Mass in the Nativity Grotto, Mount Zion, War is Over, Galilee Trip (1)

Mass in the Nativity Grotto

My 4-day stay in Bethlehem closed in the best of manners! I was able to celebrate Mass within the Nativity Grotto on Monday morning. It is such a blessing to be able to celebrate Mass there where Christianity makes the memory of the birth of our Saviour and Lord. The poverty and grandeur of the place form a great setting for the celebration of the Eucharist, in which the Emmanuel comes to be not only with us but also becomes bread for our sustenance, transforming us into him. I thank the Lord wholeheartedly for this great grace.

Sunset at Jerusalem on Monday (from the Gallicantu Church)

Mount Zion

On Monday, together with Fra Eugenio Alliatta OFM, we visited the area of Mount Zion. This includes some sanctuaries which belong to the Armenians, like the place where they venerate the tomb of St James the Major, who was killed around the year 40 AD by King Agrippa, and the cathedra which belongs to the first bishop of Jerusalem, who would be St James the Minor, known also the “brother of the Lord”, author of the letter which bears his name. Just outside Zion Gate (also called by the Arabs, Gate of the Prophet David), the Armenians have a small Church wherein they recall the House of Caiphas, where Jesus was taken as a prisoner on the night he was betrayed. There they venerate a column where Jesus could have been also beaten with rods by the Jews (apart from the scourging at the hands of the Romans, recorded in the Gospels).

Then we moved to what is known as the Cenacle. We link to these place various very important events of our faith: the Last Supper, the Apparitions of the Risen Christ to his disciples, the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost), the choice of the 13^th Disciple, Matthias, the choice of the first deacons, and the Jerusalem Council. It is venerated at the first Church of the Christians. A great Church was built by the Byzantines, called Haghia Sion (Holy Sion) which linked all the different sites recalling different mysteries of the life of the Lord. The Crusaders enlarged the Church, making it some 70 meters in length. The Muslims destroyed this Church, but not the part called the Cenacle. The art of this cenacle is medieval, quite unique to the area. There are some elements which are older than medieval times, probably coming from the Byzantine Church.

The few remains of the Haghia Sion Church very close to the Cenacle

We then visited the Church of the Gallicantu, which recalls the place where Peter denied for three times Jesus. Some say that the place recalls the repentance of Peter. Some excavations have revealed a number of interesting things, which some archaeologists have identified as being the house of Caiphas – a second indication after that of the Armenians. There are some cross graffiti in a pit, which some consider to be the place where Jesus was kept for the night.

A Cross found in the pit at the Gallicantu

War is Over

An indication that the war between Israel and Hamas is over (at least for the time being), is the fact that today coming up to Galilee we saw a number of armed vehicles being driven back to the North of the country. Fifteen days ago, coming back from Beth She’an, I did see a number of this war machinery being taken down to the Gaza area, in preparation for a possible land incursion. Thanks be to God, this was not to be, at least this time! Let’s hope and pray that the discussions going on at the moment between Israel and Hamas may bear enduring fruits.

Returning to base!

Galilee Trip (1)

On Tuesday morning, together with Prof. Massimo Luca OFM, we began the five-day study trip to Galilee. We are a group of priests and students attending the Studi Biblici Francescani. The aim of this trip is to become more familiar with a number of places which are important for our Biblical Studies, and particularly for a better understanding of the New Testament.

The first place we visited was Megiddo. During the biblical period Megiddo was one of the most important cities in the country. Its location allowed it to control the outlet of the Iron Valley to the Jezreel Valley and the Via Maris (the road which linked Egypt to Mesopotamia, the ancient centers of culture and power). Archaeological remains have brought to light certain items, like flint tools and a few sherds which attest to human habitation as early as the Neolithic period. Megiddo then flourished as an urban center in the Early Canaanite Period (late fourth millennium BC).

In the temple area, as an indication that man’s search for God began from time immemorial, 17 different holy structures were found, built one on the other. One impressive find, which is still visible today, was a circular altar, eight meters in diameter. Seven steps lead to the altar. Numerous animal bones were found at the base of the altar (including a bone of a lion – was it offered also as a sacrifice?). At the top of this, remains from a fortress-like ‘Tower Temple’ were found. However, these were unfortunately dismantled by the archaeological expedition working on this site.

The circular altar from the Canaanite Temple at Megiddo

Megiddo is linked to many battles. We were told that the city was destroyed some 27 times. One of these times was the great battle made by the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III (fifteenth century BC). It took the Pharaoh some six months to win over the city. It is called ‘the mother of all battles’. Perhaps because of this fame, the Apocalypse says that it is also here that the last battle against the power of evil is made at the End of Days (Rev 16,16).

In Megiddo, remains of a big granary, and some big stables for horses were found linking the place with King Solomon. There is also an amazing water system to allow citizens to reach safely a stream just outside the city wall even during a time of siege. The remains are evident of an opulent society.

The underground tunnel which permitted citizens of Megiddo
to get to the spring in time of siege

After Megiddo, we visited Mount Tabor, where I did my spiritual exercises at the end of September. My visit there brought to me great memories of a splendid time with the Lord spent there. One interesting thing that Prof. Luca told us is that the first time Mount Tabor – which was always considered to be a ‘holy mount’ for the fact that it stands alone in the valley of Jezreel – with the Transfiguration was in the document called Transitus Virginis, where it is said that as Mary was being taken up to heaven there shone a light similar to that of the Tabor. Origin and Cyril of Jerusalem then take up this tradition and link the Tabor to the event of the Transfiguration.

Mount Tabor with the sun setting behind it

After Mt Tabor, where we celebrated Mass and had a great lunch prepared for us by Mondo X (I have spoken of these in my blog at the end of September), we went to Cana. The place today is called Kefar Kannan. In his Gospel, John speaks of the wedding at Cana (Chap 2), the centurion who had a sick son asking Jesus to heal him (4,46), and Nathanael who is said to be of Cana (21,2). Although there are doubts about this location, however, archaeology has undiscovered two synagogues, one belonging to the Jews and the other to Judaeo-Christians, which means that these latter could keep the tradition alive. Excavations beneath the synagogue belonging to the latter group show that there was a settlement of people as early as the first century AD. This means that this location could be possible. It was also in this place that a large jar (corresponding to the measurements mentioned by John in 2,6) was found here. This is a unique find in Israel, as no other similar jar was found here until now.

The outside of the Cana Church

The Big Jar found at Cana -- similar to the ones mentioned in John's Gospel

At the end of the day we came to our hotel (Casa Nova run by the Franciscans) at Nazareth. It is just across from the Basilica of the Annunciation and to my delight when I opened the window I found that I was looking right at the Basilica … an amazing sight! After dinner, there was the Rosary in the Inferior Basilica. I was asked to say one of the decades in Maltese. I prayed a lot for me and for many others that Mary’s Yes becomes also our daily YES to God in everything that he asks of us. I will continue to speak about Nazareth in the coming days!

A beautiful shot of the Basilica of the Annunciation from my room.