Preamble : To know which direction to take, I must first go back in thought, remembrance, prayer, where my compass has lost the North.
Fact: I joined a cruise to the Holy Land last May in the footsteps of St. Paul. Our steps: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Tiberias and its surroundings, but also Rome, Ephesus, Corinth, Athens. Speakers prepared us for what we would see in terms spiritual and historical + daily Mass on board or on the places visited.
My intense moments in the Holy Land
- My prayer to whisper a Psalm before the wailing wall, a cardboard yarmulke on his head, alongside the Jewish cousins who chant in full voice and swings back and forth. Sensation of having the junction between my background and my spiritual Semites Christianity.
- The view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. This is the one Jesus had every day in front when he was with his disciples. To enter the city, descend steeply and then more back slightly.
- Lake of Tiberias. Much larger than I thought. A distinction is the evil opposite bank as it is far away. It takes at least two days walk to get around.
- The Mount of Beatitudes, a high hill overlooking the lake, whose surface reflects like a mirror. Jesus really liked high places where we have a clear view, where you can admire a vast panorama., Identify prospects under heaven.
- The stone cross. In the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, you need to access via a staircase to a mezzanine. We stood in line before kneeling in a stone altar to slide his hand into a round hole. We must delve deeper to hand fingers touch the smooth stone at the foot of the cross on which Jesus' blood would have flowed. For me, it's now focus of this trip.
- The Holy Sepulchre. A stone bench in a tiny chapel we can hardly stand to three. It was here that Christ's body rested. It is the only tomb where death has been victorious a few hours. This is where the death - and death - have disappeared. A room that opens to the world of God. The only piece of land that opens directly onto the sky. Feeling overwhelmed, a bit like when I try to represent the infinite universe: I'm too small to get there.
- The Basilica of the Nativity in Nazareth. In a very modern church, in rock, a fragment from homes near Wren, family Jesus. I was very influenced by this very steep flight of steps that led to the outside, toward the light.
- The Patriarch of Jerusalem said: "This Land is Your Land." This sentence was for me the force of evidence, even if it was a little dissipated today. The Earth is not a foreign land but a land familiar to me, a Christian, because I hear every Sunday or every day, stories in the readings of the Mass or praying the Office. It is the land which will not let me speak my faith. Is the land where lived one who changed my life but all my spiritual ancestors (Anonymous crowds, curious, incredulous or foolish hope, disciples, apostles, martyrs). This is my spiritual land.
In the Holy Land, everything is steep descent and steep climb. A sort of permanent Russian mountain aboard which I find myself today.
Fact: I joined a cruise to the Holy Land last May in the footsteps of St. Paul. Our steps: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Tiberias and its surroundings, but also Rome, Ephesus, Corinth, Athens. Speakers prepared us for what we would see in terms spiritual and historical + daily Mass on board or on the places visited.
My intense moments in the Holy Land
- My prayer to whisper a Psalm before the wailing wall, a cardboard yarmulke on his head, alongside the Jewish cousins who chant in full voice and swings back and forth. Sensation of having the junction between my background and my spiritual Semites Christianity.
- The view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. This is the one Jesus had every day in front when he was with his disciples. To enter the city, descend steeply and then more back slightly.
- Lake of Tiberias. Much larger than I thought. A distinction is the evil opposite bank as it is far away. It takes at least two days walk to get around.
- The Mount of Beatitudes, a high hill overlooking the lake, whose surface reflects like a mirror. Jesus really liked high places where we have a clear view, where you can admire a vast panorama., Identify prospects under heaven.
- The stone cross. In the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, you need to access via a staircase to a mezzanine. We stood in line before kneeling in a stone altar to slide his hand into a round hole. We must delve deeper to hand fingers touch the smooth stone at the foot of the cross on which Jesus' blood would have flowed. For me, it's now focus of this trip.
- The Holy Sepulchre. A stone bench in a tiny chapel we can hardly stand to three. It was here that Christ's body rested. It is the only tomb where death has been victorious a few hours. This is where the death - and death - have disappeared. A room that opens to the world of God. The only piece of land that opens directly onto the sky. Feeling overwhelmed, a bit like when I try to represent the infinite universe: I'm too small to get there.
- The Basilica of the Nativity in Nazareth. In a very modern church, in rock, a fragment from homes near Wren, family Jesus. I was very influenced by this very steep flight of steps that led to the outside, toward the light.
- The Patriarch of Jerusalem said: "This Land is Your Land." This sentence was for me the force of evidence, even if it was a little dissipated today. The Earth is not a foreign land but a land familiar to me, a Christian, because I hear every Sunday or every day, stories in the readings of the Mass or praying the Office. It is the land which will not let me speak my faith. Is the land where lived one who changed my life but all my spiritual ancestors (Anonymous crowds, curious, incredulous or foolish hope, disciples, apostles, martyrs). This is my spiritual land.
In the Holy Land, everything is steep descent and steep climb. A sort of permanent Russian mountain aboard which I find myself today.
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