Via Dolorosa
DAY 11: FRIDAY 15 FEBRUARY – JERUSALEM Theme: The Death & Resurrection of Jesus. Arise very early this morning as we return to the Old City of Jerusalem to commence our Stations of the Cross, beginning from the Antonia Fortress where Jesus was condemned to death. We pray and follow in Our Lord’s footsteps along the actual Via Dolorosa.
Yes, indeed we arose "very early!" With wake up calls at 3.30 am! We were to be in the lobby and ready for departure at 4.30 am! We had "reservations" for Mass at 6 and had to be there 15 minutes beforehand at a minimum—and we could not be late! Yet, it was a wonderful experience to be awake in the dark before sunrise and wander the streets along with other Worshippers. We saw other Christians and Muslims and we were all going to pray! Everyone was so polite and quiet and we walked the cold avenues of the Old City. At a certain point our Muslim brothers and sisters went off in one direction tp the Temple Mount and we in another. I have no idea about the Jewish prayer customs. Perhaps they were with us there too!
The Via Dolorosa is Latin for "The Way of the Cross." It literally means the "Painful Way." It's an ancient form of paryer that was encouraged by St. Francis himself. Fourteen "Stations" or events during the Passion of Christ are remembered in the prayer. Seven come from the New Testament and Seven are from the ancient Traditions of the Church (such as Jesus meeting his Mother on the way, or Veronica wiping the face of Jesus). Saint Francis wanted to make real Christ's humanity, especially the Lord's Passion and Suffering. Having returned from the Holy Land himself, he felt inspired to help other Christians make the powerful journey. At the time, however, travel was difficult. So the Saint put together pictures of each station to help persons use their imagination in prayer. (You can see how Francis inspired St. Ignatius of Loyola with his famous Spiritual Exercises.) The Stations of the Cross were so popular that churches began to hang them up and use them. Eventually the Church ruled that a Franciscan would have to bless any new Stations of the Cross installed. That lasted until recently.
But we actually walked the "Way" that Jesus did (with the exception that a monastery was built right in the middle, so we had to backtrack at a certain point to go around the huge building). We carried a small (yet large) cross and used it as we prayed, stopping at each of the stations (you can see this cross in photo 3 above). Some of the stations are simply marked with Roman numerals carved in the stone (6) or with bronze plaques with the number, attached (5). We arrived at the huge Church of the Holy Sepulcre (6) which now houses the location of the Crucifixion, and the Tomb where Jesus was buried and rose from the dead, three days later on Easter.
We culminate at the site of Calvary. Walk the stairway climbing to the actual site where the Cross of Jesus once stood. The glass panels reveal the natural rock below which we may come to touch with our pilgrim hands. Then we celebrate Mass in the Holy Sepulchre, the tomb where Christ's body lay and, after three days, he rose from the dead.
Very interesting set up in this complicated church in which many different sects of Christianity have staked claims to the sacred site. (I can only imagine what Jesus, who prayed that we "might be one," is thinking!) To get to the first holy site, you have to climb this staircase (1). Once there you see where the Orthodox have claimed a chapel on the actual spot over the rock in which Jesus' Cross stood (2). The Catholic side is to the right (not seen in the photo). In Photo 2, you can see the altar built over the gleaming white stone. There is a hole under the altar where one can touch the stone that is protected by glass; you can see the glass and the white stone on either side of the altar in 2, and under the image of St. John in 3. To reach the stone, I had to put my hand in almost to my elbow! Some pilgrims didn't know that and missed out; thankfully they came back later in the day on the free time.
However, it was at this early hour that we could be there without any distractions. All was silent and prayerful. Later, and I saw this on my other pilgrimage, the place becomes almost chaotic and loud as so many pilgrims arrive and wait in live for their turn to touch the stone.
Above us, as we waited, I noticed these lovely images all over the ceiling (4-5). They're impressive.
Coming down from Golgotha, the site of the cucifixion, we come to a huge mosaic (8) of Jesus being taken down from the Cross (9), prepared for burial (10), and then him being buried in the tomb (11). And this is the slab where his body lay as they prepared it for the burial (12). Some people come and think that this slab is where Jesus' body laid for three days. I saw one fellow laying out prayers, one at a time, on the slab and taking photos of it. (I suspected that he collects money to do that and then sends the images back to the persons writing the prayers as proof that he touched the person's prayers to the tomb of Christ. However, this isn't the tomb!)
This is a baldacchino (13) over one of the many side chapels; this one is to Mary, the Mother of God. And this urn like thing (14) marks the spot where Mary Magdeline came to bring oils to anoint the body of Christ. And these are ancient tombs discovered near the tomb where Jesus laid (15). They were probably there at the time of Christ. And this cat (16) was just sitting there near a Catholic Chael of the Resurrection in the complex, just sleeping the early morning away, completely unaffected and left alone by everything and everyone. I suspect he/she belongs to one of the Franciscans staffed there!
