MANGER SQUARE & BEIT JALA
We arrived at our hotel in the heart of Bethlehem last night and as seems to often be the case with this pilgrimage, our expectations were very much exceeded. The Manger Square Hotel is a very modern and cosmopolitan hotel and our arrival was complete with personalised banners of the diocesan crest to welcome us. After a comfortable and much needed lie in this morning, the group celebrated Mass with the local Catholic Palestinian community in Beit Jala. The church was situated next to the Bethlehem Seminary of the Latin Patriarchate, so as well as a church bulging at the seams with parishioners, the local Junior and Senior Seminarians were in attendance and serving.
The Mass was described by a few pilgrims as the highlight of the pilgrimage so far; perhaps this may seem rather odd to some considering some of the sights we have visited, but when asked, a pilgrim said: 'my faith was given life by seeing a community FULL of life'. Indeed it was plain for all the English pilgrims to see the genuine faith of this local Palestinian community, their beautiful Arabic music and their humble piety. Fr Faizal, the Parish Priest of Beit Jala, graciously welcomed us all to the community’s celebration of the Mass and expressed how grateful they were for the prayerful and financial support the Diocese has been giving over the years.
After Mass, our pilgrims and local parishioners mingled in the courtyard outside the church, accompanied by hot drinks and biscuits. There was a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere and our pilgrims left the church feeling refreshed and very much connected to our brothers and sisters in faith.
BASILICA OF THE NATIVITY
Straight after lunch in the Christmas Bells restaurant, we walked to the Basilica of the Nativity. Before entering Fr John read us a passage of Scripture in order to prepare us for contemplation on the Incarnation (Luke 2:1-7). Upon entry to the Basilica, our guide highlighted the size of the door. He remarked that it had gotten smaller and smaller as a way of deterring people coming in on horse back in years gone by. Monsignor Phelim Rowland, Parish Priest of Hampstead, recalled that it was this very door - which you must stoop low in order to enter - that Pope Benedict XVI in the Year of Faith said we must 'come off our high horse in order to worship the Saviour in humble adoration'.
The Church, presently under reconstruction to repair the roof, is the oldest active Byzantine Church in the world which has not been destroyed and rebuilt like similar churches in the Holy Land. Despite the scaffolding, one could appreciate as we waited to go down to the site of the birth and see the manger, the rich history and beautiful iconography adorning this Church. The very site of Jesus' birth was marked with a silver star of 14 points symbolising the 14 generations from Abraham to David, from David to the deportation to Babylon, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ (as recounted in Matthew 1:1-17). The Basilica is shared between 3 different Christian denominations: Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Roman Catholic. In the Catholic section is the preserved cave of St Jerome. A very simple and bare chapel now stands where St Jerome translated the Hebrew Scriptures into the Latin Vulgate, an unenviable task that took 35 years to complete (his original tomb is pictured below). Our guide told us that this room, at the time of Our Lord's birth, would have been connected to the place where we venerated the silver star which marked the place of Our Lord’s birth. Finally, we visited the Milk Grotto where a tradition maintains that on their flight to Egypt, the Holy Family stopped here and Our Lady breastfed our Lord.
Later in the evening Peter Rand, Vice-Chairman of Friends of the Holy Land, spoke to the pilgrims about the work that they do in anticipation of the visits to the local projects in Bethlehem tomorrow. Cardinal Vincent also reported back on his day in Gaza where he visited the minute Catholic community there.
At the end of the day, Cardinal Vincent spoke about the Via Dolorosa completed the day before on day5 of our pilgrimage and reflected briefly on the trip to Gaza:
For photos of the day, please click HERE
