On the footsteps of Christ

Today was a very particular day for us on this study tour as we moved on the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ. We went to the place of the Beatitudes, to the place of the Multiplication of the Bread and Fish, to the place of the primacy of Peter, to the town of Jesus, Capernaum, and finally to the place where Jesus lived hidden for 30 years, Nazareth. Finally, this evening I had the occasion to visit also the place where Blessed Charles de Foucauld prayed during his three years in Nazareth. Today I made also a very special prayer for Luke and Brian who were instituted as acolytes at the Rabat Parish Church.

Beatitudes

After driving through Tiberias, we headed towards the place where tradition says that Jesus proclaimed the Beatitudes. In the fourth century a sanctuary was built at the foot of the hill to commemorate this event. During the past century a new Church was built on the top of this same hill. According to Matthew’s Gospel: “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him” (Matt 5, 1). Luke says that this same discourse was made on a level ground (6, 17). The Church’s structure is octagonal, to reflect the eight beatitudes (even if, strictly speaking, we have a list of nine beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel!). On the main altar, the acronym ICHTUS is found. As a word, it means fish. As an acronym, it stands for Iēsous Christos, Theou Yios, Sōtēr, which translates into English as “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior”. The setting of the Church is marvelous, overlooking the Lake of Tiberias and surrounded by greenery. Here I prayed that I may enter deeper into the spirit of the beatitudes and live according to that spirit.

A look on to Lake of Tiberias from the Mount of the Beatitudes.

Tabgha: Multiplication of the Bread

Going down the hill (one could walk down the hill – it takes some 30 minutes), we went to the Church of the First Feeding of the Multitude at Tabgha. This Church is taken care of by the Benedictines. They say that the second multiplication of the bread was done across the Lake, in the territory of the pagan Decapolis. Yesterday, in my blog I said that the place indicated is Kursi. However, according to the leaflet given at Tabgha, the place indicated is Tel Hadar, close to Kursi. There is a memorial stone recalling this miracle.

The name Tabgha comes from the Greek word Hebtapegai, meaning Seven Springs. The word then became Heptapegon, then Ep-Tapega, and finally Tabgha. There was a Church already in the 4^th Century (right after the Decree of Milan of 313, which gave the liberty for religious freedom), which was then substituted in the 5^th Century. There is a stone, beneath the altar, on which traditionally is held that Jesus laid the loaves. During the following decades, the Church was decorated with floor mosaics, among which the famous basket with the bread and the two fish on the side.

The Mosaic at the Church of the Multiplication of the Bread and Fish

The account of the miracle is found among others in Mark’s Gospel (6, 30-46). In my prayerful reflection the Lord drew my attention to the words: “he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd”. Lord, give me the grace not only to feel your compassion for me, but also to share in your compassion for your people, whom you have entrusted into my hands.

The place is a “deserted place”, that is not inhabited and fields not cultivated. In fact, the land is quite rocky on this part, being a volcanic land. Biblical scholars suggest this place for us to understand the parable of the sower (Mark 2). It is here that Jesus used to come to pray on his own, sometimes for the night, or early in the morning. The place is only some 3 kilometers away from Capernaum.

Rocky ground: helps to understand parable of the sower

Tabgha: The Primacy of Peter

Very close to the Church of the multiplication of the bread we find the place where, according to John’s Gospel (21, 15-17), Jesus entrusted the sheep into the hands of Peter after declaring his love for him. This Church stands right on the shore of the Lake. Within the Church we find a large rock. According to the pilgrim Eteria, who visited this place in 380, this rock would be the place where Jesus pronounced these words. This place reminds us of Christ’s will to entrust his mission in the hands of the Church, made up of human beings who have experienced their misery but also his redemption.

Tabgha: the Primacy of Peter

One very interesting note that Prof. Luca told us at this point is that once Jesus wore the towel in John 13, he never took it off! And in John 21, he presents himself to his disciples as the one who serves: he prepares for them fish to eat. Peter is called to shepherd the flock according to the example set by Jesus. In John’s Gospel, serving means to lay down one’s life for the sheep.

The Sea of Tiberias (at Tabgha)

Capernaum – the Town of Jesus

We spent the rest of the morning at Capernaum, which the Gospels present it to us as the town Jesus adopted as his own during his years of ministry. I have already written about the relationship between Jesus and Capernaum in an earlier blog (October 14). We visited the archaeological remains of the house of Peter, which in reality we can call “the house of Jesus” since he began to live there. This house was later transformed into a domus ecclesiae, and in the fourth century (again after the Edict of Milan) it was transformed into a church, on the model of a synagogue (large hall). Later, in the fifth century this was again transformed into a Basilica, with the apse looking towards the East and octagonal in shape. It seems that the earthquake of 649 and the eventual new taxation afterwards have rang the death-toll of Capernaum as a village, although the sanctuary continued to be venerated. At the time of Jesus, Capernaum would have had something like 500-1000 inhabitants.

