Shepherd's Field

23/12/08
Late afternoon and we entered Shepherd's Field some 3 km east of Bethleham. It was here that an Angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were watching their flocks of sheep that night. The angel told them of the good news that Christ the Lord was born (Luke 2:8-11).
In this area there were many caves. These caves were where the shepherds would rest together with their flock of sheep in the cold winter season. We would be experiencing Mass being said in one of these caves on Christmas eve.

Bethleham N Basilica of the Nativity

23/12/08
In the afternoon we went on to Bethleham, some 8 km. south of Jerusalem. The word Bethleham in Hebrew means "House of Bread". This was the birth place of Jesus and His ancestor ..King David. We reached the Basilica of the Nativity and had to literally bow low to enter the church grounds. Notice that the entrance of the church was made low and narrow in order to protect it from the Moslem invaders and to prevent them from entering on horseback.
Today the front of the church is shared by the Greek Orthodox, the Latins and the Armenians.
Anything in front of the altar area is considered no man's land.

We entered the Grotto of the Nativity and the silver star denotes the spot where Jesus was born (Luke 2:1-7). The holy manger lies to the right of it.

Mt.Zion N Basilica of the Dormition

23/12/08
We visited the Basilica which is considered to be the most important place in Mt. Zion. The church has a staircase which leads down to a crypt venerated as Mary's home after Jesus's Resurrection. It is also considered as the place for her "death". In the centre of the crypt lies a life-size statue of the sleeping Mary. It is made of cherry wood and ivory.

Lunch today was at The Gate restaurant. We had grilled upside down chicken with savoury rice.

Mt.Zion Last Supper Room N Synagogue

23/12/08
Driving further on, we reached Mt.Zion and visited the Last Supper Room also called Coenaculum - Dining Hall. This was the place where Jesus ate the Last Supper with his disciples, establishing the Communion Service (Mark 14: 12-16). In this same room Jesus also appeared to his disciples twice after His resurrection (John 20:12-29).

At Mt. Zion we also visited a monument of King David's Tomb. This was seen at the synagogue in the Diaspora. This tomb is venerated by Christians, Jews and Moslems. Females and males have their own prayer area in the synagogue. All males entering the prayer area must have their head covered.

Basilica of the Agony N Gethemane

23/12/08
Further walking allowed us to proceed to the Church of All Nations also known as the Basilica of the Agony. Sixteen Nations contributed to the construction of the Basilica and I noticed the many domes this church has on it's roof. Part of the tradional Rock of Agony lies in front of the main altar inside this church (Matthew 26:36-46). This was where Jesus sweated blood the night before his arrest.

And then we entered Gethsemane. This word means olive-press in Aramaic. The pictures below show the garden which has eight ancient olive trees dating back 2000 years ago ... Jesus time .. ... and it was here that Jesus came to pray with his disciples.

Palm Sunday Route to Church of Dominus Flevit

23/12/08
We continued walking on the traditional Palm Sunday route and reached the Church of the Dominus Flevit. This place commemorated "the Lord wept" (Luke 19: 41-44). The church itself has a tear shaped dome.
During the walk I could see the various places of the dead (cemeteries) situated in huge plots of land. It is said that these are prime plots of burial land for the dead to wait for the coming of Christ.

From the surroundings of the church grounds this magnificent view of the old city of Jerusalem is feast for the eyes. Most of the ancient city walls and several city gates are visible from here.
From here the most prominent feature is the golden Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, which is the third Holy Shrine for the Moslems. Facing this magnificent view, one can only imagine how Jesus lamented over the impending doom and judgement of it's people
(Matthew 24:1-3).

Pater Noster Grotto

23/12/08
We walked down the slopes of the mount and visited the grotto of the Pater Noster Church. It was here that Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer to his disciples (Luke 11: 1-4). In the couryard of the church, we could see the many beautiful ceramic panels displaying the full text of the Lord's Prayer in many languages.

Mt.Olives N Site of the Ascension

Tuesday 23/12/08
After breakfast we drove to the top of Mt. of Olives and visited the site of the Ascension.
The Bible tells us how Jesus took his disciples to a mount called Olivet and after blessing them, ascended into heaven (Acts 1: 9-12).
The present chapel on the site was built by the crusaders but is now occupied by the Moslems.
We went on inside and saw the legendary footprints which Christ made when he ascended into heaven. Many pilgrims touched the foot prints in the hope of getting blessed.