These are just some of the photos I took on our "Holy Week in a Day"! Reasonably self explanatory:
Our final Mass - in Gethsemane
The view from the roof of the convent where we had lunch
Sunlight cascading through the roof light above the tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Its the last night and my brain is in a spin! SO much happened today its difficult to know where to start - except I have decided that this blog will continue when I return to the UK as I recall fresh memories or have further reflections.
But what about today? It was peaks and troughs, from the sublime to the surreal! For example we ended the day with four of us going to the Syrian Vespers... utterly sublime. Then we came back to the hotel and saw fireworks being let off in the daylight!! Completely surreal! What was all that about?!? You couldn't see them...
The whole experience, from Passion tide through to the resurrection was intense. Walking down the Mount of Olives in total silence clutching palm crosses was beautiful. Having our second open air Mass in a garden at Gethsemane was awe-inspiring but the noise of the traffic and constant horns/sirens was at the opposite end of the spectrum to the tranquility of the Galilean experience.
Talking of noise brings to mind my first thought of the day when we at at the Church of the Paternoster (Our Father). The church has the Lord's prayer in countless languages, really poignant. But what struck me was the bird song that accompanied our visit - were they saying their own version... Who knows but it sounded so sweet.
After another delicious lunch - I never thought I'd be so excited to see a huge plate of mashed potatoes! - we started on the route of the Via Doloroso (I'll check the spelling later). It couldn't have been a more exquisite start, Clare - a fellow pilgrim - is a trained singer and she sung a solo at the first station. Hauntingly beautiful, words fail me, tears stung my eyes and wet my cheeks. Another sublime moment.
The actual route took us through souks that were so crowded that people pushed us and grumbled. It was pretty rough at times. But I suspect nowhere near as rough as the reaction Jesus got. Two of our number got lost at one point but we were reunited not long afterwards.
It was hot and uncomfortable, testing and trying. It was utterly draining in many ways and the emotion of standing in front of the site of the Crucifixion was palpable. A really sublime moment...
Then some of our number queued to get into the site of the tomb - and, therefore, resurrection. What a difficult time that was. It was incredibly hot and people were constantly queue jumping. The stress of it all was horrible, a really unpleasant time. But it all faded as we approached the altar in the tomb and five of us knelt together... I haven't got the words to describe how that felt.
We escaped the melee that was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and went to a cafe. We ordered four Arabic beers. They duly arrived and revealed that they were "0.0% alcohol" brewed in the Netherlands and called Bavaria! Definitely surreal!!
Which then brings me back to the tranquility of the Syrian vespers... what a delightful way to end our day and our journey.
Please excuse the typos etc, I promise I'll correct them on my return to the UK... but we have a 5am alarm call in the morning so the bar beckons!!
I do hope you're enjoying this as much as me - let me know!
Sunlight cascading through the roof light above the tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Its the last night and my brain is in a spin! SO much happened today its difficult to know where to start - except I have decided that this blog will continue when I return to the UK as I recall fresh memories or have further reflections.
But what about today? It was peaks and troughs, from the sublime to the surreal! For example we ended the day with four of us going to the Syrian Vespers... utterly sublime. Then we came back to the hotel and saw fireworks being let off in the daylight!! Completely surreal! What was all that about?!? You couldn't see them...
The whole experience, from Passion tide through to the resurrection was intense. Walking down the Mount of Olives in total silence clutching palm crosses was beautiful. Having our second open air Mass in a garden at Gethsemane was awe-inspiring but the noise of the traffic and constant horns/sirens was at the opposite end of the spectrum to the tranquility of the Galilean experience.
Talking of noise brings to mind my first thought of the day when we at at the Church of the Paternoster (Our Father). The church has the Lord's prayer in countless languages, really poignant. But what struck me was the bird song that accompanied our visit - were they saying their own version... Who knows but it sounded so sweet.
After another delicious lunch - I never thought I'd be so excited to see a huge plate of mashed potatoes! - we started on the route of the Via Doloroso (I'll check the spelling later). It couldn't have been a more exquisite start, Clare - a fellow pilgrim - is a trained singer and she sung a solo at the first station. Hauntingly beautiful, words fail me, tears stung my eyes and wet my cheeks. Another sublime moment.
The actual route took us through souks that were so crowded that people pushed us and grumbled. It was pretty rough at times. But I suspect nowhere near as rough as the reaction Jesus got. Two of our number got lost at one point but we were reunited not long afterwards.
It was hot and uncomfortable, testing and trying. It was utterly draining in many ways and the emotion of standing in front of the site of the Crucifixion was palpable. A really sublime moment...
Then some of our number queued to get into the site of the tomb - and, therefore, resurrection. What a difficult time that was. It was incredibly hot and people were constantly queue jumping. The stress of it all was horrible, a really unpleasant time. But it all faded as we approached the altar in the tomb and five of us knelt together... I haven't got the words to describe how that felt.
We escaped the melee that was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and went to a cafe. We ordered four Arabic beers. They duly arrived and revealed that they were "0.0% alcohol" brewed in the Netherlands and called Bavaria! Definitely surreal!!
Which then brings me back to the tranquility of the Syrian vespers... what a delightful way to end our day and our journey.
Please excuse the typos etc, I promise I'll correct them on my return to the UK... but we have a 5am alarm call in the morning so the bar beckons!!
I do hope you're enjoying this as much as me - let me know!
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