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Our pilgrimage started at the AIRPORT IN TEL-AVIV. We expected security would be enormous but it was not much different than it is at all the other airports. The first interesting things for us were actually the people. Most of us have never seen an orthodox Jew up close before, so when we saw the first few we got all excited and found their outfits very interesting and tried to take their photos, hoping they would not notice us (sorry guys!). We got on our buses, it was night time, and the second thing we all took photos of, were the road signs that said "Jerusalem". It was just so surreal to see a street sign with the actual name of the city that you have only seen in the Bible or occasionally heard about it on the TV before. |
By the time we got to our hotel in Bethlehem we had seen the night view of Jerusalem, crossed the border to the West Bank and seen the 8m tall wall that separates the Palestinian territory from Israel's territory and filled our cameras with a bunch of blurry night time photos. We found our rooms, had some dinner and it was the end of DAY ONE. |
BEN-GURION AIRPORT IN TEL-AVIV |
GOLDEN PARK RESORT |
Even if we were all fully aware that we were on a pilgrimage and not on vacation we were all in a bit of shock when we found out we would be getting up at 6 o'clock every morning - our guide, Fr. Frank, had no "mercy" for us |
tired and "I am not a morning person" people. He was in his early eighties (!!!), and has been in the Holy Land more often than we go to the grocery store; he was extremely knowledgeable and had the energy of a twenty year old. If we got distracted by an interesting historical artifact (also meaning an interesting display at many, many street shops) he would quickly disappear from our view, which usually resulted in panic and lots of running and eventually ended in a humble walk with the rest of the group. Over all we loved him. He took his role very seriously and we managed to see everything on the list and he also made sure we all heard the chapter in the Bible that had a connection to the places we visited. |
DAY TWO Our first stop of the day was at the SHEPHERD'S FIELD that is located in the village of BEIT SAHUR which is about 2 km out of Bethlehem. There are two rival places that are both believed to be the fields where the shepherds saw the angel: A Greek Orthodox and a Roman Catholic site. We visited the Roman Catholic site which features a Franciscan Chapel designed to resemble the shepherds' tent. Behind the chapel we found a natural cave that would have served the shepherds as a shelter for their flocks. Both are surrounded by a very lovely garden and a fantastic view of the rolling hills that surround Bethlehem. |
The Bible says: "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." (Luke 2:8-10) |
The fun thing was, that, like else where in Bethlehem, it is completely appropriate to sing Christmas songs all year around and so we did and not just one. Soon we had more chances to sing Christmas songs: we were on our way to downtown Bethlehem to visit the oldest church in Israel (its beginnings go back to the year 326 AD) which is considered as the place of Christ's birth. |
The Bible says: "Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:1-7) |
BETHLEHEM is not only the birthplace of Jesus but also King David who, according to the Old Testament, lived here as a child and was also named the king as he was watching his father's flocks. The church, just like Bethlehem has an impressive and long history. Present day Bethlehem is one of 16 Governorates of the West Bank and Gaza Strip within the Palestinian |
Territories. It covers an area of the West Bank, south of Jerusalem. At this time there are no Israeli police or military in Bethlehem. The city itself is lovely and full of life. Local businesses seem to be doing well and tourists are flocking to the city. We especially admired the woodcarvers whom you can observe carving beautiful sculptures from olive wood. We first stopped at ST. CATHERIN'S CHURCH which is attached to the CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY and MANAGER SQUARE. It was hard to tell from the street where exactly they are located because they are partly hidden behind the high thick walls. |
BETHLEHEM |
CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY |
MANAGER SQUARE |
SHEPHERD'S FIELD - CAVE |
SHEPHERD'S FIELD - CHAPEL |
ST. CATHERIN'S CHURCH |
MILK GROTTO |
We gathered at the beautiful cloister outside the west door of St. Catherine's with its gothic pillars and arches which use to be a part of the 12th century monastery. I was taken by colorful flowers, bushes and orange trees who's white blooms filled the air with the most pleasant fragrance which escorted us into the sanctuary where we attended the daily mass which is also a regular part of a typical catholic pilgrimage. After the service we were led into a cave which had a shaft and we found ourselves in the Church of the Nativity where we joined a line of people in front of the Entrance to the Grotto which is the churches' focal point. I followed the line and ended up in front of the star that marks the place where Jesus was born. I followed the example of the people that were there before me and kneeled down. I did not know though what exactly they did after. Did they kiss the place, touch it, look at it??? |
I bent down, my backpack came tumbling down on my head and that was that. There was a long line behind me, lunch was waiting and I had to get up and go before establishing what to do. In between all this we also succeeded to visit the MILK GROTTO which is not far from the Manager Square. Tradition has it that the Holy Family found refuge in this grotto during the Slaughter of the Innocents and just before they escaped to Egypt and while Mary was nursing Jesus here, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning the Grotto white. Both Christians and Muslims believe scrapings from the stones in the grotto boost the quantity of a mother's milk and enhance fertility. |