It has been a long day here in Jerusalem. We left the hotel at 8am and walked to Herod’s Gate and into the Old City. The second full day of the Pilgrimage in Jerusalem is always one where we see the Pool of Bethesda and the Church of St Anne before walking the Via Dolorosa, the way of the cross. The Church of St Anne is looked after by the White Fathers and is a beautiful Crusader Church whose acoustics are brilliant. It has a beautiful garden to one side of the church and the Pool of Bethesda to the other. You can walk around the ruins of the pool in which Jesus healed the paralysed man and we were fortunate to be able to get into the church to pray and sing before we set off on the stations of the cross. We walked the Stations in two groups – those we have been travelling in on our coaches. As we walked the way of the cross we travelled through the souk and in the hustle and bustle of the souk we stopped and prayed and sang at each of the stations. It was a wonderful experience.
After this we had some time to look around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and then we went to the Lutheran church which is very near the Holy Sepulchre for a Eucharist at which Bishop Christopher presided and Fr Michael Branch delivered the homily.
A delicious lunch followed in the Armenian Quarter and after that we made our way to the Dormition Abbey and the Upper Room. Sadly the Dormition Abbey has been closed since the coronavirus pandemic and as a result there has been some damage, so we were unable to visit it. But the visit to the Upper Room, where we thought about the Last Supper and the Day of Pentecost, was very special. The walk through the Jewish Quarter to the Western Wall was fascinating. The red group walked through little back streets, past yeshivas, meeting up with our friends from the green group at the plaza before the Western Wall.
Whilst we were there we were able to go down into the prayer enclosures before the Western Wall. The men to the large area and the women to the much smaller one. In the women’s enclosure women of all ages were praying and studying the Torah.
After having time to explore the Western Wall and the square in front of it we gathered again. All the pilgrims walked towards the Damascus Gate – from there it is easy to find our hotel. This was free time for all the pilgrims to explore and shop as they chose and some of us stopped off at the Austria Hospice where they have wonderful coffee and cake.
After some free time and dinner we were able to hear something about the Living Stones, the Christians in the Holy Land from the Friends of the Holy Land. It is hard to hear about the difficult situation of the Christians who live here and we prayed for them.
Andy Dovey writes:
Walking the Via Dolorosa
As we entered the walls of the old city of Jerusalem at the beginning of the day, we became aware of the mixtures of cultures and beliefs as we passed Muslims, Jews and Christians. The vibrant colours and hustle and bustle of the market place engulfs us as we make our way through the market on what will be another busy day in search of our heritage as Christians on our pilgrimage.
Walking the final path that Christ took, from his conviction to the time that he was taken down from the Cross, provides us with a chance to follow that final journey. As we stopped at each of the stations of the cross and contemplated the events that took place at each, whether it be the tears of those watching, the helping hand to carry the cross, or just to draw breath before continuing, it provided a picture of the agony and pain that Christ withstood as he carried the cross in his penultimate act of mercy for each and every one of us.
As we finished the walk and came to Calvary, so we reflected on our own lives, lives that are packed from the commencement of the day to the time that we finally rest our head at night. A life that is packed not only with the glory of God’s Grace with us each day, but also the complications that test and stress us. Each test in life being like that of one of the stations of the cross. A time to stop and take a deep breath; a time to weep in the sadness of events in the world and those around us; a time for us to realise that when we need help on our journey and the burden of life is too much; a time to hand things over to others stronger than ourselves, until we are ready again to pick up our charge and carry on.
In the hustle and bustle of the day, the complications that enfold as the day progresses to nightfall, we can be assured that God’s Grace, through our faith and prayers, will provide us guidance, strength and wisdom to enable us to carry our cross of life.
