2019 Pilgrimage

Sorry for the lapse in the post flying always makes it a bit harder. A 4:30 am wake up call was the start to an amazing day day. Starting with the stations of the cross which ended in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where we celebrated mass outside the empty tomb. This was a very moving mass especially for Fr Chris.  The steps to Calvary. Where we could touch the place where the  cross was raised. Church of the Holy Sepulchre outside the empty tomb. In the afternoon we made our way to Dormition Abbey - the sleep of Mary. This is a beautiful and peaceful church with some images that allow you to pause and think about our faith.  On the way to the airport we stopped at Emmaus.  "in the breaking of bread" ( Luke 24:30 ), "their eyes were opened" and they recognized him ( Luke 24:31 ).

We began our day visiting the area of the Dome of the Rock in the Muslim Quarter of the old city. We couldn’t go into the buildings as we are not Muslim however we were able to walk around the Dome of the Rock and the mosque. This is the third holiest place in the Muslim faith after Mecca and Medina, as with in the dome is the rock on which they believe Muhammad transcended to heaven on a buraq. The area is known to Muslims as Al-Haram al-Sharif. It is also a very important site for the Jewish faith as they believe it is the place where Abraham is said to have prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Western wall is one of the walls that surround the Temple Mount and it is a sacred site for the Jewish as it is the closest to the Temple Mount. The Western wall is where Jewish people come to pray. Being a sacred site for both faiths causes a lot of friction between the believers. Dome of the Rock this is used to wash before entering the mosque.  ...

Travelled to the other side of Jerusalem today across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives, where we looked back towards the Golden gates and the city of Jerusalem. Continuing to the Mount of Olives, where we arrived at the Dominus Flevit for Mass. The church was built on the site where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem. ( Luke 19:41-44) Within the garden was a thorn tree, the branches of which were used to create the crown of thorns. John18 “After he had said all this, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron valley where there was a garden into which he went with his disciples”

Today was called a desert experience but it was so much more than that. We travelled into the desert and stopped halfway between Jerusalem and Jericho -  the people here call it the Samaritan way. Such a well known parable in the bible. The area was the way people walked from Jerusalem to Jericho and Rami was explaining how the valley would usually be the only shaded area so most travellers would take this was to travel. I am sure you can imagine how hot it would be in the middle of the dessert on a hot summer day ( around about the same temperature many of the areas in Australia are experiencing this summer) it is easy to see how easy it would be for robbers to hide in the shadows and attack the traveller. On the cliff face lies St George’s monastery which still has around ten monks still residing in it. Even they use solar power ! Continuing on with placing biblical parables and stories in context you may like to view a sycamore tree, imagine Zacchaeu...