Ain
Karem
So,
the school year was inaugurated last Friday with a Mass at the Church of St
Saviour. There were a number of priests and religious students present for the
Mass which was presided by the Custodian of the Holy Land, Fra Gianbattista
Pizzaballa OFM. During the homily he made a distinction between scientia and sapientia: scientia is a
way how to dissect things in order to understand them better, and this is
needed so as to understand the distinction between different aspects and
entities, while sapientia is the gift
to see everything through God’s eyes, that is a gift of harmony and providence.
I
would like to quote here from the Itinerarium
of St Bonaventure: “First, therefore, I invite the reader to the groans of
prayer through Christ crucified, through whose blood we are cleansed from the
filth of vice – so that he not believe that reading is sufficient without
unction, speculation without devotion, investigation without wonder,
observation without joy, work without piety, knowledge without love,
understanding without humility, endeavor without grace, reflection as a mirror
(speculatio) without divinely
inspired wisdom” (Bonaventure. The Soul’s Journey into God. The Tree of
Life. The Life of St. Francis, Translation and introduction by Ewert
Cousins, Preface by Ignatius Brady, Paulist Press, New Jersey 1978, 55-56).
The
Itinerarium is certainly a work of great
philosophical speculation, but at the same time Bonaventure is conscious that
he had to face a mystery which one cannot penetrate except with the power of
the sapientia crucis of Francis (see
Noel Muscat, “Francis of Assisi and Bonaventure’s Theology of the Cross”
online: http://www.franciscan-sfo.org/hland/ Cross_in_Bonaven.pdf).
On
Saturday morning then I began lectures at the Studium Biblicum Francescanum. I will be doing four courses here:
two courses are related to excursions on different biblical sites: in one of
the courses we will be visiting sites here in Jerusalem while in the other
course we will be visiting sites in Samaria, Galilee and the Neghev. The other
two courses are: The journey of Moses in
search of his own identity according to some texts of Exodus (we will
specifically be studying some texts related to the calling of Moses and to the
manifestation of God to Moses (theophany);
Ecclesiology of 1 Peter: Selected Texts
(1 Pet 2,1-10; 11-17).
This
afternoon (Sunday) I went together with two other Franciscan confreres to Ain Karem. The
original plan really was to go and visit Yad
Vashem (the memorial of the Holocaust of the Jews during the Second World
War by the Nazis). However, tomorrow the Jews are celebrating another feast
which comes at the end of the Sukkot: the Shemini
Atzeret. Literally, it means “the assembly of the eighth (day).” Rabbinic
literature explains the holiday this way: our Creator is like a host, who
invites us as visitors for a limited time, but when the time comes for us to
leave, He has enjoyed himself so much that He asks us to stay another day. Because
of this holiday everything is closed from the afternoon of the day before
(since in the Hebrew tradition the day begins at sunset, as we celebrate the Sunday
from Saturday evening). So we could not visit Yad Vashem. Since Ain Karem is close by (some 2 kilometers away
down the valley), we decided to go there. We did not think before that nothing
works when it is a Jewish holiday here, which would mean no transport to come
back to Jerusalem! So, coming back we had to take a taxi!
Birthplace of St John the Baptist -- Ain Karem |
Ain
Karem is considered to be the village where Zachary and Elizabeth resided and,
thus, where John the Baptist was born and lived the first years of his life.
There are two Churches here: one dedicated to St John the Baptist and another
one dedicated to the Visitation of Our Lady to Elizabeth. In the Church of St
John there is a grotto where a tradition coming from the sixth century onwards
says that John the Baptist, the Precursor (the one coming before) of the Lord,
was born.
In this courtyard of this Church there are a number of panels with
the Canticle of Zachary (the Benedictus)
inscribed on them (Luke 1,5-25.57-80). There is also the Maltese version. Here
I prayed to the Baptist to give me the grace that, like him, I might have the strength
to stand for truth and justice.
The Benedictus in Maltese |
On
the other side of the beautiful valley, which is adorned with Lebanese cedars
and native pine trees, there is the Church of the Visitation, which again a
late tradition has it as the place where Mary met Elizabeth and where Mary sung
her praises to the Lord, the Magnificat (Luke
1,39-49). Again this canticle is found in different languages on the walls of
the courtyard. The Maltese version is a very old translation which includes
some words which we no longer use. This Church is made up of two levels: the
lower level Church has a very ancient well. The upper Church is beautifully
decorated with paintings which depict the different Marian doctrines. Here,
together with my two friends we recited the Rosary. It was here in fact that
the first part of the Hail Mary originated: Elizabeth saying to Mary she was “blessed
among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb”, Jesus (see Luke
1,42). And it came to be very
providential as today, October 7, the Church celebrates the Feast of Our Lady
of the Rosary. I offered this Rosary for a number of intentions, particularly
the Synod of the Bishops beginning in Rome today on the New Evangelization, the
Year of the Faith which will begin on Thursday, October 11, and for Mgr Charles
J. Scicluna, who yesterday was appointed by the Holy Father as Auxiliary Bishop
of our Archdiocese in Malta.
The Church of the Visitation in Ain Karem |
The Maltese version of the Magnificat -- very archaic Maltese |
The inside of the Church of the Visitation -- splendid paintings |
The Valley which from the outskirts of Jerusalem leads to Ain Karem |
2 comments:
Hello fr Nicholas, when next you visit Ein Karem, go to the House - and garden - of the Sisters and Bros of Zion up the hill directly opposite the little street leading out of St John's Church. They will be happy to welcome you and you can lunch or dine with the community if you let them know beforehand. Fil-kas give them my best. There is also a contemplative community in the same grounds.
anna pace
Thanks, Anna, for your suggestion. Ma nafx kemm se jirnexxieli ghax iz-zmien ghaddej u hawn hafna x'tara u x'taghmel! Imma nzommha f'mohhi. Sliem minn qalbi.
Fr Nicholas
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