the Church of the Nativity. Each pilgrim venerated the spot in the cave under the church where Jesus was born and then while still in the cave we sung Silent Night.
Mass for the day was celebrated in another crypt under the church and it featured the Christmas readings, prayers and hymns. It was a memorable celebration of Christmas.
We closed the day at a cave in the Shepherd's Field for a prayer service.
Monday, June 28, 2010
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