June 25, 2014 (continued)

Today is the 25^th of June – exactly six months until Christmas. What a day to visit Bethlehem and celebrate midnight mass (readings) at the Church of the Nativity! Happy half-birthday, Jesus!

Church of the Nativity

This morning actually started with a visit to the birthplace of John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation. Each site had a special prayer in many languages of the world- the Benedictus and the Magnificat. We prayed each of these prayers aloud together at the sites. One other tiny piece I really liked was a statue of Mary and Elizabeth (right outside of the church). Both women are pregnant, and their expressions make them seem very real and down to earth… kind of like they were saying “Hey! I’m pregnant too!”

Visitation Statue

Later we visited the Holocaust Museum- the Hall of Remembrance and the Children’s Memorial sections. I still could not fathom any act of hatred growing to such epic proportions as I gazed upon the eternal flame and (later) walked through the pitch black darkness (except for the candles remembering the lives of the innocent children) and listening to the names of the children who were killed… Absolutely horrifying and sickening- and very sad.

We boarded the bus (getting out of the parking space was no small victory!) and headed beyond the wall to Bethlehem. It was not exactly how I envisioned it, as the tourism industry has really taken root there. After some souvenir shopping (and a lot of haggling from street vendors), we ate lunch at “The Christmas Tree” restaurant (I’m not kidding about the name – there was even a Christmas tree upstairs)- mmm! Falafel! And Kathy treated our group to a plate of baklava (one of my absolute favorite desserts).

Afterwards when we entered the Church of the Nativity (the oldest church in the world!), there was construction going on as part of a restoration project. There were also a lot of people, though not as many as I expected after reading Fr. James Martin’s book (Jesus, a Pilgrimage). We were able to touch the fourteen-point star that is said to mark the spot of Jesus’ birth. We also celebrated (midnight) Mass in a cave chapel dedicated to St. Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin. (We were squeezed in pretty tight quarters…)

Christmas Tree restaurant

Star marking the place of Jesus' birth

On the way back to the hotel, we made one final stop at the church of the Shepherds’ Field, which commemorates the place where the angels visited the shepherds to announce Jesus’ birth. A part of me really wanted to sing “While Shepherds Watched” or “Shepherds’ Pipe Carol”, but I held back…

Shepherds' Field

I showered, ate a snack, and then had a decent nap when we got back to the King Solomon Hotel. A long day + heat + being dehydrated + emotional and mental overload = pure exhaustion (and pure joy)… Dinner (and possibly some exploring) tonight…