Holy Land Pilgrimage 6

We got up on the morning of Wednesday, 10/26, at Notre Dame Guest House in Jerusalem and headed out to Bethlehem.  The first stop was Shepherd's Field, where we had morning prayer in this little chapel about where the shepherds would have been when they heard the angels.

We have three Canadians in our group so they were glad to see the Maple Leaf in the chapel.

There are actually a lot of caves in the area.

Bethlehem has grown a lot since I was here 28 years ago.

 Then we got to the Church of the Nativity.  Above is the bell tower and below you will have to look very closely to see the entry door for the church.  The people in red are standing in front of it.  It is very small.

This is St. Jerome, who lived in Bethlehem for a while.

The St. Catherine Church was very simple but beautiful.  We had Mass below it in the St. Jerome chapel.

The back of the chapel with a difficult stairway.

 After Mass we went back upstairs and to the main Church of the Nativity.

Here is that entry I was telling you about.

There are a lot of beautiful icons in the front, but the style is too cluttered for my taste.

Notice that Mary is actually smiling in this icon.  She is excited about the new baby.

This star on the floor down below the church is to mark the spot that tradition says Jesus was born.

Here is someone stooping down to kiss the star.

This grate covers the stairs that lead down to the St. Jerome Chapel we were in.

We tried to do as much business as possible in Bethlehem with the Catholic businesses so we had lunch there and they had a few of us be a part of the show.  It was called Christmas Bells restaurant.

This is one of the places that they think Mary's tomb was prepared, even though she did not need it because she was taken up to heaven in the Assumption.

The tomb is down below.

 Then we went to the Basilica of the Agony or the Church of All Nations.  It is on the Mount of Olives and in the Garden of Gethsemane.  The dome are starry to remind us when Jesus was there.

It is a very beautiful church

Behind it is the Russian Orthodox Church which we will visit the next day.

 These next four pictures are actually in the wrong place but they are of the interior of the tomb of Mary church.  These icons are very precious.

 These two pictures are of the Grotto of Gethsemane which is right next to the tomb of Mary and is where Jesus would have often spent time in prayer.

Several of these olive trees were probably there when Jesus prayed in this area on first Holy Thursday night.

 Then these last ones are from the Basilica of  the Agony.  Above I think is Jesus telling the Apostles to pray with Him.  Below is Him praying at the rock.

This one is His arrest.

Then we headed back to Notre Dame Guest House for supper.