Final Update from Jerusalem

So, with this update (blog no. 50!) I am concluding my time here in the Holy Land. Time has truly flown. Going back to my notes, I can’t almost believe that three months, very eventful, have gone by. There are some places which I did not have the occasion to visit, like Jaffa, Haifa, the South of Israel and Herodium. There are also some monasteries which it would have been interested to visit. I had also in plan to go to Jordan, but that did not materialize because of lack of time. The fact that I was following lectures made it somewhat difficult to move away from Jerusalem for more than a couple of days. I had lectures on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Now I could say here one thing which I would have liked to do, was to comply with the invitation made to me by the MC Sisters in Gaza to visit them and give them some talks in English. Unfortunately, I did not get the permission to enter Gaza. One main reason was the war there. Well, it wasn’t God’s will for me!

"Even the sparrow has found a home -- a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God (Ps 84,3).

A Day of Retreat

At the end of my experience here I wanted to spend some time of reflection and prayer in order to gather as much as possible the fruit of my time here in the Holy Land, particularly. This has been a blessed time, an opportunity given to me by God to visit these holy places, to bask in God’s love for me, and to reflect further on God’s will for me. I went to the hermitage which the Franciscans have so well organized at the Gethsemane, 25 years ago. There are some 9 small hermitages which are self-sufficient. It is next to the Basilica of the Agony, facing the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem and at the foot of the Mount of Olives.

View of the Old City from the Gethsemane Hermitage

The place is truly exceptional and I would recommend it to anyone who would like to spend some days of retreat in this holy place where Jesus asked his disciples to “keep watch with” him (Matt 26,38). It is also the place where Jesus used to go quite often to pray alone.

The Chapel at the Gethsemane Hermitage

I spent the whole day alone in prayer and reflection. There is a very beautiful and peaceful chapel and spaces outside where one could stay and pray. In the evening, I prayed Evening Prayer with the small community which resides here as well as other ‘hermits’.

A statement made by St Jerome in a Letter (Epistle 58,3.4) attracted my attention: “To have been in Jerusalem is not so praiseworthy as to have lived well in Jerusalem”, or for those who want to read it in the original Latin: Non Hierosolymis fuisse, sed Hieroslymis bene vixxise laudandum est.

A final note on this: I was at Gethsemane for the Eucharistic Symphony Concert on September 22 – two days after I arrived in the Holy Land. I went back there only a couple of days before I leave the Holy Land – an interesting, non-planned chiasm!

Christmas Concert at the Seminary, Malta

Thanks to a great effort by the Seminarians in Malta, I was able to follow live the Christmas Concert even this year … through live-streaming. It was a very well-prepared evening with a moment of prayer, Christmas carols and a farce. The reflection produced by the Group of Spiritual Animation was truly significant with good questions and answers on the question of faith in our world. The Rector, then, addressing parents, friends and benefactors, shared an interesting thought in relation to Christmas on the need to become more childlike. Finally the great farce produced by the Seminarians, bringing out their great artistic talents. A heartfelt thank you to those who made this possible!

This is the Seminary in Malta ... Christmas Concert 2012 ... as seen from Jerusalem!

And again ... From Malta ... to Jerusalem!

Western Wall – Hannukkah

On Friday morning, between lectures, I went again to the Western Wall in order to experience the celebration by the Jews of the Hannukkah festival, which, as I wrote in my last blog, is being celebrated in these days. This evening (Saturday) they will light the last candle of eight. There were many people there praying. There was also a big hannukkiyah, just against the Wall. The prayers were characterized by singing and joyful dancing. There was also a teenager was being introduced into the reading of the Torah. 

The Hannukkiyah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem

Praying, singing and dancing on Hannukkah ... Western Wall

What was interesting was the fact that the women, being prohibited to be in the same area with the men, were looking and taking pictures from over the fence.

Women over the fence which separates their area from that for men.
They are watching the initiation to the reading of the Torah of a teenager.

Muslims going to prayer

Being a Friday, you would see many Muslims going over to the Al Asqa Mosque on the Temple Mount to pray. What really amazed me is the great number of men – old and young – who you see hurrying to go this moment of prayer. Normally, you would see them carrying a carpet with them on which they would do their prayer. Shop-owners would just put a stick across the entry to their shops while they are off to prayer at the Mosque. 

Will a stick be enough! Well, I'm off to prayer ... it's Friday!

You would also see many men – and this not only on Fridays but every day – with their prayer beads in hand. This is called Tesbih (or also Tasbih or Misbaha). It originates from the word Supha (or sebha – note the Maltese sebħ – glory), which means to recite the glories of God (Allah).

Carpet and Tesbih in hand ... off to the Mosque to pray

Tesbih with 99 beads symbolize the ninety nine names of God in Islam. Sometimes only 33 beads are used, in this case Tesbih would be cycled 3 times to reach 99. The main phrase repeated through the first thirty three beads is Süphanallah which means “Praise be to God”. For the next thirty three beads, “Glory be to God”, or Elhümdülillah, and for the final thirty three beads, Allahuekber which means God is most great, is repeated. After these repetitions a final prayer is said, bringing the total number of prayers, as dictated by the Koran, to one-hundred.

Via Crucis and Daily Procession

On Friday, I participated again in the Via Crucis along the Via Dolorosa, the way Jesus made carried the cross to Golgotha. Today, I felt that there was less confusion on the way and so praying the different stations resulted somewhat easier. However, I am not sure whether this was only a subjective sensation! At the Holy Sepulchre Church, I participated again in the daily procession recalling the different moments of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus.

The Via Crucis at the 12th Station on Calvary

Again, I would like to share another prayer from the ones used during this procession. This one is said at the place of the anointing of the dead body of Jesus: “Lord Jesus Christ, who granted to your faithful friends the privilege of anointing your sacred body with oils at this place, grant that our hearts anointed by your grace may be preserved in health, free from all infection of sin. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

This morning I had again the occasion to visit the Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre where I prayed my Liturgy of the Hours.

Final Act

As a fit conclusion to my stay here, at the beginning of the Novena in preparation for Christmas, this evening I will attend a concert organized by the Magnificat Institute at the Church of San Salvatore to celebrate the winners of the Magnificat String Competition. For the occasion two violins Dario Verné will be played. These were recently given to Magnificat.

The Magnificat Institute of Jerusalem is a School of Music erected in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1995. It is the only one of its kind here within the walls of the Old City. Muslim, Christian, and Jewish children and young people study together united by their common passion for the art of music.

If you wish to see Andrea Bocelli singing Ave Maria at San Salvatore Church in Jerusalem last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fFebMvBOSo