June 27, 2014 (continued)

I don’t know if you can make such a beautiful day any more beautiful, but starting with a tour of St. Anne’s church made my heart explode (in a good way). I snapped a few pictures- and more importantly- said a few prayers for my students and coworkers (tears flowing)…

Saint Anne Church

Saint Anne and Mary

Then we made our way through the Via Dolorosa. Luckily it was not terribly crowded (until the end) until we reached the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We celebrated Mass (one of the most beautiful masses I have ever attended) in the Crusader chapel. We read the Easter readings (I was blessed to read the first reading!), and Fr. Ken’s homily was about God dawning on us in our darkness. While in the church we also visited the Stone of Unction (where Jesus’ body was prepared for burial), the empty tomb, the bedrock from where Jesus was buried, and a few other special places- this church was massive!

Mass in the Crusader chapel of the Holy Sepulchre church

Next we went to lunch – gyro or falafel sandwiches (of course!) and visited the Wailing Wall. I put my intentions in the wall, said a prayer, and quickly found refuge in the shade. At this point we were all fading fast… Free time was next though, so a small group of us set off in search of ice cream… It turned out to be no easy task, but it was worth it!

After a brief respite and a shower, I met up with Fr. Ken in the hotel lobby for Reconciliation. I had wanted to go before the trip, but I didn’t get around to it, so he kindly agreed to hear my confession here. I must say I have never been to confession in a hotel lobby before… and I probably won’t again… but it was pretty incredible to have that opportunity here in Jerusalem. Afterwards we sat and talked until it was time to board the bus again.

Next, we headed back to Bethlehem for our farewell dinner (even though we still have things to see tomorrow). We went to a Bedouin tent restaurant with an absolutely breathtaking view. I loved talking about everyone’s thoughts on our trip. The food wasn’t bad either… It’s a good thing I adore hummus and pita!

Farewell dinner at Bedouin tent restaurant

We were all pretty exhausted when we got back to the hotel, so I think everyone pretty much stayed in… One more day tomorrow!