Monday 25th November
Church of St Catherine
Our last full day! This morning started off with a visit to the church of St Catherine situated right next to the Basilica of the Nativity.
It is a beautiful, light and airy church with eye-catching star-shaped stained glass above the sanctuary. To the right when you enter is a staircase leading down to an underground grotto. This is believed to be the series of caves attached to the cave in which Christ was born, and which were separated by St Helena around 330 AD. The grotto today contains a series of simple but beautiful chapels: the Chapel of the Innocents, to commemorate the children Herod killed in his attempt to kill the child Jesus, the St Joseph chapel, and a double cave dedicated to St Jerome.
He is remembered here as the man who translated the Bible from the Hebrew into the Latin version known as the Vulgate. How appropriate that the Word of God be translated in the same place as the Word was made flesh - the reality of God’s Word becoming something tangible starting from the same spot. One of the famous sayings attributed to St Jerome is that ‘ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ’. Fr John invited us to promise ourselves to read Matthew, Mark and Luke from now on and we all left with a profound feeling of the reality of God.
Mass
Mass was held upstairs in the main church, led by Mgr Harry Turner. Our hymns were Christmas carols and although a bit early, appropriate in this location. I am excited to see how this trip to the Holy Lands will alter and deepen my experience of the preparation in Advent and celebration of the Christmas season this year. Fr John in his homily (Click here to view) talked about the history of the landscape we are in. How rich it is in the stories we grew up knowing: from Abraham to Samuel and David, and all the way through to Mary and Joseph. He reminded us of the passage from Isaiah when God reminds us that: ‘My ways are not your ways’, and we are challenged to wonder how and where we can follow. Can we turn our thoughts and ways to God’s ways, to the humble King on a donkey? For me, it comes back to that original question that God seems to ask throughout history, from Eve to Mary to my own daily life: Do you trust me?
The Milk Grotto
We then headed just up the road to the Milk Grotto. According to tradition, Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus would have stayed around Bethlehem until Joseph received the dream to go to Egypt. During that time they would not have stayed in the cave with the animals but found a small place to live. The Milk Grotto is believed to be the house where the Magi came to see them. Tradition has it that while nursing Jesus, some of Mary’s breast milk fell to the floor and the stone turned white. The grotto itself is a spacious and airy room and we were given a talk by one of the Franciscan friars about some of the miracles associated with the place. It has been believed that scrapings from the stones in the grotto increase a woman’s fertility and upstairs in the little shop are hundreds of photos and letters from overjoyed parents who have prayed a Novena to our Lady and received the blessing of a child. The Friar stressed that it is faith more than action that receives such results, and it is the prayer that is most important. It was a lovely space to visit and to pray for all mothers - a place with a special atmosphere.
Excursions
One of the aims of this pilgrimage is to allow us to experience life here, to be ‘welcomed’ by local families and to show them by our presence that they are not forgotten. So next we split into two groups for local excursions: one to the Holy Family Orphanage and one to St Martha’s Elderly People’s Day Home.
Holy Family: We slightly misjudged the timings, so that all the children were having ‘nap-time’ while we were there; but on reflection that might have been a good thing for everyone. The Holy Family Orphanage takes children from new-born up until five or six, when they are moved to another institution. Life is complicated and difficult, with very little support from the government and with Sharia Law not recognising adoption.
St Martha’s: We were greeted by 15 elderly ladies. They smiled gently at us, but their tongue was Arabic and ours was not, so conversation was not very easy. Our tour operator, Laila, explained about St Martha’s and the work of the Friends of the Holy Land that has supported it. In a situation similar to that of the Orphanage, they have to manage with no social security, with a diminishing Christian population (20% down to 1%) and with the sting of loneliness and isolation that the ladies feel. Their time is spent socializing, praying, entertainment and activities. We then had coffee and biscuits, at which point the music was switched on and for the next 30 minutes everyone was on their feet dancing! It was amazing – even with no conversation we left with a terrific bond and real sense of love for one another. There were kisses goodbye; and sadly we had to leave them.
It is good for us as pilgrims to see where the money from the ‘Friends of the Holy Land’, the charity that is associated with this pilgrimage goes, how it is used and who it helps.
The Dead Sea
We gathered together again for lunch before an optional trip to the Dead Sea. It is a fascinating place, being the lowest point on the planet at around 400 metres below sea level. As a result of evaporation the sea has an extremely high salt content of around 30%, as against 4% in normal seawater. It means that you float in the water. And it seems very odd on your skin, more of a kind of oil. The mud, however, is supposed to be very good for your skin! A remarkable experience, which took up most of our afternoon.
In the evening we had a cake brought out for us by Laila and her team; and then we had a short party (cut off by some people who don’t appreciate good but quite loud singing!). Tomorrow we leave to return home. What a pilgrimage it has been. It is hard at times to remember all that we have done since there has been so much! It has been a real privilege to be here and to journey though the Holy Land.
