My Time in the Heat!

On Saturday, 2^nd October, I was fortunate enough to meet (through one of our group members) a newly ordained Priest from Melbourne who was staying in one of the Hermitages on the Mount of Olives. We walked him home after dinner and because he had key access, he invited us in for a quick walk around the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of All Nations and the Mount of Olives. WOW!!!! I have never felt so close to the human Jesus! Everything was dark and in shadow, just as it is described in Scripture. The trees are so ancient. The plaque in the Garden moved me to tears. Inside the Church, a group of seminarians were celebrating a Liturgy and we were allowed to join in with Benediction. The rock that Jesus prayed against and sweat blood in agony is in front of the altar surrounded by steel thorns donated from Australia. I have not touched it yet but I hope to before I leave. We then walked through the Mount of Olives area and looked into the chapel and the hermitage Father was staying in. We stopped and looked at the view of the walls of Jerusalem, the same walls that have been there when Jesus stood in this same place. We were all deeply moved and felt so grateful to be in this sacred place. We prayed together near the Garden before we left.

The next morning, we got got up early to go to Ein Gedi by coach. We passed through Kedron (Qidron) Valley, as mentioned in Scripture. The land here is so dramatic. On one side there is barren and rocky wilderness while on the other is the sea and so lush date / palm trees. The group trecked through the forest and saw some beautiful waterfalls. We read from the books of Samuel and Ezekiel where Ein Gedi are mentioned and the battle between David ad Saul took place and Saul’s life was spared. It was amazing to be in the same place where these revered men once walked. We then swam in any of the springs that we chose. We had so much fun swimming under the waterfalls and cooling down after our hike.

Near this place is the excavation site of a 3^rd-5^th Century Synogogue. The mosiacs were wonderful. From this place we went to the Dead Sea. The temperature was 47 degrees celsius. There is no sand, only pebbles. Swimming in the Dead Sea is an incredible experience. I lost complete control for a few minutes and needed my friends to help right me. If your body goes forward, the rest of you follows. If you lean back, the rest of your body does to. The temperature of the water was about 35 degrees celsius. I got a drop of water in my eye but it did not sting for long. Our bodies felt like we had oil smeared on them. Our skins are now glowing!

After leaving the Dead Sea, we travelled to Qumran. The temperature in the bus was stifling as the air conditioner was not coping in the heat from outside. We watched a 10 minute documentary about the Dead Sea Scrolls, quickly walked through the museum then heard our guide speak to us while he gave us a tour of one of the excavated caves. Learning about this sect of Judaism was fascinating with all their ritual baths and purification rules. It was the most tiring day we have experienced so far!

Yesterday, between classes, a group of us set out to the Church of Dormition (the place where it is believed Mary fell asleep before her body was assumed into Heaven). We passed through the Jewish Quarter and saw the Western Wall. We shopped at a Jewish store where the teachers picked up authentic items to show their students. The cashier would not touch the money from my hand but expected me to place it on the counter and to receive my change in the same way. After this, we made it to the Church. It is lovely. The many shrines depict events in the life of Mary. In the crypt, the life-like figure of Mary sleeping can be found.

After the Church, we went to the room that is traditionally believed by some to be the room where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper. In the same complex, we came across the tomb of King David. We were able to visit it but had to split up into female and male sections. I heard a Jewish man praying in a loud voice and he sounded like he was in anguish. We then hurried back to Ecce Homo for our next class taught by a Jewish man about Judaism in the time of Jesus and Luke.

Last night, we were fortunate enough to go back to the Mount of Olives with the Aussie Priest but this time we met the caretaker of the Mount. She gave us a guided tour in the dark and showed us the Library, Chapel, Marian Grotto and various hermitages and spoke to us about various people who have stayed there over the past 16 years. We were invited to pick olives before we go and were assured that we would be given access to the actual Garden and be allowed to stay there for hours. We would also be able to buy jars of the oil and celebrate Mass on the top of the Mount if we could provide the celebrant. Adoration is on Thursday nights at 8pm, outdoors, overlooking Jerusalem. On our walk, we could see the cross on top of the Holy Sepulchre, the place where Jesus was crucified. I felt so close to Jesus. I wondered how he would have felt knowing his time of death was at hand and that it could not be avoided. Would he have known Golgotha was the place where he would breathe his last? We will definitely be picking olives before we leave….

Tomorrow we are off to the Museum at Yad VaShem and the Children’s Memorial.