On day 3 we left the picturesque greenery of Galilee for Jerusalem. En route the stark contrast of scenery took everyone off guard. The rolling hills had been replaced with arid expanses of desert as we drove through the West Bank. We arrived in the area known as the Mount of Olives and our first stop was the Church of Pater Noster, where Church tradition tells us the disciples asked Jesus: 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples' (Luke 11:1).
Our spiritual guide, Fr Greg Pearson OP, reminded us that in praying the Our Father, we should not be afraid to petition, to ask what is truly in our hearts knowing that God, our Heavenly Father, will not deny an honest petition of a humble heart.
Below: the Youth group at Pater Noster
We then began to trace the steps of Our Lord in a very real way. Through the windy streets of the Mount of Olives, we saw the Kidron Valley, a marvellous scene that leads to the breathtaking view of the Holy City. There is a sea of both ancient and modern tombs as far as the eye can see in the shadow of the Golden Gates of Jerusalem. Jewish and Muslim belief dictates that the Final Judgement will begin here from Jerusalem onwards, and the scene testifies to the strength with which this belief is held.
We continued to the small Chapel of Dominus Flevit (Latin: The Lord wept), a tear-shaped building that tells of the moment Jesus approached the Holy City before His Passion, a profound reflection that rings as true today as when Jesus spoke the words: 'Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.' (Luke 19:42)
Fr David Reilly, the youth chaplain, told us that in Cana we learnt Jesus has a social life and here we learn Jesus has a depth of real human emotion. We know of two other times in the Gospel where Jesus wept: in Bethany over the death of Lazarus and in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the Mass Fr David concluded that we must 'imitate in our lives the mysteries we celebrate' which are reminiscent of the words said to a priest at his ordination.
After celebrating Mass at Dominus Flevit, Cardinal Vincent reflected on the journey to Jerusalem thus far as the call to prayer for Muslims sounded in the background:
We continued down the Mount to the Garden of the Gethsemane, recognising that we had entered into the narrative of the Passion. As with our reflections at Dominus Flevit, here we shared in another intense human experience in the life of Jesus, epitomised in the very human prayer of Our Lord to His Father that, 'if you are willing, remove this chalice from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done' (Luke 22:42). The questions we are asked to consider: 'Are we doing the will of God in our lives? This can often be painful.'
The impressive Basilica of Agony stands next door (pictured below). It is atmospheric and an extremely prayerful experience. The roof of the Church shows it is a Church of many nations and 12 nations contributed to the building of this modern Church. It is thus also refered to as the Church of All Nations. One of the domes of the roof has a crest symbolising the contribution of UK. Just then, aptly, the bell of the Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalen rang for the midday Angelus.
After lunch, we went to Mount Zion, the site of the Dormition Abbey which some traditions believe was the place where Our Lady was assumed into Heaven. We then walked to the Cenacle, known as the Upper Room, where Our Lord celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples and tradition holds that this was the place where at Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and the disciples. We concluded the day by going to the house of Caiaphas where we celebrated a very moving Mass reflecting on the Passion and Death of Jesus.
In the afternoon the Youth group accompanied by Cardinal Vincent visited Yad Vashem, the Israeli national Holocaust museum. Built in 1953-4, it commemorates the lives of the 6 million Jews killed at the hands of the Nazis during World War II in concentration and labour camps. It was an incredibly intense experience for all, with videos and photos providing a visual reminder of the horrors of the Shoah for the Jewish people.
Fiona, 25, from St Mark’s parish, Hemel Hempstead reflected: ‘I’d visited Auschwitz-Birkeneau a couple of years ago which was a very moving experience so coming here I didn’t really know what to expect. When I walked into the building, the atmosphere was very sombre and very emotional and it is very humbling to read about the Jewish people who were persecuted because of their religion but they managed to survive. One of the most profound things that will stay with me is that, despite the lessons of the Holocaust, people are still persecuted around the world because of their faith and we have to pray very hard in the hope that humanity will recognise the value of tolerance’.
James, 27, from Marychurch, Hatfield said: ‘I thought Yad Vashem was one of the most profound experiences of my life because I visited Anne Frank’s house a few years ago and Yad Vashem had the same feeling and intensity. Being a Catholic you have to feel great sadness and great humility having seen what they went through and having visited the memorial and seen the pictures, it will scar the memory forever - and so it should.’
For more photos of the day, please click HERE.
