Bethlehem : The Sheperd's Field

 September 24, 2023

We had an early wakeup call at 6:30 am, breakfast buffet at 7:00, and on the way to Bethlehem at 8:00.  This meant that we were leaving west Jerusalem and entering the West Bank area.  Our first stop was at the Sheperd's Field where the announcement of the birth of Christ by the Angels took place.  Our group had a Mass there in an outdoor chapel. That felt appropriate to the Bible scene of the "shepherds in the fields by night".  One of our group was a little girl named Claire.  She made her First Communion at that Mass.

Fr Randy Timmerman

Outdoor Sheperd's Field Mass

Church of the Shepherd's Grotto.

One of many designed by Antonio Barluzzi, an Italian architect.

He was hired by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

Windows allow light from above like the Angel's of Christmas Night.

Church of the Nativity- Bethlehem

 September 24, 2023

Now we move from the Sheperd's Field to the Church of the Nativity.  This is the oldest church in the Holy Land.  It was built by the mother of Constantine, the Emperor, St Helen.  It was subsequently destroyed and rebuilt several times.  First by Emperor Justinian, later in the Middle Ages by the Crusaders.  It was left standing by the Persians because they recognized in the mosaics the Three Kings or Magi from the East.  Today the Church of the Nativity is share by the Orthodox, the Armenians, and the Roman Catholics.  

Below you see the Smiling Madonna of Bethlehem.   The nave of the main Church, and to the right of the main altar the Grotto below the main altar that has a 14 pointed star marked by the Crusaders as the believed birth place of the Messiah Jesus.

We entered the birth grotto just below the icon doorway in the above photo (shining light).   There we reverenced the star marker of Christ's birth.  Next we walked next door to this church to visit the Roman Catholic annex to the grotto of Birth.

This is another Barluzzi designed church (1947).  It is dedicated to St Catherine.  The statue on the pilar is St Jerome.  It is believed that he first translated the Greek Bible into Latin in this location. (382 AD)

Next we went to the center of Bethlehem for some lunch.  It was a buffet style meal.  The manager of the restaurant had some fun with one of our children (Claire who had received her First Communion this morning at the Sheperd's Field).  She was decked out in a red fez and led in a dance with a local little girl on stage while we clapped to the mid eastern music.  The picture of the Bedhelm town square is below. 

Bethlehem to Jerusalem

 Sunday afternoon  .... September 24, 2023

After our lunch near Bethlehem Square, the tour bus took us to a Wood Souvenir vendor.  This was a "factory" of wood carvers who made religious statues and items from the Olive Trees grown in the Bethlehem area.  Some of the Christmas Nativity groups were life size and quite impressive.  The store also had beautiful icons.  We inquired about some of the icons and found their price tag too steep for us.  ($200-$400) This company boasted that they were 100% Christian and supported over 67 Christian families by their work.   The issue of the Christian population in Israel being as low as 2% at this time was of concern to our tour guides.  And they emphasized that our tour helped the Christian economy by spending our money with them.  We did buy some smaller items such as wall crosses, honey dipper, and kitchen tools.  As we left the Bethlehem area we needed to pass through an Israeli check point to enter the Jerusalem area.  One could notice the large wall that has been built to separate the West Bank from Israel.

A grafitti artist associated a local Palestinian struggle with George Floyd and painted this on the Wall.

We traveled on to Jersalem and entered Mt Zion in the Old City via the Zion Gate (or David's Gate).

Here we hoped to see the Cenacle or Room of the Last Supper or the Upper Room.  However, since it was the eve of Yom Kippur in Israel, many tourist sites were closing down early.  So we exited the Old City and visited the Church of the Dormition (re Mary's final days) which is close by just outside the Zion Gate.

  

         Photos:

    top left:   Zion Gate or David's Gate
    above center:  signs to Upper Room

    to the left:  doorway to Upper Room

The Abbey of the Dormition is a Catholic Abbey belonging to the Benedictine Order in Jerusalem, on Mount Zion just outside the walls of the Old City near Zion Gate.  The Abbey is said to mark the spot where Mary, mother of Jesus, died.

Dormition Abbey (above and to right>>>)

Church crypt has a statue of the "resting"  Virign Mary.   Our group said a decade of rosary in the crypt and sang some Marian hymns.

We returned to our hotel in West Jerusalem, the Market Courtyard Hotel, about 5 pm.  Buffet Supper, sundown and Yom Kippur.  We watched from our hotel room while the police set up barricades on the street to prevent driving on the holy day.