We had to be here early so that we could celebrate Mass in the actual Tomb! I hadn't done that the last time I was here so it was so very exciting for me (and for Fr. Gerard). A grumpy Franciscan basically issued the rules in a thick accent: "You have 25 minutes…not one second more, so don't preach too long!" (I would hate his job as he must have many priests who get inspired and preach too long!)
Now, while he never said this, I was told on my first pilgrimage that one is not supposed to take pictures inside the tomb! What can I say? I couldn't help myself—I couldn't stop the other pilgrims, either. Last time I was here, there was a huge line out the door and you had to wait a bit to get inside. Here we had it just for Mass, all to ourselves (just 25 of us) for 25 minutes!
The actual Sepulcre is this building (1-2). It is made up of two rooms. An outer room has a round table in the centre. and most of the pilgrims stood here while the Mass was going on. It can fit up to 40 maybe, wall to wall. This (3) is a picture of the resurrected Lord that hangs over the door. The door is carved out of marble and I am almost 100% sure it came later. Originally this was an unused new tomb in a cave in a garden belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. None of the ornamentation was here. It looked more like the second to last photo in the "gallery" above.
Pilgrims bow to enter the actual tomb (4). The tomb itself could hold maybe 4 persons all in a row. Opposite the entry is an icon of a weepy Mary Magdalene carrying a jar of oils to anoint the Lord's body. Remember the story? They had to quickly prepare his body for the tomb as the sun was setting and the next day was a Sabbath, a time in which no work might be done. Mary Magdalene arrived on the Sunday, early in the morning, to do a proper anointing of the body (after the Sabbath had passed) when she discovered the Risen Lord.
This image is a selfie of Fr. Gerard and myself after having celebrated Mass (6). We were so giddy with joy at the experience. The friars stationed here positioned a slab of marble for Mass over the actual slab upon which the Lord layed; Fr. Gerard is touching that niche here (7). In front of the altar we were met with these images of the Risen Lord (8-10). and Above us hung all these oil lamps (11)! After the Mass, our pilgrims went in, two or three at a time. It was a holy experience for all of us.
These photos are taken of a new Orthodox chapel being completed in the complex dedicated to St. Helena (1), discoverer of the True Cross. These are ancient mosaics unearthed on the site (2-4).
After breakfast back at our hotel we then come to the vicinity of the Temple Mount to view the Dome of the Rock, El Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall (once known as the Wailing Wall).
We came home after the Mass and slept for 3 hours before going out again. This time we headed to the Western Wall, the only remnant left of the ancient Temple of Jerusalem. This wall surrounded the outer courtyard of the area called the Temple Mount. These photos (2-3) show the area where Jesus was taken by the devil to be tempted, where he told Christ, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here (the top of the corner). Here, Jews of all kind come to pray, as you can see by the dress, hats and hairstyles!
The gallery below shows what now exists over the Temple Mount (1): The Dome of the Rock Mosque (2) was built in the 600's over the remains of the Temple. We were not allowed to walk around the area this time, although I did it the last time I was here. Only Muslims are allowed in the Dome of the Rock. It contains the rock where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac. It is also the same rock used in the Temple to sacrifice the holocausts.
These are other photos I took of the Old City (3-5). This is the Lion Gate (6), named such because of the carvings. I noticed a pair of doves (7-8). And this was taken when I did a walk on the city walls (9).
See the Lithostrotos (pavement) in the Ecce Homo convent and the Flagellation and Condemnation Chapels which so vividly commemorate the last hours of Jesus’ life. We re-enter the Old City precinct to the Church of St Anne, said to be built over the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. Continue to the adjacent Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the paralysed man (Jn 5:2–9).
Below are photos I took of the Church of St. Anne, the Mother of Mary. They had some lovely pansies in all their glory (1-2). The outside of the Church (3). Within it is a very simple crusader's church. I love this statue of a young Mary and St. Anne, pictured here with our pilgrim of the same name (5).
Below, these remains of the pools of Bethesda are just outside the Church of St. Anne.
Travel out to Emmaus (Abu Gosh) where the Disciples recognised the risen Jesus at the breaking of bread and exclaimed “Did not our hearts burn within us as he spoke to us on the road?” (Lk 24:13-35). We enter here through the gardens of this Benedictine church built by the Crusaders and take time to reflect with gratitude on the Lord’s companionship with us along the road of our past days of pilgrimage.
I was hoping to see the actual home/room where the event actually took place. However, as I've read, there are actually several places that claim to be the historical Emmaus, so perhaps I expected a bit much. This Emmais is a Benedictine monastery with a beautiful flower bed (1-5). Within this church (6) were old Crusader frescoes (7-8) damaged by Muslims who later overtook the church.