The Remains of the House of Jesus turned into Church

New Church built on remains of House of Peter at Capernaum

The Synagogue of Capernaum is very important for us because it reminds us of the great speech Jesus did in that synagogue right after the multiplication of the bread about the Bread of Life (John 6). The Synagogue that we see today is of the fourth century. However, archaeologists have discovered a lower pavement, some 1.4 meters lower, of a previous construction coming from the first century.

Synagogue in Capernaum

Nazareth

The Dome of the Upper Church: in the form of a flower descending from heaven
-- representing the Incarnation.
Nazareth means 'flower'.

We began our visit to Nazareth by stopping at Mary’s Fountain. The Greek Orthodox believe that Mary’s annunciation by the Angel happened in two moments: first at the well, and then at her house. The Orthodox make the commemoration of the Annunciation in this Church close to the spring of water which reaches Nazareth. This spring still gushes forth in the basement of this Church. Catholics commemorate here the fact that Mary, first, and then Jesus went to the well to fetch water.

Orthodox Church at Nazareth

Within the Muslim section of the Old City of Nazareth (there is also the Orthodox section and the Catholic section), we find the White Mosque. Some years ago, by chance some ancient stones were found by someone who was building a new house in the vicinity. When they examined these stones, they were found to be basement of columns and that they were similar to other stones discovered earlier. Basing on this find and on the principle that a place of worship is normally built on another place of worship, it was established that this might well be the place of the Synagogue of Nazareth, of which we read in Luke 4. The precipice, of which Luke speaks that the people of Nazareth wanted to throw Jesus off it, is a fall of some 15 meters which is found behind this building. This would prove wrong the other hypothesis that the synagogue mentioned in the Gospel is found where the present Church synagogue is at the moment. In this case, the precipice would be some 3 kilometers away!

White Mosque in Nazareth:
Could this be the place of the Synagogue at the time of Jesus?

We then moved to visit the Church of the Sacred Family (which is the Latin Parish Church of Nazareth), the Museum and the Basilica of the Annunciation. The story behind the two Churches is interesting. Without entering into much detail, it seems that Jewish-Christians were always quite factious: there was a tendency to split themselves according to different leaders. Now it seems that there were some claiming to be descendants of Mary and others descendants of Joseph, who at the end split themselves up to celebrate in two different stories. It’s quite difficult to ascertain this as a fact, but we all know how possible this may be!

Our Lady of Nazareth

The Upper Church at Nazareth

The center of veneration remains through the centuries the Grotto. It has been established that houses would normally be linked to some kind of a grotto which would serve as an extension of the house. All Churches built throughout the ages on this site, kept always the Grotto as the main focal point. Right now, as the Guardian of Nazareth Franciscan community told us this evening, it is very important that we pray for a technical solution to safeguard the Grotto because it has been rapidly deteriorating in these last 40 years.

The Place where God became man: the Grotto of the Anunciation

Two very interesting discoveries found here are two graffiti coming from the 4^th century which attest to Marian devotion in the fourth century by Jewish-Christians.

An Inscription from the Fourth Century: Xaire Maria: Hail Mary!

Here is the place where Mary said her first “yes” to the Lord, a complete and joyful (albeit not without suffering) “yes” which she continued to express all throughout her life. The house of Joseph, which is venerated under the Church of the Sacred Family a few meters away, is the place where the Sacred Family lived. Jesus grew there as a human being. God made man and lived among us!

Malta's Presence at the Basilica of the Annuciation

Blessed Charles de Foucauld

December 1 is the feast of Blessed Charles de Foucauld. He stayed here in Nazareth between 1897 and 1900. This evening I had the grace to visit the place where he used to spend hours before the Blessed Sacrament. The place is in the hands of the Little Brothers of Jesus, inspired by the spirituality of Blessed Charles. There I prayed that, like Brother Charles, I may have a deep love for the Blessed Sacrament, the grace to learn more how to be present in a hidden way, and to surrender myself completely into the hands of God.

Chapel where Blessed Charles de Foucauld used to pray while he was in Nazareth

A Tryptych with Blessed Charles de Faucauld