Overview: Mount of Olives, Dominus Flevit, Garden at Gethsemane, Dormition Abbey, Church of the Nativity, Field of the Shepherds

The day started with an early breakfast and a resounding victory over the other bus groups to get on the road first! A short drive to the Mount of Olives brought us to a beautiful panoramic view of the city. We prayed a decade honoring the Ascension of the Lord, which took place on this holy mountain, and got an explanation of where the Temple would have been and the history of the city over the years. In the middle of a wonderful explanation, a cat walked through the group, walked over to our tour guide Adrian’s bag and marked it. Charming!

Continuing, we took to walking in the footsteps of Jesus on Palm Sunday. At the chapel Dominus Flevit (the Lord wept) we prayed for a moment, reflecting how the Lord wept for Jerusalem’s hardness of heart toward God and prayed in reparation for own hard hearts. Continuing down the hill, we came to the Garden at Gethsemane. Here the olive trees have roots that date back to the time of Jesus and a large stone is preserved in the chapel sanctuary where it is said that Jesus sweat blood and prayed. Amidst the chaos of camera phones and selfie sticks, tour guides and chatty people, the Lord was there. Holy Mass was being offered as I entered the church and how profound a gift it was to pray with Our Lord there in the garden. I recalled the words so often spoken by the Cure d’Ars (Jean Vianney) as he pointed to the tabernacle: “He is here! He is here, the God who loves us so much!”

A few more steps brought us to Dormition Abbey, where Our Lady’s tomb and the site where the Assumption is held to have taken place. Mary’s tomb, you might say? The Church has never said definitely whether Mary died or not before her assumption into heaven, but many saints and theologians have argued that she did die but was assumed immediately afterward. A beautiful little room housing the place where she would have rested, I got yelled at by the local priest as I placed your petitions in the case. Nonetheless they’re there along with many others’ intentions. May Our Lady, the Queen Mother, bring your prayers quickly to her Son, the Christ the King! As we exited and ascended the steps once again we entered a side chapel housing the tombs of Sts. Joachim & Anne, the parents of Mary and maternal grandparents of Jesus.

We hopped on the bus to take us to lunch in Bethlehem, where we had a tasty lunch and cold beer. The Church of the Nativity was a great post-lunch visit because we had to stand up in line and keep vigilant, lest the group behind cut in front (which they kept trying to do). The Church of the Nativity is the oldest Church in the world - if I understood the tour correctly - and has a small entry door called ‘the humble door’ that you must bow down to get through. After the patient wait in line, we were able to descend the steps and venerate the place said to be the birthplace of Jesus, marked with a star by the shepherds who first venerated the Child Jesus. The Latin Rite Catholics, celebrating the feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Church we’re having a procession to the site of the Nativity, but we weren’t able to stay for it.

Our next stop was the Field of the Shepherds, where the angels announced to the shepherds the good news of great joy. We got to offer Holy Mass in the cave chapel, the low roof of which was blackened from the burning of candles over the centuries.

Finally - shopping, dinner, and an evening of rest with good wine shared among friends!