Tuesday 26th November
For some the last day began at 4.45 am with the call to prayer from the Mosque in Manger Square. Rather than turning over for a couple more hours of sleep a few intrepid pilgrims set off to the Church of the Nativity one last time to pray where Mary “gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn’ (Luke 2:7).
Our bags had to be packed and down at reception by 7am. No-one was late, as has been the case every day. After breakfast we set off into the sunshine, passing once again through one of the checkpoints dividing Israel and Palestine. We cast our eyes over the wall that is such a stark reminder of how the beauty of this Holy Land continues to be afflicted by tension and war. Having experienced the warmth and kindness of the Palestinian Christians during this pilgrimage our prayers and best wishes will be with them when we get back home.
Emmaus
“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognising him.” (Luke 24:13-16)
The real location of Emmaus isn’t known and indeed there are three possible locations: Amwas, El Qubeibah and Abu Gosh. Our final Mass for the pilgrimage was at Abu Gosh, about 10 miles from Jerusalem on the way to Tel Aviv. The church dates from the time of the Crusades, with some frescoes of the story of Emmaus alongside depictions of Christ and Our Lady. However the building had at one stage been under the ‘protection’ of the jewish community who had defaced the images. Fr Paul celebrated Mass with Fr John giving his final homily. We were tired, but it was a very prayerful and uplifting liturgy with full voices for the music. At the end of Mass Fr Paul blessed us: “O God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from all races of the earth you have chosen a people dedicated to you, eager to do what is right. Your grace has moved the hearts of these, your friends, to love you more deeply and to serve you more generously. We ask you to bless them, so that they may tell of your wonderful deeds and give proof of them in their lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord.” We were able to enjoy the beauty of the Garden tended by the Benedictine Monastery there, before heading back to the bus and up to the nearby Church of the Ark of the Covenant. Here, in a bright airy church, Fr John Farrell gave us a final talk (click here to see video) on the Ark of the Covenant holding the very presence of the Word of God – the commandments given to Moses. He then spoke of Our Lady, within whose womb grew the Word of God, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Outside, beneath a large statue of Our Lady, we enjoyed the sunshine and the thousand year-old olive trees in the garden.
Our final lunch also had some thanks – to Rami and Ibrahim, our guides; to the bus drivers; and to our pilgrimage director, Fr Paul McDermott. Then onto the bus one last time; and we made our way to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, lined up, underwent tight security questions, went through into Departures, boarded the plane, flew back to Heathrow and dispersed. Our Pilgrimage ended. Yet, as Fr John said in his homily, this is no end but a beginning of something new.
